Breastfeeding Tips – 5 Tips to Help You Breastfeed Successfully

From my experience, I can tell you that breastfeeding is hard, but personally, I find it to be so worth it and truly rewarding. Breastfeeding isn’t for everyone and there are no judgments if it isn’t for you, but the fact that you’re reading this tells me you want to give yourself the best chance for success and I want to be able to help you out as much as I can. Below are tips that I found to be truly helpful in my breastfeeding journey. Also, make sure to check out the challenges I went through, and essentials to help you out along the way.

This post is sponsored by Thyme Maternity. Thyme Maternity has become one of my favourite places to shop for all of my pregnancy, nursing, and new baby needs. As mentioned in my Nursing Essentials post, they are a great place for functional nursing clothes including super cute bras that help you feel great while you’re in your sweats, nursing tshirt, and messy bun.

#1 Work on a Proper Latch

I was mind blown when I found out that babies don’t just suck on the nipple, clearly I had no idea what I was getting myself into. A proper latch is actually having your full areola and nipple inside the babies mouth so they can massage the milk out. I found YouTube to be really helpful, especially these two videos: Deep Latch Technique for Pain Free Breastfeeding and The “Flipple” Technique.

Related Post: Breastfeeding is Hard

#2 Have Baby Positioned Body to Boob

This tip is what really helped breastfeeding click for me. You want baby’s body to be sideways so that the front of his body is facing yours. If their body is facing up towards the ceiling your boob will slowly slip out of their mouth causing quite a bit of discomfort.

#3 Sandwich Your Boob In The Direction of Baby’s Mouth

It may be silly but I knew you had to sandwich your boob to get it in baby’s mouth, but I didn’t clue in that it needed to be sandwiched in the direction of baby’s mouth. It doesn’t work very well trying to put mail into a mail slot vertically.

#4 Set up a Breastfeeding Station

Like I mentioned in my breastfeeding experience post, breastfeeding takes up A LOT of time, and once you’ve started you don’t get a chance to grab that remote or grab a glass of water. I recommend setting up a breastfeeding station wherever you primarily nurse. I have one set up at the end of our couch and in his nursery.

Some things I always have at the station are: water, phone, remote, baby cloths, and chapstick.

Related Post: Nursing Essentials

#5 Reach Out For Help When You Need It

If breastfeeding is painful after more than a week, or if you have any other concerns, make sure to reach out for help. Talk to your midwife or doctor, reach out to your local health unit, contact a lactation consultant, or attend a local La Leche League meeting. All are great ways of getting support to ensure your best chances for success. I also found the Kelly Mom Blog to be a great resource for breastfeeding information.

#6 Bonus Tip – Have Comfortable Nursing Clothes

When learning how to breastfeed you don’t want to be struggling with regular bras and shirts that don’t have good necklines for nursing. Make sure you have some comfortable clothes that are meant for breastfeeding. You can check out more nursing essentials in my previous post, but Thyme Maternity has been one of my favourite places for breastfeeding basics. I really like their tshirts and leggings that are a part of their nursing kit. The tshirts flip up under the bust so your entire breast isn’t exposed and the leggings are high waisted and super comfy. They also have a great selection of breastfeeding bras that are really cute too!

I hope you found some of these tips helpful. Good luck with your breastfeeding journey!

xo Jannine