Mindfulness, Meditation, Breathing, and Breastfeeding

Mindfulness is everywhere. It’s even got its own month - May! While breathing exercises, guided mediation and visualizations are all the rage, I hope it stays. We could all use more reminders to pause, breathe deep, and then carry on.

If you have an Apple Watch you may have tried the Breathe app. I did - it’s great in a pinch. It’s also always with me, so in stressful times, I’ve set it to remind me as often as every hour to do a minute of breath work.

There are so many apps now that have all sorts of meditation journeys. My favorite if you’re just getting started is Headspace. The free version takes you from A to Z in a gentle, accessible way, and can set you up for success if you choose to use a different app or style later on. There’s even a Headspace on Netflix!

Our family has used several apps - Insight Timer has a nice variety so that children and adults can practice some mindfulness. I recently installed Breathwrk because I like the visuals used to guide your breathing.

Mindfulness and meditation are useful to all of us, all of the time, but it can be especially handy during lactation. Parenting is a lot of work, and doing some breath work or visualization during feeding, or before pumping, could be helpful to engage your let down reflex sooner with a more productive feed as a result. Our babies and children are very perceptive, and parents of older children often note that when they are chill, so are their kids, and likewise, if they’re stressed, the whole household is stressed, too.

So whether you use an app, are looking for a new one, or just go off the cuff and use YouTube and some keywords to find a good meditation that works for you, try it!