Your Baby Is Coming in September. Here’s What to Do Now to Prepare for Breastfeeding

If you’re expecting a September baby, you may be starting to realize just how close you are.

The nursery might be coming together. Your hospital bag may be partially packed. The car seat may be sitting in your house waiting for its big debut.

And if you’re planning to breastfeed, you may also be wondering:

Is there anything I should actually be doing now to prepare?

The short answer is yes.

But preparing for breastfeeding doesn’t mean buying every breastfeeding product on the internet, memorizing a hundred different rules, or trying to become an expert before your baby arrives.

It means understanding what you’re walking into, thinking about what you want, and making sure you have support in place before you need it.

Here are the things I’d encourage you to think about during these final weeks of pregnancy.

Think about what you actually want breastfeeding to look like.

“I want to breastfeed” is a great starting point.

But it isn’t necessarily a complete feeding plan.

What does breastfeeding actually mean to you?

Do you want to exclusively breastfeed?

Would you like your baby to be comfortable taking a bottle?

Are you planning to return to work?

Do you want your partner to occasionally give a bottle?

Are you hoping to pump?

Would you like the flexibility to leave the house for a few hours without worrying about how your baby will eat?

If this is your second or third baby, you may already have a pretty good idea of what worked for you last time—and what didn’t.

There is no single correct answer to these questions.

Your feeding goals should fit your family, not someone else’s version of what breastfeeding is supposed to look like.

Learn what the first few days are actually going to look like.

One of the biggest sources of anxiety for new parents is simply not knowing what to expect.

A newborn may be sleepy during the first day. Then they may suddenly want to nurse constantly. You may hear the term “cluster feeding” repeatedly. Your baby may seem to want to be at the breast all evening. Your colostrum may look very different from what you imagined breast milk would look like. And your milk may not suddenly “come in” at one specific moment.

Understanding these things before you’re exhausted and sitting in a hospital bed at 2 a.m. can make a huge difference. If you haven’t already, take a look at my previous post:

The First 72 Hours of Breastfeeding: What I Wish Every Parent Knew Before Delivery

Knowing what’s expected can help you recognize when something is simply part of the adjustment—and when something deserves additional support.

Know how you’ll get help if you need it.

I don’t recommend waiting until you’re overwhelmed to figure out who you can call. Before your baby arrives, make a short list of your breastfeeding resources.

That might include:

• Your baby’s pediatrician
• The lactation resources available through your birth hospital
• A private lactation consultant
• A postpartum support person
• A trusted friend or family member who has experience with breastfeeding

And don’t just save a phone number. Find out how support works.

Can you call after discharge? Do they offer home visits? Do they offer virtual appointments? How quickly can you typically be seen? The middle of the night when you’re exhausted and your baby isn’t feeding well is not the ideal time to start researching your options.

Talk to your partner about what breastfeeding support actually looks like.

Your partner doesn’t need to know how to breastfeed. They need to know how to support the person who is breastfeeding. And that support can look very different from what people expect.

It might mean:

• Making sure you have water and food while you’re feeding
• Taking care of meals
• Managing visitors
• Handling household tasks
• Taking care of an older child
• Bringing the baby to you for a feeding
• Protecting your rest between feeds
• Encouraging you to reach out for help when something doesn’t feel right

One of the most useful conversations you can have before your baby arrives is: “What will I need from you when I’m tired, overwhelmed, and learning how to feed this baby?” Don’t assume you’ll figure it out in the moment. Talk about it now.

Think about your postpartum life—not just your breastfeeding.

This is one of the most overlooked pieces of breastfeeding preparation. You’re going to be recovering from birth. You’re going to be feeding a newborn. You may have other children. You may be returning to work. You may have a partner who also needs support. You still have laundry, meals, pets, appointments, and approximately 47 other things happening around you. So ask yourself:

Who is going to help me?

Who will make meals? Who will help with an older child? Who can come over without expecting to be entertained? Who can you call when you’ve had a terrible night? What responsibilities can you let go of temporarily? The more support you have around the feeding parent, the more room there is for feeding to become part of your life without completely taking over your life.

Don’t assume that because you’re planning to breastfeed, you need to avoid every other feeding option.

This is something I wish more parents heard during pregnancy. You can want to breastfeed and want your baby to take a bottle. You can want to exclusively breastfeed and still want a plan for what happens if supplementation becomes medically necessary. You can want to pump occasionally without becoming an exclusive pumper. You can want your partner to participate in feeding. You can want flexibility. None of those goals automatically mean you’re less committed to breastfeeding.

In fact, for many families, having options is exactly what makes breastfeeding sustainable. The important thing is understanding how those options fit into your individual feeding plan.

Learn what a feeding problem actually looks like.

You don’t need to memorize every possible breastfeeding complication before your baby arrives, but you should know a few signs that mean it’s time to ask for help.

These might include:

• Significant or persistent pain with feeding
• A baby who consistently struggles to latch
• Difficulty hearing or seeing swallowing
• A baby who is unusually difficult to wake for feeds
• Diaper output that isn’t progressing as expected
• Concerning weight loss or poor weight gain
• Persistent difficulty transferring milk
• Feeling like something simply isn’t right

And here’s the part I really want you to remember: You don’t have to prove that something is wrong before you’re allowed to ask for help.

You can ask questions because you’re unsure. You can ask because breastfeeding feels harder than you expected. You can ask because you want someone to watch a feeding and tell you how things look. Support isn’t only for emergencies.

Consider getting personalized support before your baby arrives.

This is where prenatal lactation support can be incredibly valuable. A prenatal consultation isn’t about predicting exactly how breastfeeding will go. We can’t know exactly what your baby will be like, how your birth will unfold, or what challenges might come up. Instead, we can talk through your situation. We can discuss your feeding goals. We can talk about your previous breastfeeding experience, if you have one. We can prepare you for those first few days. We can talk about bottles, pumping, returning to work, milk supply, and anything else you’re already wondering about. And perhaps most importantly, we can make sure you know what to look for and where to turn if things don’t go according to plan.

If you’re having a September baby, you don’t need to spend these final weeks of pregnancy becoming an expert at breastfeeding. You don’t need to buy everything, memorize every rule, or know exactly how everything will go.

You just need to know: What do I want? What can I realistically expect? Who will support me? And who will I call if I need help?

And sometimes the most valuable thing you can do before your baby arrives is simply make sure you don’t have to figure everything out alone.

Want personalized support before your September baby arrives?

I offer virtual prenatal lactation consultations where we can talk through your feeding goals, prepare for the first days with your baby, and create a plan that makes sense for your family.

Schedule your prenatal consultation with Kentucky Breastfeeding Center.

You can also learn more about my prenatal support.