Breastfeeding while Babywearing

Love this and had to keep reminding myself and other babywearing and breastfeeding parents out there...

Tips for breastfeeding in a soft structure carrier: (based from the Leaky B@@b's entry)

1. Be confident. Fake it until you are.
2. Be patient.  It may take time and practice and being patient with the process will help in the long run.
3. Practice at home when baby isn’t hungry so you don’t feel stressed or rushed.
4. Release strap on side you’re going to feed from.
5. If necessary undo back clip.
6. Loosen and lower waist if you need to get the baby still lower to the breast.
7. Wear a low cut stretchy neckline and pull breast out the top to avoid wrestling with pulling your shirt up with baby on you.
8. Slip hand in top or side of carrier to free breast and latch baby.  Can use two hands usually if needed.
9. Large breasted women may find a rolled up receiving blanket placed under the breast helpful for support.
10. If baby has trouble latching, leaning forward may help give a little more space.
11. Once latched tighten straps for hands-free Breastfeeding.
12. If you feel you need more coverage snap one side of the hood.  Leave the other open so you can see in easily.
13. Once baby is done eating, slip hand in to put your breast away.
14. Tighten strap and waist to raise baby back to the safest position with the top of their head easily kissable.

How to breastfeed in and Ergo Baby Carrier:-

Breastfeeding carries on!

Babywearing 101: How to Tie Mei Tai's and similar carriers

I am slowly moving to Wordpress to better suite the growing needs of this blog so kindly click on the link below for the details of this entry.  Enjoy!

Babywearing 101: How to Tie Mei Tai’s and similar carriers

Babywearing and Breastfeeding: a perfect match

Another entry in celebration of Babywearing Month...

Breastfeeding + Babywearing Correlation

Just after August's Breastfeeding Month, it's fitting to also mention that breastfeeding and babywearing go well hand in hand. Many baby slings and other carriers offer mothers privacy and for many mothers, the option of nursing hands-free while tending to other activities or household chores. 

Not all mothers can nurse hands-free in a baby carrier. Large-breasted mothers and mothers of small or hypotonic infants may need to support the breast or help maintain proper positioning of the baby's head or body. Even so, a properly adjusted baby carrier can help reduce arm strain and allow a mother more freedom of movement while nursing, even if it does not allow her to be completely hands-free.

Babywearing can help premature babies and babies who are slow weight gainers to gain weight at a faster rate. Since the baby is held up close to the mother, the baby will be able to be nursed more often and often for longer intervals. Kangaroo care is well-studied and has shown clear benefits to premature and ill infants.

Not all parents find breastfeeding in a sling or carrier easy. It is important, before attempting to breastfeed in a carrier, to the first master the art of breastfeeding without a carrier. Latch and position are vital, and it is important to establish these first before adding a carrier to the mix. Where breastfeeding difficulties exist, babywearing can simplify the other tasks of parenting by allowing a parent-free hands to deal with breast pumps, bottles, and other supplementation devices.

Some parents prefer, even with the best carriers, to take time out and sit down to nurse a baby. Some babies may reflexively clamp down when nursing while a parent moves around, so nursing while babywearing is not always entirely comfortable. Individual experience will vary radically not only from parent to parent but also from baby to baby, even within the same family. Some babies nurse very well in slings and carriers, others do not.

Final Note ~ an interesting quote/note to think about:-

"Babywearing is extremely beneficial to getting breastfeeding off to a good start.  When babies are worn, either skin-to-skin or in a baby wrap/carrier, they cry less, are more neurologically centered, and feel less stress.  Skin-to-skin and babywearing in the first month after childbirth has been proven to help bring in a mother's milk more quickly and help develop a sustained milk supply.  

As a breastfeeding mom, it is easier to sense when your baby is hungry because you will notice all of the 'hunger signs' (smacking lips, hands to mouth, rooting) before it accelerates to the last sign (crying!)  

Also, it is very easy to master breastfeeding while babywearing, which allows the mom more freedom to go about her day without worrying about breastfeeding in public or scheduling her day around when her baby might be ready to eat.  For more information about the benefits of breastfeeding and babywearing, check out the website about Kangaroo Mother Care (www.kangaroomothercare.com)."

-- Robin Kaplan, M.Ed., IBCLC, Founder of the San Diego Breastfeeding Center, LLC

Babywearing Celebration continued: Do's and Don'ts of Babywearing

I am slowly moving to Wordpress to better suite the growing needs of this blog so kindly click on the link below for the details of this entry.  Enjoy!

Babywearing Celebration continued: Do's and Don'ts of Babywearing

Babywearing Month: What carrier are you wearing?

I am slowly moving to Wordpress to better suit the growing needs of this blog so kindly click on the link below for the details of this entry.  

Enjoy!

https://wordpress.com/post/multitaskingdoula.wordpress.com/225

Mark Your Calendars: Babywearing Meet 10/12, 2-5pm

Babywearers unite! I'm preparing and deciding what to wear for this event. SO many carriers to choose from!!!

Join us for a babywearing meet on 12 October 2013. The event will be at The Roxy's Event Place at Tomas Morato, from 2-5pm.

