Hi Mamas, I'm Shen and welcome back to my channel at Mama Banana where I share
hacks and tips for moms. Today I'm going to share with you my best breastfeeding
tips. From the breastfeeding essentials you need to bring with you to the hospital
through to practical tips such as how to breastfeed in bed without using a
breastfeeding cushion. Before we get started, if you would like to see more videos like this
make sure to click the subscribe button down below. So let's get straight into it.
So breastfeeding tip number one is to be over-prepared for breastfeeding for when
you're in the hospital. You're better off having everything that you will need or
might not need, than not have it with you at. all. So with my firstborn I learned
this the hard way. She actually stayed in hospital for 10
days after she was born and I was lucky enough that I got to stay with her, but I
didn't have any of the things that I would have wanted, so I'm gonna share with you what
I would have liked to have had with me. So first of all I would have loved a hands-free pumping
bra. Now you don't need to go straight out to get one, you can make them
yourself just by cutting some holes into a bra. If you're prepared earlier then
you can pick one of your crappier sports bra to cut up.
So here is one of the ones that I made in hospital, it's not great
you need a stretchy bra. You just cut a small hole where your
nipples will be, then you push the flange from the pump through.
I actually ruined three decent
pairs of bras when I was in hospital trying to make my own because I was
sleep-deprived, I just wasn't doing a good job so if you have prepared
beforehand then you won't need to ruin any decent bras like I did. I would
also recommend bringing some products with you to help soothe your
nipples. So I love these multi mom compresses. So what they are
essentially, they are these little cotton pads soaked in a soothing ointment and
you just put them directly onto your nipples. Tip, if you put this in the fridge
first so that it's even colder it is just so nice.
In the early days, weeks you know it just really helps a lot. There's also
other soothing nipple ointments such as lanolin cream and you could also use
coconut oil or any ointment, just bring it with you to the hospital.
Something else that I loved for sore nipples was these angel cups (Silverette Cups) okay.
These help your nipples recover I really wish I had these at the hospital with me
because it's not something that you can just pick up off any shop you need to
have this ordered online. You're better off having all the extras. With the days
broken up into sessions of eight feeds or more, one day can feel like a week.
Breastfeeding tip number 2
is to be aware of what can cause a blocked milk duct. So any restricting pressure for an
extended period on your breasts can cause blocked milk ducts. So for example a bad
bra that sits tight across your breast tissue or some baby carriers.
I have the Infantino zip pouch carrier which I absolutely love, but it has a strap
that goes here right here across the breast, so I wouldn't have worn it for long
in the early days because I was paranoid with the pressure of it
sitting here that might cause a blocked milk duct.
And bag straps
such as those that you wear crossbody they could cause a blocked milk ducts.
I recommend any type of diaper bag that you wear, at least in the early days to just
make sure it's is a backpack style and you wear it over your shoulders
because you could find it difficult to carry a baby and wear a cross shoulder body
bag and again with cross shoulder body bag you could be blocking some milk ducts.
it's just the risk of block milk ducts are much higher in the early days while
your breasts are trying to regulate your milk supply and then to help avoid blocked
milk ducts or if you are getting them I would highly recommend taking lecithin
tablets. I will put a link in the description box on an article from Kelly Mom
on how much lecithin you should take but in the early days I was constantly
getting blocked milk ducts. But once I started taking these tablets and taking
the precautions I mentioned earlier, then I stopped getting the blocked milk
ducts. They can be so painful and they can lead to mastitis which is what I got
in the first month of breastfeeding.
