B/Fing in Public - How do you hold baby?

[sunny2003]

Hi there - dd and I seem to have b/fing at home down thanks to the Boppy and the Brest Friend pillow - now that I am thinking about venturing out to the real world, I just wondered how you hold a baby while b/fing in public? I don't have a problem with the public part, just on how to hold her without a pillow as a crutch - I can't see dragging one of the pillows with me or taking the time to inflate an inflatable pillow when she is demanding food. Any suggestions? Do you just hold the baby to your body? What positions - football? cradle?

TIA for your help!!

[nigele]

The cradle hold worked for me when DS was newborn. Just be sure to find a comfy chair with arms and lean on one of the arms as best you can. A friend of mine couldn't BF without her Boppy so she crammed it into the basket of her stroller wherever she went.

[cara1]

I always (still do) sit "Indian Style" (Is there a more PC way to say that?) with DS's head propped up on my knee. Sometimes a rolled up blanket or the diaper bag would help if the height was off. Sometimes I rested my feet on the stroller basket for support, too. Try practicing in a few places like dressing rooms to get a feel for nursing in "public" but not really "all out there." Good luck, and my applause for trying to NIP so early! (I don't think I did it until close to 12 weeks).

[liya]

ditto....indian style works for me too...i find you can prop up his head in your arms with out being uncomfortable....

[stillplayswithbarbies]

If I don't have a chair with arms, I use my diaper bag for a pillow under my elbow. I put my foot up on the stroller. It also helps that she is still small, 'cause her head is in the crook of my elbow and her butt is right in the palm of my hand so I feel she is secure.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel 2/27/91
Logan Elizabeth 3/25/03

[lisams]

Hee-hee, ex-elementary teacher here! We used to call it sitting criss-cross applesauce! :-)

I have found that sitting this way is best also because then I can rest my arm on my knee and it keeps her head propped up a little more.

Lisa

[chrissyhowie]

I got a small pillow in the hospital to put over my incision to help when I had to cough (I had a c-section), but I actually used it all the time to help positioning with breast feeding. You could get a small pillow and try it out at home. That way you'd have a more reasonably sized option to bring with you if needed.

HTH,

[jojo2324]

Hi Viv!

Like the other ladies have said, I usually just use the arms of a chair to support me, and then I will tuck a small receiving blanket under my arm too for some extra cushion. Also, I'll try to elevate my knee on the side that he's nursing from, and use my thigh as a resting place. (Normally, using the stroller or the leg/pedestal of a table.) And we always use the cradle hold.

Good luck with everything!

[sunny2003]

Thanks for all the helpful hints - will try it out! (and like Neve, am learning to type one-handed!)

Happy Mom's Day to all!

[luvbeinmama]

Now that you have the BFing down with the pillows, try a few goes at home without the pillow. I never did use a pillow. I just had DS's head in the crook of my arm, and had his body against mine kind of angling down toward my hip. So as he got bigger his bottom would rest on my leg. I know my SIL would take her Breast Friend pillow in the car with her and go nurse in the car all the time... not for me! Oh, and I always have nursed cradle-hold. Never had any success with the football hold (except the first 3-4 days in the hospital), or the laying-down nursing. Anyway, try it at home. I would try using the diaper bag to lean your elbow on (a brilliant suggestion in one of the other posts :) ). Criss-cross sitting is fine if you have something to lean your back on. Or, I have also sat man-style cross-legged in a chair (knees not together, the ankle sort of sitting on the other knee. Experiment to see what works for you! HTH!