Today I’m gonna share my tips for dressing for success when nursing. Stick with me until the end because I’m gonna share one thing I wish all mothers knew about how to feed your baby with comfort and this one is not about clothing or physical comfort.
I’m Avital a mindful parenting coach and mother of four. In this video I’m gonna share my nursing tips with you.
Number one is go for tops that have a heather effect or a print or some kind of details such as pockets et cetera. The reason for this is because often when you’re nursing, you will have staining happening on your clothes. Your baby might spit up or you might have leaking and if so that will show up might more on a simple, solid t-shirt. So try and feel your best by wearing something that hides that little bit more, such as patterns, et cetera. I know that’s it happened to me, it can be a little bit embarrassing. Let me know in the comments below if it’s happened to you.
Number two, is button down or zips. Any kind of top that opens obviously is going to help you to nurse comfortably, and to cover up if you want to just be opening only the button that you need to open for example. But wearing tops that are slightly looser than usual and that have an opening such as a zip or a button is going to allow for easy access. You just have to remember that you always need a tank underneath if you want to feel fully comfortable opening up that shirt. Which leads me to the next step which is to double up. Always wear a tank underneath, preferably a nursing tank, or a tank that has a shelf bra that’s comfortable for you to get in and out off when you’re nursing, some kind of overlay for covering. Now don’t get me wrong, I have zero judgment of women who don’t want to cover up and I know lots of babies will just be pushing that away anyway, but for those of us who do feel more comfortable, more covered, that’s a great option. Basically just a layer underneath and then a layer on top that can come up easily. Try and keep your outer layer more like a tunic or a loose cover-up so that you’re not sweaty and uncomfortable, and that you can easily pull it up and down when you need to.
You might even find that your baby likes to be covered underneath that layer, and that can minimize distractions from the outer world especially as babies get a little older, like four months and onwards. You can also go for some kind of poncho or waistcoat or some kind of outer layer over just a basic tee. If you have access from the top from your tee if it’s stretchy, and you’re able to do that, then all you need is some kind of wrapping layer over that, that you can easily cover up with. And that will also provide for coverage if you are getting stained and often as a blanket for your baby. Or you can wear a scarf. You can just wear any of your regular clothes that have access from the top, i.e. not to tight and flexible, and have a scarf around your neck that you can just extent downwards to use for coverage that way.
Alternatively, just have a nursing cover with you and that way you don’t need any of these external layers, you can just use the nursing cover. I personally, love the ones that have a wire ring so they stand a little bit off of you and you can easily see your baby, and I also use these as coverage for sun protection for my baby when he’s sleeping inside a carrier. So the baby will be in the carrier and then this nursing cover will be over the entire carrier giving him full shade. You can absolutely buy nursing bras and you’ll find the ones that I like in the Essential Babies Guide listed below, in the description box but you can also use the soft tanks or soft sports bras that are flexible, stretchy and comfortable. Comfortable being the most important word.
Now go ahead and download my Essentials Minimalist Newborn Guide. In it, you’ll find post-partum tricks and tricks for dressing for success with nursing. So download that now, it’s absolutely free and I know you’ll love it. And if leaking is a problem for you, you’re gonna to want to use either nursing pads, or a padded bra. I also recommend having a change of clothes handy when you’re out and about with a newborn and you’re nursing, because often you will get full on stained and you’ll be full on wet and uncomfortable and it just doesn’t feel great continuing our day when we feel like we’re all messy and gross. So I always have a really easy quick little back up in my bag or in the car.
And finally, if you want to wear a dress, one of the ways that you can do that is by simply putting a pair of leggings underneath them, so that you can actually lift the full dress up when you need access for nursing. So you would wear a tank and leggings or pants, whatever looks right with the dress that you’re wearing, and then you could easily access by pulling that dress up. You can also, of course, find dresses that adhere to all of the tips that I just gave you here, and they might have access from other areas, like for example, you might be able to pull the straps this way to get access, you might be able to get access from the top, or you could find a dress with a zip or with buttons, the choice is yours.
Either way, I want to encourage you to feel your best, and look your best, even when nursing. I think that it’s so important for us mothers to take care of ourselves and to go out into the world feeling shiny, feeling happy. Often, the way that we dress is a reflection of our emotional state, if we feel like we’re our best selves and if we feel energetic, and just putting yourself together and showing up for the day and for life, even with a newborn, is critical to that endeavor. And on that note, I just really want to encourage you not to stay in pj’s all day. If that’s your jam and you love doing it, feels great, then go for it! But most of us feel a little moldy and feel like we’ve given up on our old lives when we have a newborn and we don’t get dressed.
Even if your whole day is spent caring for that newborn at home, try changing pajamas to alternative pajamas, just a fresh pair of pajamas, or, if you can, fully getting dressed. Having a shower, washing your face, brushing your teeth, putting yourself together, doing one thing that’s a little extra just for you, like doing your hair in a way that you like, or wearing a piece of jewelry, do something that feels good to you. Apropos (with reference to) jewelry, you wanna be careful of any jewelry that snags, or anything that’s too big and chunky, and when your baby gets a little older, you’re gonna have to be careful about necklaces or earrings as they will pull and grab those. But you can find baby-friendly jewelry or maybe it’s more about your hairdo or wearing a pair of shoes that you love. Do the things that you need to do to feel good. It will change your entire energy and the way that you care for your baby.
I highly recommend that you curate a wardrobe that supports your nursing, so that you feel in your best skin and confident and able to sustain for as long as you want to. Give me a love in the comments below if that makes sense to you and if you’re ready to feel like your high energy best self and look yourself even with a newborn and even with some baby weight still hanging around. Now it’s incredibly important to feel physically comfortable when you’re nursing but I also want to to feel emotionally comfortable when you’re nursing. I want to support and advocate for a guilt free, no judgment, zero guilt zone when it comes to how we feed our babies, whether that’s through nursing, pumping, formula feeding, whatever it is, whatever the case may be and whatever the reason. There is now way to perfectly feed a baby and there are so many ways to do it just great. Let’s celebrate the diversity of how humans care for their young ones. And let me just say, you’ll get judged whatever you do. Whether you breast feed or bottle feed, whether you pump or not, whether you go back to work or don’t, whether you tandem nurse or don’t, whether you full term nurse or don’t; you’ll get judged by someone.
So let’s all quit trying to please others and find the right thing that works for us. However you feed your baby, I celebrate you and support you. For me, right now, that means tandem nursing, my toddler and my newborn. Do I get judged for this? Of course. So hit the Like button if you’ve ever gotten judged and if you’re ready for a judgment-free zone.
One of the best ways to feel cared for is to feel like we have a minimalistic environment and a wardrobe full of the right clothes for the season and for our current bodies, something that many of us moms totally get wrong. We have those skinny jeans in our closets, staring us in the face, and guilting us every time we open our wardrobe. Living under the tyranny of skinny jeans is no way to live.