Multitasking 101: Feeding Your Baby While Babywearing

It's Sunday, Midlands Babywearers!

What a long weekend it's been - I hope ya'll have enjoyed it as much as our family has. There has been a ton of things to do this week, and I hope you enjoyed some of them. We spent a day at the Lake Murray Dam beach park, went blueberry picking, walked around the zoo, and watched a lot of fireworks. With all of this time out of the house, you better believe we spend a good bit of it babywearing. At one point  I had a sleeping toddler on my back, a nursing one on my front, all while trying to shop for discount organic produce. It was one of those times I was so grateful for having babywearing in my parenting toolbox! *for those that do not know: 14 Carrot on 378 in Lexington puts all of their produce on sale every Thursday and Sunday afternoon from 1-5 p.m. Discount is 30%*



We get a lot of questions in our Facebook group about how to nurse in a baby carrier. We even partnered with La Leche League recently and had a meeting devoted to that topic, and most of the pictures I'm sharing are from that meeting. Nursing a baby (or bottle feeding for that matter) while wearing your baby is a skill that once learned, you will wonder how you ever managed without it. I truly believe anyone can nurse in a carrier, no matter how big or small your breasts are, the size of your baby, or what kind of carrier you have. That said, it is a skill; one you need to practice a bit to get the hang of and figure out what tips and trick work best for you and your baby.

 

 

*a note for bottle feeding moms and dads: this post is for you, too. While many of the positioning techniques are aimed at a nursing mother needing to find that sweet spot for feeding her nursling, most bottle fed babies prefer similar positions for eating and you will likely find those suggestions helpful.

Getting Started

You will notice when nursing in any carrier, lowering and loosening the carrier is usually one of the first things you do in order to bring baby into a better position with the breast. Even so, please keep TICKS in mind:

Tight (your carrier will likely be looser than normal while baby is feeding, but should still be snug enough to be secure)
In sight at all times
Close enough to kiss (this can be fudged a bit while baby is eating)
Keep chin off chest (take note while baby is eating that you can see/feel sucks, swallows and breathing)
Supported back

Once baby is done eating, it's best to bring baby back up to kissable level and snug up your carrier, so that baby doesn't slouch down in the loosened carrier. You want to ensure that baby is in a position from which you can easily monitor their airway and breathing, especially newborns and younger babies that don't communicate as loudly or as readily as their older counterparts.

A note on clothing: Most find it easiest to wear either lower cut tops or button downs and just pull boob over the top when nursing in a carrier. As I go through nursing in each type of carrier, I'll include tips to helping to stay discreet while nursing in a carrier, for those moms and situations that prefer to be more covered.

Before I begin, if you are a member of Babywearing 102 on Facebook, they have already done a handy file on this topic HERE.

Ring Slings

Emily demonstrating
nursing in cradle hold

Ring Slings are one of my favorite carriers to nurse in. They are relatively easy to wear, there is not a lot of fiddling and adjusting to do between nursing and not-nursing positions, and they are great for both newborns and toddlers. Cons: you can only easily nurse from one breast while wearing (in order to nurse from the other side, you need to take the carrier off, adjust the rings, put baby back in . . . ), and it isn't completely hands free, especially for newborns or women with large breasts (true for nursing in most carriers, unfortunately).

With a newborn: you can nurse in cradle hold or upright. In cradle hold, you will loosen the top rail enough (by lifting and separating the rings) to tilt baby to the breast opposite the rings. Baby should be laying perpendicular to your breast, just as he would as if he were in your arms for cradle hold. You may feel the need to support your baby's head with your hand or arm on the same side as the breast that is being nursed from. Now your hand that is on the ring side is free to help your baby latch, support your breast, or do other, non-nursing related things (like shop, or hold your coffee, or eat!). While this is not completely hands free, it is much easier than nursing with a babe in your arms while you walk  around or do other things that need doing. Nursing upright: if your baby has a big more head control, you can nurse baby upright while in a ring sling. Your baby is most likely already upright in the tummy-to-tummy position when you are using the ring sling. You want your baby to maintain that same position, just lower, and moved to the side a bit, for nursing.

With an older baby or toddler: If you are using a ring sling for your older baby or toddler, you are probably wearing them a little lower and more on your hip. Nursing from this position is fairly simple: just lower/loosen the sling until baby is at the right level to nurse, get baby latched, and then snug up the sling by tightening along the top rail and center of the sling to make things more secure.

