breastfeeding in a carrier: amazingly auspicious advice

This post is the second in a series of quick useful tips for moms. Today’s amazingly auspicious advice is a trick I discovered out of necessity: the trick of breastfeeding in a carrier. While walking around. It can totally be done.

My normal way to breastfeed now is actually to go for a walk.

Best part? This works for just about any carrier.

Some carriers (such as a pouch or ring sling) allow for a cradle hold, but that isn’t really recommended any more, especially for newborns. So in most carriers, you’ll be holding your baby in an upright position. If you want to breastfeed, then obviously you’ll have your baby in front, facing you. Although you can do this trick with your baby in a hip carry, too, if your boobs are big enough and you have absolutely no shame.

But assuming you want to be somewhat modest, you’ll want to put the baby in a front carry. You’ll need to loosen the carrier so you can lower your baby slightly — not enough to pull uncomfortably on your shoulders, but lower than you would have him normally. And then comes the real trick: you need to raise your boob. If you have largish boobs (and let’s be honest, most of us do when we’re breastfeeding), then the best thing to do is to pull your boob up over the top of your bra and/or the neck of your shirt, without unhooking anything. The fabric will help hold your boob up at a higher level. Hopefully right around the level of your baby’s mouth. Ta-da. You’re breastfeeding in the carrier.

This won’t work with most brand-new newborns — your baby needs to be old enough to have a little bit of head control. If your baby just can’t latch on in an upright position, go back to sitting on the couch and try again in a few weeks.

If you want more detailed instructions, I’ve got them here.

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