I have five breastfeeding tips in this article I want to share with you knowing how much they helped me on my own personal breastfeeding journey.
Motherhood is an incredible journey, yet it has many challenges, and breastfeeding is a one off them.
Hopefully you get some insight and some really helpful tips from what I will be sharing with you here.
Why Breastfeeding is so Important
Breastfeeding is one of the most amazing things you can do for your baby. To think the milk you produce for your baby can sustain it independently for the first year of its life. It’s pretty incredible. The goodness and ratio of important nutrients and anti-bodies you give your baby is paramount to build up your babies immune system and really strengthen its healthy gut and whole body foundation.
This is why persistence is key. You are literally giving you baby the best start to life.
I have never met anyone who has regretted persisting on their breastfeeding journey.
I hope these tips I have to share with you will help you on your journey.
Breastfeeding Tip 1 – Ask for Help
My first tip is all about asking for help.
There is nothing wrong with asking for help and this is a significant breastfeeding tip as it will help you in more ways than you can imagine.
We do not have to do this alone and I can’t stress enough the importance of asking for support!
If you have time to prepare for postpartum as well as birth then this is most recommended.
It’s a great idea to have everything planned before you even have your baby. Who will be your support network? Who will help you when you need it? Who is your support team?
Midwives are an amazing help, a lactation consultant, and even a postpartum doula can support you through the breast feeding process.
Don’t hesitate to ask for help and use the resources when you have access to them. Your time is hospital is a perfect opportunity to invite the midwives to show you everything. They will help you to attach the baby well, help with the colostrum as you both learn and make sure if you are ever unsure ‘press that buzzer’ and get them to show you again. You are never an inconvenience and don’t be afraid to seek more help if needed.
If you are birthing at home your midvife will be extremely helpful in showing you the ropes and making sure baby is feeding well.
A postpartum doula is a great support for these aspects as well.
Don’t hesitate to use breastfeeding hotlines and supports services when needed as well.
The biggest tip that I could give you is make sure you ask for help and you have people around you who can help you.
Breastfeeding Tip 2 – Use the Tools you have Available
My second tip is about utilising the tools that you have available.
There’s so many tools available to us that we can utilise throughout our breastfeeding journey.
We have nipple shields. breast pads, ice packs which now come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. i.e. doughnut packs for ease of use.
Whatever you need to support with your breastfeeding process, it is available to you.
You can be using cabbage leaves. I would put them in the freezer and I would use them to help with engorgement and hot breasts. Be mindful of mastitis also. If you do get mastitis I personally used a home remedy with top quality ingredients that I can share with you if you email me at hello@livewelllovewellness.com. If you do choose to use the conventional methods be mindful of side effects like thrush of the nipple and thrush in the babies mouth which can impact significantly on ease of feeding.
You can massage the lumps under the warm shower or use a heat pack and also massage in a downwards direction when baby is feeding as they will help to drain the ducts.
I actually used essential oils as they were a great support mechanism just to help with supply, either increase or decrease as well as breast engorgement. Just make sure you use a good top quality brand, I personally use doTERRA and you can learn more here.
There are so many tools you can utilise, a quick search can return you many more options.
I did a quick search for you and found this great article here, but there are many more out there.
Breastfeeding Tip 3 – Positions
My third tip I have for you is all about positions.
If your baby is struggling to suck, or struggling to latch on, there are different positions you can try with your child.
Make sure you talk to your support person about all the different options and research this topic a little to understand what your options are.
I did a search to help get you started and there is a great list of positions and corresponding descriptions here.
Changing positions is also really handy to help your baby drink from different aspects off the breast, and this will actually help drain any block ducts, which is a great tip when we talk about clogged ducts and mastitis.
Breastfeeding Tip 4 – Always Keep Calm
My fourth tip is to always keep calm.
If you become stressed, the baby will become stressed also.
This is where the support system is really important, because the people you have alongside you will help you feel in control. They will help you move through the motions without getting too anxious and too overwhelmed by the process.
Have some things in place that you know will help you with stress.
Breathing exercises are really great.
Even stepping away for a moment and giving the baby to someone that you can trust for a few minutes is important to give yourself a break.
There’s natural options like essential oils. Calming essential oils can be used with breathing techniques or you can just wear them on your wrist and breathe them in when you are feeling those stress levels rise. A few of my favourite are balance and lavender peace that you can grab here at 25% off.
There’s so many things you can do to support your body in any given moment.
Keeping calm is so important because that will also help your baby to remain calm, which in turn will increase your ability to work together to achieve the outcome you are after.
A healthy BREASTFED BABY!
Breastfeeding Tip 5 – Persistence
The fifth breastfeeding tip is to never give up!
Keep persisting if you can.
Like I said before, our baby is designed to drink mama’s milk, so it’s worth giving it your all!
There are so many things that you can try.
There are many different ways to try get to the same outcome and a great support network of experienced people can help you so much. They will be your best advocates and help you to work out exactly what works best for you.
Even though this is the fifth of our breastfeeding tips is one of the most important as it relies very much on your will power and mindset. It will test your inner strength.
So please remember persistence is key.
I talked to many women about this, and they never, ever, ever regret persisting with breastfeeding. It is the most natural thing you can do for your baby.
And so, if possible, try everything. Give it your best shot and you will never, ever, regret persisting with your breastfeeding journey.
Just to Recap on my Top 5 Breastfeeding Tips
So there’s my five tips and just to recap….let’s roll through them!.
- Ask for help and make sure you have a support system around you
- Use the tools that are available to breastfeeding women
- Try different positions
- Keep calm
- Persist and never give up on your breastfeeding journey.
Breastfeeding is the most rewarding, bonding, special experience you could ever do for your baby.
So hopefully that has given you some insight. and it is given you a few reasons to keep trying.
If you feel that you need more ideas and you are thinking to yourself I’ve tried most of these and surely there are other things I can do” – then we have something amazing for you! We have a breastfeeding tips cheat sheet that contains 21 tips which will give you numerous options to try.
Grab your copy below…
And to listen to me walk you through these tips check out our you tube channel below…
What you can do to make a Difference for another Mum
You have stumbled across this information which I hope you have found helpful. The wonderful thing is that you can easily help another mum out there by sharing this with someone. So please share this on your socials or Pinterest to help another mum out.
So much trauma can come from your breastfeeding experience and its doesn’t have to be that way. Mums supporting mums is so important these days. Sharing a few breastfeeding tips with a fellow mum is an incredible way to give back.
If you are looking for a community of like minded mums be sure to join our Facebook community group by clicking below. We would love to welcome you in and each week we dive deep into topics like these with an experienced midwife.
Thanks so much for giving this breastfeeding tips article a read and I truly hope it helps in some small way on your breastfeeding journey, even if it gives you the confidence to ask for help, then this was all worth it.
