Good afternoon!
I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend and a good start to the week. Our weekend was uneventful and relaxing.
As I settle into this pregnancy, I have been doing some reflecting on how to make life work once there are two little ones in the house, both of whom are going to need lots of my time and energy.
Thinking back to the first three months of Lula’s life, we were pretty much inseparable until she went to bed at night. Since I was exclusively breastfeeding (she refused to take a bottle), everything revolved around eating and sleeping.
Let’s just say that the Breast Friend and I were very close, and that I made it through the entire 4 hours of the Today Show almost every day.
I did a fair amount of baby wearing with Lula, exclusively for errand running and exercising. (I used the Baby Bjorn and loved it.)
The Baby Bjorn does not lend itself well to nursing, as baby sits upright. This was fine when I was only responsible for Lula, and could plan around using it.
When Baby 2 makes his/her grand arrival, one thing I know for sure is that I will not be camped out on the couch for hours at a time, nursing the little guy/gal. Lula would never stand for that and frankly, I don’t want to relive that again. Too much time sitting down isn’t good for anyone, especially a new mama who is going to crave some activity!
One of my frustrations with nursing Lula so frequently, and in the fashion I did, was that I felt helpless to do anything else- even answer the front door! Not only do I want to be able to wear Baby 2 around and nurse whenever he/she wants me to, having a toddler will necessitate it, as I will be tending to Lula’s needs, making meals, doing laundry, shopping, etc.
I am fairly modest so I don’t plan on baring all to the world, but I also don’t want to be covered head to toe in a burlap sack when I am nursing in public. I have a Moby wrap and I am hoping that will work well for baby wearing and nursing.
However, I would love to know what other mamas used with their littles, especially in those first 4-5 months when eating is such a huge part of a baby’s existence.
Any feedback and or suggestions are appreciated!
Have a great day!
The Moby is better for nursing in. Even an Ergo, which is also upright, would be better because baby sits lower. And an Ergo has a higher weight limit and is more ergonomically friendly for baby and the wearer than a Bjorn.
Thanks, Heather! That’s interesting I could even try out an Ergo for nursing- I have heard great things about it!
I am a ‘bare-all’ kind of nurser in a pinch but usually I wear a scarf (summer or winter options!) and a v-neck so that I can nurse anywhere without anyone even knowing. Just move the scarf over (infinity scarves are best since the baby can grab one loop and the other can cover the chest…I made all my scarves into infinity style) and pop the boob. The baby’s head covers the important stuff and the scarf covers the rest.
For babywearing….well, a book could be written about it! I have a wrap (boba) that I love for comfort, long walks, anything that I will spend a while doing (since it’s kind of a hassle otherwise), a front carrier (also boba, which I love), and a couple slings (which I made… slingrings.com sells the rings). The front carrier I use when there’s weather issues, times when I’ll be carrying for long periods of time but might need more support (the park, etc) and the sling I use for things like grocery shopping since I have to pop him in and out of it constantly.
I love babywearing and breastfeeding.
Yay! Thanks for such a great, thorough, reply, Diana! A scarf/v-neck combo is so clever!
Your advice on wraps/slings/carriers is much appreciated too. I remember the sling you had at Lil’ Monkey Bizness and the ease with which you fed Eli while you walked around and drank coffee and supervised Avery- and I was very impressed!
I am excited to discover what works best for me so that I can be active while Baby 2 nurses/sleeps! Babywearing is wonderful- I found early on that that and nursing are the best ways to calm a little one!
Here’s hoping that you had a good night’s sleep last night!
I used a Moby wrap with T until he got too big and started stretching it out. I never tried using it for nursing because T preferred to face out and I’m like Diana and didn’t worry too much about showing a bit of boob. I’m also pretty small, so there isn’t much to see either
Actually, when the Moby started stretching out, I made my own wrap out of some woven (non-stretchy) fabric. I really liked the wrap style carriers until T got too big and started hurting my hips.
For that reason, I’d recommend the Ergo. A friend of mine has one and has used it to nurse her daughter on the go a ton. You can even wear the baby on your back, which I think would be a huge benefit. The only downside I see with it is that the baby can’t face out, which might be a bigger problem for an older baby. They are a bit expensive, but I’ve also seen a few knock-offs on Amazon pretty cheap.
I also used a Hug A Monkey sling for a bit when T got bigger and was hurting my hips in the wrap. It worked pretty well and didn’t stretch like the Moby. But I think a woven sling with an adjustable ring (the Hug A Monkey ones are one-size cotton) would be a bit better. The size range on the Hug A Monkey slings are for little babies to big toddlers, so being one-size made it a bit scary whenever T leaned back. I never tried nursing him in the sling because by the time I bought it he wasn’t nursing as much, but I imagine it would be pretty easy.
Hope that helps! After uncomfortably wearing a baby for almost a year, I’d splurge and get an Ergo for the next one!
Hi Bobbie!
Thank you so much for all of the excellent advice on different wraps!
Wow, I never knew that the Ergo could be used for nursing! That is really exciting as I kind of lean towards carriers with a little more structure. That might just be due to the fact that I am a little intimidated by figuring out the Moby…I really wish I had used it with Lula…I guess I need to start practicing!
I’m looking forward to hearing how it goes when you get there!
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