NIP help?

613 Views 10 Replies 10 Participants Last post by vanessab23, Mar 31, 2006

day_sleeper

Discussion Starter · Mar 31, 2006

Anyone have any advice on nursing in public? I don't especially care if someone sees me, but I know it's not necessarily socially acceptable (and wear I live not yet legal) to expose breast while nursing. I think the main problem is that we're very used to nursing with our My Brest Friend pillow, which is great, but when we try to nurse without supports, it's difficult. I can't really lug the pillow around with me when we go out. My breasts are quite heavy, and I've never been able to let go after latch-on, so then I only have one hand with which to throw something over me, usually unsucessfully. *sigh* Baby girl gets frustrated. I can't get nursing in a sling down either since i have to hang on to my boob. I need to be able to nurse her discreetly, and it's getting frustrating for both of us. Unfortunately, next LLL meeting in my area is a couple of weeks away, and my only local nursing friend never nursed in public herself anyway. Oh, and do most babies need the breast held at first or is this just a problem that larger breasted ladies will have to deal with througout the nursing relationship? Baby is 8 weeks old, if that helps. Thanks!

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weliveintheforest

· #2 · Mar 31, 2006

I had to hold my breast in the beginning, but don't anymore. would it help if you practised nursing in the sling at home? that helped me.
good luvk

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vanessab23

· #3 · Mar 31, 2006

I had to hold the boob a lot in the beginning but now I use whatever blanket I am carrying (which also works great as a pseudo-pillow) to prop it up (I am a busty FF!) and it's VERY hard for me to nurse in the sling.....
good luck!

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gabysmom617

· #4 · Mar 31, 2006

Just wanted to say, that it goes a long way to practice, practice, practice, with your sling at home. I would say that the first step is trying to get comfortable not having to hold your breast with at one hand. Get several burp clothes, or cloth diapers, whatever you use as a spit rag, and shove them underneath your breast. That should support you so that you do not have to use that hand to hold your breast.

Then you can practice with your sling. Pull your favorite chair in front of a mirror, (or push a mirror in front of your favorate chair, whichever is easiest.) Get baby comfortably latched on (Or just try it first when she is not hungry, but rather just sleeping, or awake), anyhow, get her comfortable on your pillow, and then wrap the sling around you, and thread it through the loops. (Perhaps some one could help you.) And then slowly bring the slack from around your baby and you, to the rings and then pull it out, till your sling is snug enough for you to get up and remove your hands while babe is still sleeping, or sitting comfortably.

After you get that downpat, you can do it while she is nursing, by getting her latched on, and then doing the same thing, very slowly. Eventually using a sling will get to be second nature, and you will be able just latch baby on or do whatever while she is in the sling.

I hope those directions were suitable. You can also check out the Babywearing room down there in this forum. Also, try www.thebabywearer.com ....lot's of good babywearing advice there for nursing in a sling, and such.

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MOM2ANSLEY

· #5 · Mar 31, 2006

I did not have the "hold the breast prob"....not enough to hold lol, but I just wanted to mention if you want privacy in public try a fitting room, I would do it when I needed to really take a break with dd.

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sunnysideup

· #6 · Mar 31, 2006

I, too, had to hold my breast when my baby was small. It gets so much easier as they get older! For me, I found I could nurse very discretely without worrying about covering up with a blanket, especially if I wear a tank top under my shirt (then I pull the shirt up and the tank top down, does that make sense?). I could keep my boob covered with my shirt, and the tank top would hide my stomach. No blanket needed! The baby always hated it anyway.

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Tori Gollihugh

· #7 · Mar 31, 2006

yep, I had to hold the boob early on... but I'm NOT buxom.

So, it's not just a big boobie prob.

Also, one suggestion that I haven't seen... some good nursing tops can make a huge diff. If the whole bod (belly, booby, etc) aren't exposed, it's harder to make a big thing out of it.

This is my favorite:
http://www.breastfeedingstyles.com/ecm/Home.html
I have one of the dresses, and two blouses. LOVED them in the early days especially, but I wore my dress for over a year to church EVERY Sunday because it was SOOO much nicer than lifting a shirt or unbuttoning.

HTH

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DWAXSMOM

· #8 · Mar 31, 2006

I second the "it gets a lot easier" idea. I also second the practice at home idea. The changing room idea also helps. When I had my first son I would always plan out a place that I could nurse and feel comfortable. I still felt I needed to be discreet. I would nurse in my car, in changng rooms, in areas where there was not a lot of traffic. I also would use my stroller as a shield. The mechanical part of breastfeeding becomes second nature and when it does nursing in public becomes very easy. I found the more comfortable I felt the less anyone ever noticed. I had countless times when someone would say to me (after speaking to me at length) "oh, you are breastfeeding right now?" Give yourself time.

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DBZ

· #9 · Mar 31, 2006

I am a 42H. I hold my breast about half of the time. I usually hold it when I NIP. I've never used anything to hold up my breast.

Practice NIPing at home so you can figure out how to sit and how to use something other then one of those pillow things to do what you gotta do. I fold up the sling and use that as a pillow. I've also used coats and blankets for that.

Kara

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SJLove

· #10 · Mar 31, 2006

I bought this:
http://www.kidsurplus.com/fir1065.html
It sits on the shoulders and all you have to do is throw it around your neck and do all the adjusting underneath with both hands!!

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vanessab23

· #11 · Mar 31, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunnysideup
I, too, had to hold my breast when my baby was small. It gets so much easier as they get older! For me, I found I could nurse very discretely without worrying about covering up with a blanket, especially if I wear a tank top under my shirt (then I pull the shirt up and the tank top down, does that make sense?). I could keep my boob covered with my shirt, and the tank top would hide my stomach. No blanket needed! The baby always hated it anyway.

Yep, that's what I do-- works like a charm. I use two tanks layered because I get so hot~ I think the key is to get the under tank to be of a VERY stretchy material so it goes down easy.

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