Breastfeeding During the Holidays
Breastfeeding during the holidays can be a particularly stressful time between the busyness of holiday prep and family celebrations. Of course, we all know the real fake smiling comes out when dealing with the “well meaning” comments from relatives about how you are parenting your baby. Tis’ the season of unexpected nursing strikes, clogged ducts from delayed feedings, and hurt feelings. Here’s how you can best prep for holiday breastfeeding so that you and your baby make it through the New Year unstressed and still feeding well.
The most important thing you can do for your breastfeeding relationship during the holidays is to make your nursing or pumping schedule a priority. Your milk supply is driven by demand, and when you stretch out milk removals you are telling your body to reduce the amount of milk you are making. It may not happen the first day, or even the first few days of being off schedule, but many parents find themselves worried about their milk supply after a few weeks of neglecting their need for frequent milk removal. We can typically fix this with some hard work, but it’s never as easy as sticking to your schedule would be to begin with.
Trying to nurse this kiddo in the middle of a travel rest stop was quite the experience! He wanted to see anything and everything there was to see!
PLAN FOR TRAVELING!
If you are nursing, think about how often you will need to stop to nurse and make sure you have access to what you need to nurse wherever you are. My own babies never did a great job nursing outside of the car when traveling as they were too busy looking around, but I had great luck setting up a space in the car with a nursing pillow so we could comfortably nurse during our breaks. Plan to stop every 90 minutes - 3 hours to allow everyone to stretch and get a good nursing session in. If you are flying, nursing during take off and landing can be very handy to keep your little one happy. Be sure if you are flying to pack a small blanket because planes can be so cold and nursing when cold can be very uncomfortable. It’s handy to have that blanket, too, in case your baby is distracted and decides mid-flight is the ideal time to pop off to look around during a let-down…..ask me how I know about that kinda fun!
If you are pumping, think about where you will have the opportunity to pump, and what you will need. If you use a plug-in pump, consider getting a battery operated, or hand pump, as back up in case you can’t find a convenient outlet! Nursing covers can be very handy if you find yourself having to pump is a public space and you are not the type to feel comfortable possibly feeling exposed. Freemie/Spectra cups are also great for pumping on the go. They are very discrete and less expensive than the wearable breast pumps. Medela wipes and sanitizing spray are great solutions for those times you may need to clean your pump parts without access to a sink, or in a pinch, throw them in a cooler until the next pump session. Planning ahead can make things go much smoother!
PLAN FOR THE COMMENTS!
I wish we lived in a world where no one opened their mouth to a breastfeeding family with anything but positive words of affirmation, but that just simply isn’t true. Here are a few of my favorite comments said to me, or to my clients, over the years:
If you breastfeed past 3 months that baby will be nursing until college.
There must be something wrong with your milk or your baby wouldn’t [insert totally normal baby behavior of choice here].
That’s so gross! You shouldn’t do that here!
And to my pumping mamas- “Is that all you got? That’s not worth it.”
That’s just a sampling of what some people are subjected to, but none of it is okay. If someone is saying these kinds of things to you and it’s upsetting you, IT IS NOT YOU BEING OVERLY SENSITIVE. Repeat after me: “The problem is their lack of manners, not my feelings.”
So after 3 babies, and a collective 64 months (and counting) of breastfeeding, here are the best tips I can give you for navigating these family situations:
Talk to your partner ahead of family events about these concerns, and have a plan for addressing any issues. Your partner should be supporting the parenting choices you have made 24/7/365, holidays are no exceptions.
Wear your baby! Babies are easily overstimulated, and when separated from their parents can be stressed and not nurse when they need to. Toddlerhood will come soon enough for the relatives to all share in trying to corral the kiddo, wear that baby so you can stay in control during these early months.
You are the parents, you decide what your baby eats, how they eat, and when they eat. When someone offers an unsolicited opinion feel free to respond with, “Hmmm, that is certainly an interesting point. I’ll discuss is with the pediatrician at the next check-up.” That effectively ends that conversation without you being rude, but without placing yourself in a place to have to defend your parenting choices.
Consider where you want to pump or nurse ahead of time. I’m all about feeding wherever I am, but at the holidays I found it easier to duck away for a break and blame it on the need to pump or nurse in a quiet space.
Commiserate with other breastfeeding parents and know you are not alone! This is a short season of your life, and you, too, will make it through the holidays with your breastfeeding relationship intact! Enjoy sharing the gems of wisdom bestowed by those favorite of relatives with the other parents, and try not to laugh too hard at them when people are around.
You’ve got this under control and all will be well!
Happy Holidays and Happy Breastfeeding!
If you run into any issues, I am available throughout the holidays to help you navigate whatever nursing or pumping problems arise.
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