Kat,

Ponchos! What a great idea!! Love that. Cute and discreet all in one

I am generally a very modest person, but I had no desire to hide away for a year after my first son was born, so I became addicted to ponchos that I knitted myself. I made several out of cute yarn (there are entire books of patterns for ponchos and wraps), and they were a wonderful solution for when I needed to nurse in public. I wore them over a camisole top that allowed easy access for my son, and we nursed whenever he needed, without me feeling the least bit exposed. They make great baby shower gifts, with an explanation, lol. I considered it one of the perks of being pregnant, I had an undeniable justification for buying a few skeins of that wonderfully soft fancy yarn I always want!

It’s a bit weird, but my husband and I fence and I found a pair of nursing pads worked great as cushions for my ‘hub-cap’ style breast protectors! lol I love the fact that they wash so easily.

Cabbage leaves in the bra work wonders for engorgement…and the number one reason why new mothers end up with sore nipples if because everyone is always telling them their baby needs to eat more…every mother and baby are different…when I had my first son they told me I had to nurse for 20 to 30 minutes on each side…after horrible pain and almost giving up I realized that he had me empty in less than 10 and the older he got the quicker he got so he was just using me as a pacifier for the remaining 20 minutes no wonder why I was so sore…what did I know…Now I say listen to your own body and your baby…

and about nursing in the bathroom…I would never…I sat down on the floor in the baby section of Walmart and nursed son #2 (he was a demanding nurser every 2 hours on the dot) I wouldn’t eat in a bathroom I sure wouldn’t feed my child there either…you can still be modest and feed your baby in public fully covered and decent and so what if someone knows what you are doing they don’t hide in the bathroom to eat their tuna on rye… (sorry just sayin…)

My #1 thing I didn’t know was also that it hurt – no one ever says that and I never thought it would!

Nobody told me the painful part either! I was not sucessful in breastfeeding until my third child. Even though I know! my technique was right and was also told so by an observing lactation consultant! The nurses left the room after the birth of my first child and said looks like you know what you are doing! Ouch it hurt for three months no joke. We did get through it and I ended up nursing him until approx 15 months old. The thing I did to get through it was just say to my I am nursing you this time and I did not worry about tomorrow I just faced it one nursing at a time (and kicked the coffee table when he would latch on) I knew it was best for him and me in so many ways and it did turn out to be a wonderful thing. I wish someone had told me how difficult it can be just so I would have known. Even with really rough starts, I would whole heartidly recomend breast feeding!
Blessings to you and your family.

Something the lactation consultant in the hospital told me to do was put on a warm (wet) tea bag after nursing. Something about the tanins in tea help healing. check with your health care professional about this, but it did wonders for me. I did not hear about it until my third child.