Before you sit down to breastfeed your baby, make sure you’ve crossed every last thing off this list. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.
Breastfeeding a newborn is one thing.
Breastfeeding a newborn with a toddler running around…now that’s a whole other thing entirely.
Setting up shop on the couch with Netflix and your Boppy is a faraway dream of the past. Breastfeeding has now become an Olympic sport that requires balance, skill, agility, and 12 hands at the very least.
Once you get the hang of nursing your newborn, you can sort of auto-pilot the whole deal. But as your sleepy little one starts inching closer to 3 months, they’ll become easily distracted while nursing, so on the rare occasion that you actually get to sit down to breastfeed your baby, you’ll most certainly want to ensure that you’ve got it all covered so you’re not constantly leaving your couch-post and consequently disrupting their nursing session.
So before you even begin thinking about sitting on the couch, make sure you’ve got it all under control. Here are a few handy suggestions to get you started.
101 Things To Do Before You Sit Down To Breastfeed
1. Make sure to let the dogs in the house (or forever listen to them bark).
2. Grab your Contigo , you’re gonna be here awhile.
3. Are the remotes within reach? Cause your toddler will ask to watch Daniel Tiger the second you sit down, and the remote will be just…out…of…reach.
4. Pee first. Definitely pee first.
5. And do take your toddler to the potty as well. Because your toddler will never in their life need your help to pee, more than when you’ve just sat down.
6. Bring your phone. Pinterest is calling.
7. And your charger.
8. Did you grab snacks? I vote for a Larabar.
9. But did you grab one for your toddler too? Better make it two, just in case.
10. Realize you have to pee again. Stick it out.
Repeat steps 1-10 as needed.
Okay, so not technically 101 things, but you get it, I know you do.
More Essential Breastfeeding Tips
How to Get Your Newborn to Breastfeed
10 Things I Wish I Knew About Breastfeeding
In reality…
baby # 2 is pretty much always breastfed on-the-go. At the grocery store, in a corn maze (#fall), walking the dogs, eating, sleeping, going to the bathroom. If it exists, I will breastfeed while at the place, doing the thing, or what have you. Hungry baby waits for no one. I’d like to thank the ErgoBaby (affiliate link) for making this all possible, for without you, the breastfeeding challenge level is raised tenfold.
What I Wish I Knew The First Time Around…
I recently came across this Breastfeeding Course and I had one of those laugh-until-I-cried moments, because, honestly – it was just everything. Everything I wish I knew the first time around (and even some things I still didn’t know!) Breastfeeding is easy to give up on if you don’t have the support and the know-how to continue on. Just promise me you’ll check it out!
If you’re breastfeeding a baby & toddler at the same time…
Let me be the first to say, godspeed. In this case, if your baby can wait, it’s actually best to nurse your toddler first. That way, your toddler will get the watery foremilk and the baby will get the rich hindmilk which is more fatty. Tandem nursing can actually be a great way for you to continue to bond with your toddler while spending unending amounts of time nursing a baby.
For more tips on tandem nursing, check out: No Way! Is Tandem Nursing for Real?
What’s the most challenging thing you’ve done while breastfeeding? Do share!
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Oh this post brought back sweet memories of having two toddlers running around while I breastfed my newborn.
One toddler is hard enough – I can’t imagine two!!
Oh my gosh, yes! LOL, the remote thing, totally! Thanks for the reminder, I’ll be needing this in a couple more months. 🙂
Yes! And it’s always when you’ve JUST sat down!
I can only imagine how hard it will be when we have a second one! I remember the remote being out of reach so well…. tragedy!
It definitely ups the difficulty level with two!
Love this list. It makes me miss the connection during that time.
It is such a great time to connect with the baby – and sometimes with the other kids, too 🙂
so true be ready before you sit down with the baby, that is time is that time only.
It definitely is!
It sure feels like 101 things. Once you get down to specifics, it definitely could be close to that number!
For sure! I thought I’d cap it at 10 🙂