TRAVEL TIP: HOW TO BREASTFEED IN COLD DESTINATIONS

I posted some of our breastfeeding sessions in Paris, France during our recent trip in my Instagram account. This lead me to a lot of private messages from moms asking how I breastfeed in public using regular clothes and in a place like Paris during fall (transitioning to winter).

First, I shared my process HERE on how I dress my son for the cold weather. I do the same for myself – I do a lot of layering.

Nursing while waiting in line for the Notre Dame Tower

In the example above, I was wearing a button-down top, a sweater on top of it, and then a jacket (and a coat to top it all off).

However, my base is not the button-down top. Before I became a mom, I used long-sleeved tops from Uniqlo’s Heat Tech (thin thermalwear) collection as base. Now that I am a breastfeeding mom, I know that I can no longer use that and should instead use the tank top/camisole version (yes, Uniqlo’s Heat Tech collection includes tank tops/ camisole) as my base.

That way, I can pull up any top and still have the camisole to cover up the rest of my body. With the camisole, all I need to do is pull down one side so I can feed my son (wearing nursing bras made it a lot easier, too!). Now, if it’s really cold, I just add more layers. So it’s camisole, and then another Heat Tech top (the long-sleeved one), and then my regular tops and outerwear.

If it’s not that cold, I remove the long-sleeved heat tech top. What I love about Uniqlo’s thermals is that they’re really much thinner than other brands. That means removing layers and keeping them in your bag won’t take up too much space. And yes, they do the job (for really cold places, though, like when we chased the Northern Lights in Alaska, I highly recommend using the slightly thicker Heat Tech tops of Uniqlo – but for general trips, their thinnest versions will do).

Having a nursing top specifically for the cold weather would have been a great option, too, but we don’t have anything like that in the Philippines, and when I searched for them online, the foreign brands were too expensive for my budget. Luckily, I realized that this technique actually works! However, I don’t do this technique (tank top + regular top) back here in the Philippines – it’s just too hot. I would rather wear a proper nursing top here.

Nursing by the Seine River

The next most important thing to bring is an efficient nursing cover. I’ve tried several kinds and brands of nursing covers, and although my top choice tends to be very wrinkly, I love it because of several things:

1) Wide body coverage (poncho style) – this means I can really breastfeed anywhere as seen in the photos here, and I can easily see and communicate with my son, too!
2) Material – it’s made of organic cotton, so it’s very forgiving for the skin and breathable, too!
3) Color choices – love their neutral palette selection! It’s very simple yet tasteful.

The brand is called Poncho Baby. It’s an American brand but you can get it locally through their Official Distributor HERE. Just like the camisole + regular top technique, I also don’t use nursing covers when I’m in the Philippines (unless I’m in a mall and the aircon is cold enough), because P keeps sweating. It’s just too hot. I must say though, that this nursing cover helps him focus on feeding (instead of being distracted by the environment), so when really needed (like when I know he’s so sleepy but he can’t catch his sleep), I use this.

So that’s it! This camisole+regular top covered with Poncho Baby nursing cover technique really worked well for us during our trip. I was literally able to feed P whenever he wanted to wherever we were at that time.

You can do it too, Momma!

Nursing in front of Notre Dame (Paris, France)

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6 Comments

  1. Hi Ms. Paula, I love your blog! Can I just share, We were in Tokyo last week (where weather is transitioning also from fall to early winter), I don’t own any heat tech top, what I used as a base top was Uniqlo’s AIRism Bra Camisole, with this I didn’t have to wear a nursing bra (or any bra), I just pulled up my top layers, and then pull down the whole bra cup of my camisole, viola! easy access! 😀

  2. How was breastfeeding in public in Europe? I’m planning a trip but a bit apprehensive if people tend to be more judgmental. I usually just find a quiet corner and nurse. I just can’t do it in public and in a crowd. You are really such an inspiration. Thank you for imparting tips and knowledge to us.

    1. Hi Kat. Thank you for your message. I never had problems or felt like people were judging me. I think most of the time, they didn’t even realize I was breastfeeding. You can always find a quiet corner (like a hidden spot in a cafe) if you’re more comfortable with that, but for me, with the nursing cover, it was such a breeze to just do it literally anywhere. Hehe. 🙂

  3. Hi!! Can i see a photo of uniqlos heattech tanktop/camisole? I only have the long sleeves with and without bra pads already.

    1. Hi Kal. The heat tech series would have the word HEAT TECH on the tags (check the bottom side tags as well). It varies in style, but I don’t recall any style having bra pads. I might be wrong, though, but personally, I’d pick the one without bra pads so I can reuse easily since my bras are new and clean. Hehe. Hope this is helpful!:)

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