Tip for discretion: use the tail of your sling as a nursing cover to hide the top part of your breast if desired.

Video HERE (sorry, embedded video isn't working for some reason. grrr)

Mei Tai and Buckle Carriers



Katrina nursing in a SSC

With either of these carriers, you want to buckle or tie the waistband lower than you normally wear. If this is your first time trying to nurse in a buckle carrier or mei tai, first hold your baby at nipple level, upright, without a carrier on. That will give you an idea how low you will be wearing your carrier. Now, I'm a very short person - 4 foot 11 inches - and I'm pretty big chested (38F) so trust me, I understand how challenging finding the sweet spot can be, and it will change as your baby grows.
Once the waist is secure, seat your baby and secure the shoulder straps, allowing enough slack to adjust your clothing and room for baby to lean to which ever side he is nursing from, but not too much that he is no longer secure. Once you are in a good position, allow baby access to the breast and you are pretty much hands free.

Jackie shows how
using a hood provides added coverage

*tip* - even with older babies and experienced nursing moms, you may find it helpful to use one hand to support/aim your breast for baby. Some well endowed mamas use a rolled up receiving blanket or burp cloth under their breast for more support.

As with any carrier, once baby is done nursing, bring him up to kissable level again by lifting him up and tightening first the waist band and then the shoulder straps.

*tip*  babywearing seems to work really well for babies to release gas - especially burping. You may want to keep a spare cloth handy for any spit up that might occur. And relax, all carriers are washable, and breastmilk and formula will definitely come out.

*tip* for discretion - sleeping hoods that come with most mei tai and buckle carriers make great nursing covers. They also support baby's head if he starts to drowse while eating.

Video HERE

Woven and Stretchy Wraps

nursing in FWCC

You will most likely be doing some variation of Front Wrap Cross Carry (or Pocket Wrap Cross Carry) if you are starting out trying to nurse in a wrap. Whether you are using a woven or stretchy wrap, the idea is the same. I like to start with baby at a kissable height, nice and snug, and then I untie the tails at my waist or back to let a little slack, and then bounce baby down until they are a good nipple height, and then tie the tails again.











Hip carries are also a great alternative in a shorter woven wrap (like Robins or Poppins) because baby is generally already at the perfect nursing height.

Laura nurses in a rebozo carry using a pink wrap

Video for nursing in a semi FWCC
Video for nursing in a stretchy wrap
Video for nursing in Robin's Hip Carry

*tip* for bottle feeding in any carrier: instead of angling baby in towards your body, angle them slightly out so that they can easily get the bottle.

Bottom line - you can do this! Keep practicing, and it will become second nature - it helps to get really comfortable with your carrier first, and with nursing in these positions before trying to combine the two skillsets.  The more you do it, the easier it is, before it just is part of what you do. I remember the first time I tried putting my baby in a 5 point harness. I fumbled so badly my hands were shaking and I was sure the nurse looking over my shoulder was judging me. Now, I can practically do and undo a 5 point harness one-handed with my eyes closed. Nursing in a carrier is no more challenging a skill to learn.

Upcoming Events:

Want to get your hands on, and babies in, some of these carriers? We will help you find what works best for you at one of our meetings or play dates. Meetings are held twice a month - one on Thursday, one on Saturday.

Saturday, July 12th at 10:00 a.m. - Come join us for babywearing yoga. Our Thursday meeting was a great success and I can't wait to join the fun at the Saturday meeting. This short session is suitable for all fitness levels and ages. There will be ample time after for discussion and questions. You will find us at the LDS Institute of Religion, 610 Assembly St, Columbia, SC 29201

 

Thursday, July 24th at 10:00 a.m. - Intro to wrapping.  - We'll be leading the grown ups through basic front, hip, and back carries, and our Junior leaders (the daughters of Chris and Jackie) will be showing any children that want to learn how to wrap, too. Check out how to make, and where to buy, kid carriers HERE. You will find us at the LDS church on 7449 Broad River Rd, Columbia, SC

Every Wednesday night, at 8:30, is our live chat. We get online to catch up with each other and see what's going on - both babywearing and not-babywearing related.  

We also have play dates scheduled on an as requested basis, stay tuned in our Facebook Group for more details.