Top tips on blogging and using social media for breastfeeding

Blogging, social media and breastfeeding; not natural bedfellows, you’d think?

Well, read on…It’s National Breastfeeding Week and I’m taking part in the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt, along with a whole load of other brilliant bloggers. Today’s theme is around top tips for breastfeeding. I know lots of other mums taking part would have great advice about latching and so on, so I wanted to focus on another area instead. Social media would be my big tip for breastfeeding – there’s so many ways it helped me, and continues to do so:

Are you sitting comfortably?

1. Firstly, get a smartphone! Babies breastfeed an awful lot for a long time when they’re younger and having the internet on your phone gives you a window to the outside world, keeps you awake and helps you feel less isolated when you’re trapped on sofa feeds or under a post-feed sleepy baby. Phones are a lot easier to hold with one hand than a laptop or an iPad – believe me, I’ve tried
2. Make sure your phone is charged when you sit down to feed (or sit near a socket)
3. I bought – and still use – the Widgy pillow for the baby and a V-shaped pillow for propping up behind me. But try out different things – it’s whatever works for you and the baby

Now lets begin…

1. Twitter is completely invaluable when you’re breastfeeding; it’s a lifeline to know that you’re not alone and other people are awake at 3am…and 4am, 5am and so on. Through hashtags like #3amfc or  #nightfeeds I met a whole load of other mums who were up with babies (however they were feeding). And even at normal times of the day, Twitter mums – and dads –  were and still are a fantastic source of advice and comfort
2. The best time to pin on Pinterest is 2-4am. As this is when you’re likely to be up for nightfeeds anyway, it’s perfect timing (here I am, follow me)
3. YouTube, iPlayer, TV Catch-up and so on are all available for mobile and mean you can watch all the TV programmes you’ve probably missed that evening
4. Read blogs! I read so many blogs in the early days of feeding; it’s such a good time to catch-up. I even had a special ‘nightfeeds’ folder of my favourites
5. Blogs are also a great source of support around breastfeeding. I still remember reading Fritha’s post about overcoming her initial problems
6. As I never seemed to have the time to blog myself during the day, I started drafting posts during feeds by typing them up one-handed on the ‘notes’ app on my phone (I still do this! It’s how I’ve written this post)
7. I also edit and process all my blog photos on mobile apps like Afterlite, PicFrame, A Beautiful Mess and using the Instagram filters. Top tip: put your phone on the ‘airplane mode’ setting if you want to process but not publish on Instagram
8. And the WordPress iPhone app is actually OK for publishing posts without having to go on a laptop

If you have a blog to add to my feed reading list, let me know (especially if it’s yours!)

Here’s some other bloggers taking part in the hunt so be sure to check them out:

Simply Hayley / Life, Love and Living with Boys / Diary of a First Child / Oh So Amelia / The Brick Castle