Mommy Milk To Go - babywearing benefit #5

Our three days in the hospital after Zoë was born are all a blur. What I do remember are the countless hours spent learning to breastfeed, examining for proper latch-on, un-latching and re-latching, and being awakened at obscene hours of the night to be reminded to feed my new baby. (I think, next time, I'll request this service be turned off.)

After being released, there were more hours spent learning this new art. With Boppy by my side and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding to refer to, I thought I had all I needed. But I was so wrong. The day I learned to breastfeed while wearing Zoë in the sling, I was suddenly hands-free and happy to accommodate my always-hungry child wherever we were.

Babywearing benefit #5: Babywearing helps facilitate the nursing process.

By learning to breastfeed while wearing my daughter in the sling, I was able to let go of some of my new-mom insecurities, those slight twinges of anxiety whenever my daughter would indicate she was ready to nurse. I said "buh-bye" to running back to the car to nurse in the back seat. No more fiddling around with the nursing cover that she would carelessly fling to the side anyway, leaving us a tad overexposed. Not being one to sit on the floor in any random location, I no longer had to search and search for a nice comfy spot to sit.

I primarily used a ring sling during the high-frequency nursing stage, but you can breastfeed with ease in almost any baby carrier. With mine, I could adjust my child to the perfect nursing position and use the open tail to cover us up. Already used to packing light, I didn't need to carry any extras around for more coverage, the sling was all I needed. Never once did I receive a stare, a sideways glance, or a grimace. Most people just seemed to ignore us. (Either that, or I was so confident with nursing that I was oblivious.) During the time I was taking her to work with me, feedings were so much simpler and coworkers no longer felt the need to give us "privacy" because they didn't even know what was going on in the sling.

Now when I look back to those first few months without a sling, I can see how having one would have really helped our initial nursing experiences. Nursing on demand (on your baby's schedule rather than your own), is a responsive way to parent that encourages your baby's weight gain and helps a mother learn those all-important hunger cues. Add a sling to this process and you've got a very happy baby, and a happy mommy who has both hands free to do the many other things mommies have to do.

Think you want to give slinging a try? Be sure to learn all about the benefits of babywearing so you can make the most of your carrier.

Are you in the Houston area? Check out Houston Baby Wearers to get hands-on help wearing your baby. September's topic is Breastfeeding and Babywearing.