Breastfeeding while Babywearing

Learning to nurse in a carrier can make life with your baby much easier.  Imagine that you’re at the park with your two year old who is running around playing.  Your baby is snuggled against your chest in a soft carrier.  You are pushing your older child on the swing and you notice that your baby is beginning to root.  You lower your carry a bit and help baby latch.  You are able to keep pushing your older child on the swing and are comfortably nursing your sweet baby at the same time.  Being able to nurse in a carrier for some of baby’s frequent feedings can be incredibly helpful.

There are so many benefits of babywearing that I couldn’t mention them all!  (Although this wonderful article by La Leche League includes many of the benefits of babywearing).  One benefit of babywearing is that it makes it very easy for a mother to notice baby’s early “hungry” cues.  Baby will start to turn their head from side to side, open their mouth, put their hands in their mouth, or begin rooting in the carrier when they are hungry.  Catching these early signs of hunger can allow the caregiver to initiate nursing before the baby becomes distressed.

Likewise, take some time to get used to wearing your baby.  If you are new to babywearing, take some time to get to know your carrier and get comfortable with it.  Visit your local babywearing group while you’re waiting for baby to arrive and practice using your carrier with a doll.  Visit your local group again after baby arrives and get some hands on help with positioning.

Maybe, you’re already a pro at using your carrier and you’re wearing baby on day one.  Your baby may need some time to get used to being worn.  As an anecdote, by the time our third baby arrived, I considered myself to be a pro at babywearing and wrapping in particular.  However, she cried every time I put her in a wrap at first.  I had to warm her up to it.  We spent time sitting on the couch with the wrap just laying on us.  I made sure she was well fed and happy before I wrapped her.  I took some time to figure out what carries she liked the best.  After the first week, she loved being worn, but it was something the two of us had to practice a little to get comfortable.

We started with skin to skin time with the wrap over us and then gradually moved toward wearing while moving about.   Remembering to wait until the baby is fed, changed, and happy when first trying a new carrier can help.

When you feel that your nursing relationship is well established, your baby is nursing well and you feel very comfortable with your carrier, you can start to combine the two.  Once you are nursing in your carrier, pay close attention to your latch and your baby.  If baby is especially sleepy while nursing, you may want to take baby out of the carrier to nurse to make sure baby nurses well.    Nothing makes baby sleepy quite like being snuggled in a cozy carrier next to their mama.  You may find you want to wake your baby up after sleeping a while in the carrier as well just to be sure that baby is nursing plenty of times during the day.   Each baby is different and it’s important to pay attention to their cues and meet their needs.  

I know it sounds silly, but the secret is to aim up!  Supporting baby with one hand, lean forward slightly.  With the other hand lift your breast toward baby and help baby latch on.  After you are latched on, stand up straight again. You will probably need to keep a hand on your breast and a hand on baby’s head or an elbow around baby’s head to help baby maintain the latch, especially at first.   Some people find it helpful to put a rolled up wash cloth under the breast to help keep it lifted.  Some people do not ever find nursing in a carrier to be hands free, and that is fine!    

After nursing, you will have baby in a lower carry.  Place a hand on baby’s bum and the nape of baby’s neck.  Lean forward slightly and then lift baby up to appropriate position (high enough to kiss).  Then, tighten the rest of the carrier so that baby is well supported in that position.