I highly recommend you look up on
YouTube and how to massage your breasts to get the milk ducts flowing I'm going
to link again in the description box below one that I used. So I did this
massage daily and it really helped get everything moving and ease the
engorgement pain so what I would do right now is to create a breastfeeding
playlist on your YouTube channel. Make sure you have at least one good
breastfeeding massage video included on it and you can even add this video onto
your playlist you will want to refer to these videos
later on when you are breastfeeding in the middle of the night or engorged
in the morning. So tip number 3 is to understand the principles of how to
unblock blocked milk ducts. Okay this will probably likely occur to you at some
stage of your breastfeeding journey so once you know how to clear blocked milk
ducts it will just help make your breastfeeding journeys so much easier
especially in the early days. The best way to clear a blocked milk duct is to
feed your baby directly on the breast if they don't take the breast then you will
have to pump through it I've actually had to pump through mastitis and blocked
milk ducts before it was incredibly painful I cried the whole way through for
that and the next couple of pumps but that's the only way to clear a
blocked duct is to get the milk flowing through. So if you're going to feed the
baby ideally you will have a hot shower first
or put a heat pack or something warm ideally moist around the breast and then
you will put your baby onto your breast feed it and have their chin pointing
towards the blockage so if you have a blockage on the bottom of your breast, then
you will feed your baby this way with their head up here and the
chin pointing towards the blockage. If you have a blockage in the top half of
your breast up here then the best way will probably
be to feed them in the side lying breastfeeding position. I'm going to link a video up here on how
to feed in the side lying position within the video I also show you how to clear
your block milk ducts when you have your baby upside down in
the side lying position. And then as your baby is feeding or if your pumping then
you just need to massage on the lump where there is the blockage. You'll know
that's a blockage because it is tender to touch so you just need to keep rubbing
on it. I's like kneading a knot out of your muscles and then once
you kind of feel it being that bit less painful or manageable then you can start
pushing the blockage towards the nipple and that will move that along to help
clear the blockage. Make sure to add either this video or another
video where they show you how to clear a blockage into your breast feeding
playlist so that you have it at your disposal when you do have a blockage,
which I hope you don't.
So breastfeeding tip number four is to drink lots of water.
especially at night time. So as you already know that will help keep your
milk supply up. But it will also help you wake up to go feed your baby during the
middle of the night so if you drink a lot of water at nighttime then when your
baby wakes up you will need to go to a bathroom you head off to the bathroom
and when you come back you'll be a more awake and alert for when you're feeding
your baby. I just find that it just made it so much easier because it's so hard
to wake up in those days you're just so exhausted but at least
when your bladder kind of gets you going and forces you to go to the bathroom it
does help to wake you. Also I would highly recommend getting a bottle like
this which is a one hand operated bottle. That's not how it's advertised but
that's what I call it. Okay so you just press the button like this and the water
bottle opens and then you drink away and you can still hold your baby in the
other hand without needing another hand
to unscrew the lid and pop the lid back on. I think these are great I'm
going to include a link in the description box below to where I got
this on Amazon.
So breastfeeding tip number five is to use your legs to prop your arms up while
breastfeeding your baby in bed or on the floor. It's just so much handier than
using one of these breastfeeding cushions while you're in bed they just
take up so much room. Okay so you start by sitting on the back of the bed. I have my
pillow here as a cushion to prop me up. Grab my demo baby so if you're feeding your
baby on your right breast okay you lift your right knee up and then you tuck
your left foot under your right foot here
just to stop your right leg from slipping and then you use that to prop
your arm up and feed your baby with. So I'll show you that on the other side. So
if I'm to feed my baby on the left side, with my baby propped up against here, I
lift my leg up to where it's most comfortable for me to rest my arm onto and then I
also took my other foot underneath the left foot to stop the left one from
slipping so I can relax.
Breastfeeding tip number six is to feed anywhere and everywhere.
If you are nervous of feeding in front of somebody or out in public you
can start by feeding your baby in front of a mirror first and then once you are
more comfortable you can feed and about with anyone around I will link in the
cards up above and in the description box down below another video that I've
done showing you how to breastfeed in public discreetly. I document my own
journey on how I fed my baby from being fully covered up, using a full nursing
cover all the way through to using no cover at all.
So thank you very much for
watching my video today. I hope you found that helpful, if you did enjoy it please
let me know by giving it a thumbs up feel free to leave me a comment in the
in the comment section down below I will be releasing more videos on
breastfeeding tips if you have any questions or suggestions for other
videos again let me know in the comments down below. So if you enjoyed it make
sure to subscribe for more videos like this. I need a thousand subscribers
before I can monetize this channel so your support will be greatly appreciated
so until the very next video I will see you again thank you and goodbye.