Breastfeeding in Slings

I think it is Great that you want to breastfeed your baby!!  It can be easily done with a great Baby Charmer Sling.  I think breastfeeding in the pouch, tube or Native style slings is the easiest and most discreet of all.  I do recommend using nursing shirts.  I know, I know they are so very expensive and this is true, they are, but luckily for you I have a solution that will make you leap for joy!!

When I was nursing my son, the breastfeeding shirts were so expensive, I only had a few.  Baby gets them wet, and sometimes that stains.  So my stash went down quick!  What I did was this.  I went toWal-Mart and bought a pack of 6 mens A-Shirts.  They are located in the mens underwear isle.  Mens are better than womens because they are bigger under the arms.  You will later see why this is good.  These are very thin but they still provide coverage for your belly when nursing (thus helping you not to worry about showing everyone your goods).  The straps are also alot lower than regular tank tops.  They are super easy to pull over to expose the breast.  Your regular shirt covers baby's face and your breast perfectly.  When baby turns their head or even lets go to look around your shirt will automatically fall over your breast and cover you. 

This was a wonferful alternative for me.  I could wear my regular shirts with this A-Shirt underneath, and it was comfortable, not too hot!!!.  The A-Shirts are also very long, so they tuck into your pants and stay there!!  Not with regular breastfeeding shirts.  I had a problem with pulling up both layers of the nursing shirts and exposing my tummy.  This never happened with the A-Shirt because it was tight to my skin and tucked into my pants.  It is long enough that you can untuck it a little if you would like, so it is not so tight on your tummy when you have your shirt pulled up to nurse. 

If you need a very cost effective way to nurse in public, I have just given it to you!!!  So use that extra money to buy more slings!!! 

It is great for use with Newborns on up to toddlers. 

Newborns will nurse in the cradle hold position.  Place them into the sling, making sure fabric is pulled up on either side of your baby, see safe use guide.   It also helps if their head is slightly higher than your breast.  You may even have to adjust the seam to be higher also.  First you want to get your baby ino position, turn them to face you inside the sling, then undo your nursing bra first, then pull your shirt up, or flap up, while keeping baby's head close to your breast.  Use your free hand to put baby's head onto your breast, help him/her if needed.  You may need to hold baby up a little with one hand until they get big enough to reach your breast naturally.  The outside fabric will also help hide what is going on inside the sling.  The baby will be tilted facing you while nursing.  You can also do the Shoulder flip to bring baby closer up to your breast and not have to hold them with one hand.  To perform the shoulder flip, I would flip both sides over so that the open edges that were next to my neck are now over my shoulder.  As baby gets bigger, you can only flip one layer, the outside rail, over your shoulder instead of both.  For tiny newborns, the double layer flip works best.  When baby is finished nursing, you can flip it back over, if you would like. 

Older toddlers have a different way of breastfeeding in a sling than newborns.  They can sit up and nurse in the tummy 2 tummy or kangaroo position and the hip position.  Just undo your bra, pull up your shirt or flap, and by this point, baby can find it for themselves easily!!lol  They will probably help you pull up the shirt or flap and attach themselves.  Mine sure did.  Of course they can still nurse in the cradle hold position, but most had rather sit up, because laying in the cradle hold reminds them of sleeping. 

When your toddler or older baby falls asleep nursing, just gently lay them over to the side and put their legs into the sling.  They will then be in the cradle hold position and will nap/sleep until they are ready to wake up or you put them down.  Whichever comes first. 

This will all seem a bit awkward at first, but it will not take you long to get used to performing these steps and you and baby will be very happy to have the all you can eat foodbar anywhere you may be. If you have any other questions, please email,  I am always ready and able to help.