There are a lot of… logistics that come with breastfeeding a small human.
Aside from figuring out if you and your baby are physically able to breastfeed (some mums won’t be able to and that’s completely OK), there’s a number of factors to take into consideration, among them:
- Where to breastfeed in public without offending anyone (heaven forbid) with the sight of your breast literally giving life.
- How to breastfeed – does the baby know to latch onto your nipple, and how does milk come out?
- What tools do you need to breastfeed?
- If you’re out and about, how does one get their boob out without lifting up their top and showing off their tummy?
And so on and so forth.
This post isn’t going to help with points one, two or three (but it can point you in the direction of some very helpful breastfeeding resources here, as well as this video below which answers just a few of the questions you might have about breastfeeding).
But what we can do is give you a hand with the fourth question. The answer is nursing tops.
Nursing tops (and dresses, they come in dresses too) were created to solve the problem of not being able to easily and discreetly access your breast when your baby is in need of sustenance. Some feature a two-part design with a flap you can pull up when you need and smooth down when you don’t. Others clip open and close.
The only thing is, some nursing tops out there are a tad frumpy, which we’re not sure is a word any new mum would much like to be associated with, nor deserves to after giving birth.
Side note – if you’re going through the ‘battle of the book’ or are preparing to possibly breastfeed in the future, Mamamia’s Year One podcast will help you through all the breastfeeding scenarios, including when it just doesn’t work. Post continues after audio.