There will be activities like short talk on babywearing safety, MomBa, and babywearing Samba.
Come and join us and GET CARRIED AWAY!:)

International Babywearing Month: What is Babywearing?

OCTOBER is International Babywearing Month! 

Yes, I know it's still September but I have to share this in preparation for an exciting month of random babywearing activities! 

I'm excited out of my mind, most especially since I have recently been addicted to it. S's been a real game-changer on how active I am with regards to breastfeeding and now with babywearing. 

And yes, I know it's like the "new age mom activists" popping up.

What Is Babywearing?

Simply put babywearing means "holding/carrying a baby or young child using a cloth baby carrier.

Holding babies is natural and universal; baby carriers make it easier and more comfortable, allowing parents and caregivers to hold or carry their children while attending to the daily tasks of living. Babywearing helps a new dad put a fussy newborn to sleep. It allows a new mom to use both hands to make a sandwich. It lets an experienced parent or caregiver carry a baby on her back and wash the dishes, do the laundry, take a hike, or weed the garden, all while keeping the baby safe and content."

As in anything, babywearing is a skill that takes time to master and as you use it, the better you become. The manuals may say one particular way to do it but it is up to the user to find what is best for them. There are many baby carriers around like

 A commercial baby carrier is not necessary for babywearing since there are many people use simple pieces of cloth to safely and comfortably carry their babies. Additionally, there is a learning curve with any baby product, including commercial baby carriers. Parents and caregivers often benefit from thinking of babywearing as a skill they can learn, rather than as the result of a product they can buy.

Many babywearing techniques can be learned in just a few minutes. Some techniques, such as carrying a baby on your back, take more time and practice to master, but the extra effort is rewarded with liberation and increased comfort.

There are many benefits of babywearing that I can vouch for since I babywear S because:-

• Bonding moments increased with babywearing and fewer dependencies in others. Scientific studies have shown that through babywearing - a mothers' oxytocin is increased through physical contact with her baby, leading to a more intimate maternal bond, easier breastfeeding and better care, thus lowering the incidence of postpartum depression and psychosomatic illness in the mother; similarly, the father carrying the baby has benefits for the paternal bond.
  
  
• Breastfeeding + Babywearing = Happy Baby and Mommy
  I liked the fact that I can breastfeed on-demand, anytime and anywhere with just a sound from S. I do not have to worry about expressing milk to have someone at home give it to her when I go out or pick up my son from school.
  Where breastfeeding fails or is not possible, babywearing can aid attachment by encouraging closeness during bottle feeding and freeing at least one hand.
  
  
• The hands-free option of babywearing enabled me to not worry about having a maid with us while still being able to make sure the house is in order. I go out with S whenever the maid is on leave/vacation and I am not afraid/dreading it. It makes my relationship with my maid better and doesn't make anyone feel bad with regard to giving them space to themselves. Also, it enables me to multi-tasking with one free arm taking care of my toddler son while at the same time, ensure my daughter feeds in a secure manner.  A superwoman feat is correct!
  
  
• Baby S is so used to babywearing compared to C that she is a lot calmer due to all of her primal/survival needs are met with just being in proximity of me. The caregiver can be seen, heard, smelled, touched, tasted, provide feeding and the motion necessary for continuing neural development, gastrointestinal and respiratory health and to establish balance (inner ear development) and muscle tone is constant. Parental rhythms (walking, heartbeat, etc.) have a balancing and soothing effects on infants. Attachment between baby and parent is more secure.
  
  
• Studies showed that baby worn babies developing socially earlier. They are closer to people and can study facial expressions, learn languages faster and be familiar with body language.  Evidence-based benefits for full-term babies include improved state organization and motor system modulation; improved temperature regulation; and an analgesic effect, reduced crying, improved maternal responsiveness, and babies who were more securely attached. I can attest to this but it doesn't mean that Big Brother C is not affectionate. I had to show him affection and be sociable in a different way like encouraging him to talk to other kids under supervision (since they might be total strangers, etc) and giving as much affection without seemingly smothering him. 
  
  
• An interesting benefit I have read on Wikipedia is that babywearing decreases the risk of positional plagiocephaly ("flat head syndrome") caused by extended time spent in a car seat and by sleeping on the back. Sleeping on the back is recommended to decrease the risk of SIDS. Cranial distortion resulting from non-vehicular time in car seats has shown to be more severe than in children who develop plagiocephaly from back-lying on a mattress.  Concern over plagiocephaly has also led the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that infants “should spend minimal time in car seats (when not a passenger in a vehicle) or other seating that maintains supine positioning." None of the babywearing positions require infants to lie supine while being carried. Infants can even be worn while they sleep, also decreasing sleeping time spent in a supine position.
  Also, preterm babies have been shown to receive marked benefits from babywearing including shortened hospital stay decreased illness, higher exclusive breastfeeding rates/longer breastfeeding duration, increased weight gain, improved temperature regulation, and improved maternal sense of competence.

More Babywearing entries as the days come around that I'm so excited about.

I will also try to update you on all of any babywearing events around the Metro for the month. 

Exciting times again!!!