So far, I have breastfed three different babies for a cumulative total of: 40 months.
See also: Over 3 years(and counting!)
But guess what! Even with all of that time invested, there are always new things to learn and know.
As they say, know better, do better.
So I thought it would be fun to share a few things that I have learned over my years of nursing little ones:
Drink Your Water!
This seems like an easy one, but it’s so easy to get busy and forget about! Carry a bottle, jug, or glass of water with you all day. It will stay close and help remind you to drink up- it helps you and baby!
Pay Attention To Baby’s Cues
Speaking of being busy, it’s so easy to get feeding baby and distracted by other children, your phone, the tv, people walking by- but the entire time your baby is nursing, they are communicating with you. So listen to them! I’ve been guilty of feeding a baby too much(which resulted in spit up everywhereeee), or feeding a baby too little(causing them to be hungry again shortly thereafter), and if I had just taken a few minutes to pay attention to how much they were eating and for how long, I could have had a much more successful nursing session.
Don’t Fear Nursing In Public
With my first baby, I never fed her in public ONCE. I would literally drive 30 minutes home from town, just to feed her in the privacy of my own home. With baby #2 and #3? NOPE! I decided to get over that really quick. I dress in clothes that make it easy to nurse in and that I could opt to not use a cover if I wanted/needed to. I typically use a cover(but you certainly don’t have to!) and it is not a big deal at all. No one has ever said anything to me, looked at me funny, or made me feel uncomfortable. It is definitely not as scary as I had built it up in my mind with my first baby!
If You Don’t Want To Pump, You Don’t Have To
Another thing I did with my first that I haven’t done since. I pumped and pumped and stored milk in my freezer. I’m a stay at home mom. Why did I think I needed to do that?! I had oz of milk that never got used and eventually had to be thrown away. What a waste of time and energy! With my next two babies, I decided to only ever pump if I actually had to. Which, has turned out to be exactly zero times so far.
Your Baby Will Benefit From A Probiotic!
The first six months of a baby’s life can completely set the stage for their future. But one thing you might overlook is gut health! In those first six months it is a crucial time for the development and programming of the immune system and metabolism.
Evivo, a once daily baby probiotic, addresses this issue head on. Evivo is clinically proven to restore the good bacteria called B. infantis to baby’s gut, while reducing the potentially harmful bacteria linked to colic, eczema, allergies, diabetes and obesity by 80%!
It’s crucial to make sure your baby’s gut is on the right track from the very beginning, so that it has all of the good bacteria it needs while it’s still in the development stage. By addressing the issue of gut health during this early window, it allows baby’s gut, digestive system and immune system to continue to grow, protect and thrive before introducing solid food around the 6-month mark.
It is so important to make sure you’re providing baby with all of the support they need, as early as you can, to get them set up for a long, healthy life. You can learn more about Evivo and the amazing product they have created by checking out their website!
If you are interested in trying out Evivo for your little one- I have some coupon codes for you!
$10 off a 4-week Evivo Probiotics Starter Kit with the code BLOG6151
$20 off an 8-week or greater sized Evivo starter kit with the code BLOG6152
Each code will expire on May 31st or after the first 50 redemptions have been made!
If you’ve been a nursing mama, what are some things you’ve learned?
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