Why You Need a Designated Nursing Station to Feed Your Baby
Designated nursing station in your baby's nursery with a comfortable nursing chair and nursing cart
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Why do I need a designed nursing station?
If you’re a first time mom expecting a baby soon, you may be wondering why you need a designated nursing station, what feeding essentials to keep in your nursing cart, or how to organize your nursing station. A designated nursing station can be very helpful for both new moms and babies. While you may move around your house to feed your newborn from time to time, having a designated place to feed your baby is a must. Here are the top reasons to create a designed nursing station.
Comfort: Nursing sessions can last anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour or more, so having a comfortable chair, a footrest, and a well-arranged space can make a big difference. This setup ensures that you and baby are both comfortable during feeding.
Convenience: Having all of your necessary feeding and care supplies within arm’s reach can make the process smoother and reduce interruptions. This helps you focus on bonding with your baby rather than searching for items mid-feed. For everything you should keep at your nursing station, refer to the nursing station checklist in the Baby Prep Toolkit.
Routine and Consistency: Establishing a routine for your baby can be beneficial for your newborn as they adjust to the new world, and for you as a new mom to have some predictability in your day to not just care for your baby, but do other household tasks and take on outings with your newborn. A designated nursing space is key in helping to establish a routine. Over time, your baby may associate this space with feeding, making it easier to settle into nursing sessions.
Reduced Stress: As a first time mom, the early days of breastfeeding can be overwhelming. A nursing station provides a sense of control and preparedness, helping reduce anxiety and making the experience more enjoyable.
Privacy and Peace: Whether you have older kids running around or you’re a first time mom, a designated nursing area offers a quiet, private space where you can feed your new baby without distractions.
Efficiency: More than breastfeeding essentials, you can also keep other items such as a baby nail trimmer or a book to read at your nursing station. This allows you to get more done in addition to feeding your baby, if you feel like it.
What to keep at your nursing station
In addition to breastfeeding and pumping essentials, you should keep items related to your baby’s health such as a bulb syringe at your designated nursing station. As a new breastfeeding mom, you’ll want to keep fueled with snacks and water too. The nursing station checklist in the Baby Prep Toolkit will help you prep your nursing station with everything you need for both you and baby at your designated feeding space.
Nursing station organization ideas
When designing your nursery, be sure to include a space with a comfy chair and a nightstand, shelf, or nursing cart where you can keep all of your nursing essentials for a new mom. I use a metal rolling nursing cart that can be transferred from the nursery to the living room to my bedroom for convenience. Small plastic organizers or small baskets work great to keep all of your nursing essentials and other items organized. Be sure to organize things in a way that makes them easy to find and access. This can be very helpful when you are trying to soothe a fussy and hungry baby or in the middle of a breastfeeding session.
