8 Things to Know About Running While Breastfeeding

Most runners look forward to the end of pregnancy as a marker for returning to previous activity (and that whole cute baby thing). Because being a mammal is awesome, that usually means you get to experience the joys of running while lactating. A few things to know when you’re going down that path …

1. Running early in the morning sucks monkey balls.

Moo moo, bitches.

Milk production is at the highest level in the morning (since in theory babies are hungry from sleeping all night, ha), so even running after a feeding can be uncomfortable. You could feed the baby and then pump any extra before you go, but ain’t nobody got time for that. It gets better around the six-month mark, so just push through feeling like a stampeding Holstein on your morning runs.

2. It will make you hungry enough to wonder if anyone would notice if you stole food off their plate.

Breastfeeding already makes you hungrier than usual and when you add running, you hit a new record of feeling both exhausted and starving.

3. Gone are the days of cute sports bras.



Normally, I am a nice, normal bra size and I have a wide selection of attractive sports bras for my choosing. When nursing, it wasn’t so much a “sports bra” as it is a “boulder holder” and while effective, it wasn’t cute at all.

4. Even with good undergarments, running feels extra jiggly. Not in a fun jiggly way.

5. It makes you a slower runner.

I don’t have any science to support this assertion, but that’s okay because who really likes science anyway?

6. It makes you both more tired and happier.

Granted, being extra tired when you already have a little baby isn’t a great thing, but feeling less irritable is priceless.

7. You will care a lot about chafing. Normally, runners care a lot about this, but when you’re nursing you level up on that concern.

Now the last thing is actually the MOST important one of all.

8. It’s much easier to run while breastfeeding if you put the baby down first.

What was your favorite or most hated thing about running while breastfeeding? I think my combo answer was that I both loved and hated how my baby would refuse a sweaty boob. Who knew they could be so picky? —Kara