Breastfeeding through the holidays...the craziness!

With only four days to go until Christmas, I am starting to feel the stress and excitement!  At times like this, it can be difficult taking the time to just sit and breastfeed your baby.  You still have wrapping, baking, cooking, yelling at your other children and mentally preparing yourself for relatives to visit all the while you are breastfeeding and tired.  Or is it just me? 

Here are some common challenges that come along around Christmas time and how to get through it as a breastfeeding mum!

1.  I am shopping and my baby is crying and hungry...

Here I am Christmas shopping with my baby.  Although I drove around for fifteen minutes just to get a park and had to hold my pee in for about three hours, it was still an OK trip since I could breastfeed while holding my baby in my Ergo carrier and still continue to shop.  I was like the energizer bunny! 

First he looked like this....

then like this....

and finally like this...

It was great!  No need to sit in one of the parent rooms with the poop stench and prolong your trip...


Just don't forget to pack nappies and wipes like I did.  Big problem!



2.  I have to breastfeed my baby with my elderly grandmother looking at me.  She never breastfed her babies and will think I'm weird!

There are a few different solutions to this.  First you can remind yourself that your breasts are there to feed your baby.  Some women put a blanket over their babies' heads while breastfeeding while others will go into a different room.  I always just whipped my boob out and breastfed anywhere because as my wise mum always said, "it's only weird if you make it weird!"  By just simply breastfeeding your baby you are telling the world it is normal and boring. Nothing special to look at here folks!

3.  Everyone is getting wasted and I'm here as dry as a pretzel.

The alcohol in your breastmilk is directly related to amount in your body.  Some women choose not to drink at all, others will drink a glass of wine after their baby has gone to bed knowing that when their baby wakes up in 2-3 hours the alcohol will be out of their system and therefore out of their breastmilk.  Alcohol peaks in your breastmilk 30-60 minutes after you drink it, 30-90 when taken with food.  A woman who weighs 54 kilos (120 pounds) will typically take about two to three hours to eliminate one serving of beer or wine. 


4.  Everyone will be here in four days and I'm freaking out!!! Ok, I admit it...this is just my personal thought running through my head at the moment and I'm stressed!! My house is messy! There is little boy pee all over the toilet floor! Cat and dog hair is everywhere! I have so much to do before everyone arrives on Christmas day! AAAAHHHH!!  

Deep breath.  This is what I tell myself...and then I hear my baby crying so I go breastfeed him and think of how thankful I am for my family and everything I have.  Take the time to enjoy your breastfeeding babies and toddlers and enjoy these quiet moments you have with them.  Take the time to just sit and rest.  Take the time to smile at them and sit on the floor with them.  These quiet moments won't last forever...especially when all of your relatives* show up. 

*To my mother-in-law I am of course not talking about you ;)