Preparation for breastfeeding - How can I increase my chances of success?

[mumtoone]

I am expecting my second baby in June and I am very keen to breast feed due however I had a nightmare trying to breast feed with my first child and ended up formula feeding him. I can already feel my stress levels rising at the thought of trying to establish breast feeding with no 2. Is there anything I can do to increase my chances of success this time round? Based on my experience from last time I have resolved to do the following:
Refuse to have Pethidine as DS1 was too dosy to breast feed.
Seek help with latching on as soon as I have painful, cracked nipples and not get fobbed off by midwives.
Read books on breastfeeding so I'm better prepared.
Any other thoughts????

[sassy]

\link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=1364&threadid=307109#6183171\this might be useful

[beansprout]

Establish what the b/feeding support is in your area so you know who you can contact if you need to. Good luck.

[sassy]

poo, try again

[BaffledByBabyTights]

I had a nightmare with ds1, and with ds2, I kept running through in my mind the latch on, and when he was born, I scrambled up into a bf position, stroked my nipple down his nose, waited for him to open his mouth wide and then put as much of the boob in his mouth as I could - I never looked back, and did exactly the same with dd, and she's fed well too - good luck!!!! it can be a success even if you struggle the first time.

[sassy]

Fecking links -thought I'd cracked it the other day!
Try a search on help for 1st time bfing mother!

[moondog]

Mum,there is some good advice on this thread as well.
Best of luck.

[MissGolightly]

This is personal but next time round I would get the baby onto the breast quicker - I think I left it too long with DS and he was very sleepy and wouldn't latch for ages. I have a feeling if I'd got him on faster it would have been easier.

Also I didn't have any problems once DS was on, but from the experience of friends I would say if you have any problems with latch then bypass the health visitors and docs and go straight to the NCT dropins, all my friends said they ended up there and wished they'd made it their first stop.

[feetheart]

I'd say seek help from the start, don't wait till you are sore. Have numbers of NCT, LLL, local bf counsellor before you give birth.

How old is DS? My DD was 2.9 when her baby brother arrived and I spent quite a bit of time preparing her for bf - getting her to sit beside me whilst we read, getting her to turn pages, etc. I told her that I would be bf a LOT to start with but that once the baby was drinking then we could have the time to read and talk. It must have worked because right up until I stopped feeding him at 14 mths she would go and get a book whenever I got my boobs out

Also best advice I was given was 'never give up in the middle of the night'

Good luck with it.

[AitchTwoOh]

make your bedroom a bfing sanctuary, a haven of calm and loveliness. good luck, i'm also dreading bfing no 2 (if i even get to have another).

[Busybean]

skin to skin contact when the baby is born and try feeding asap after the birth.

Get a tube of lasinlo (sp?) cream-expensive but worth it- if you have sore nipples now, start applying now, if not wait till after birth and start applying it after every feed and everytime you have a wash(baby can still feed when cream on-not harmful)

dont have any spare bottles or formula in the house.

Get a list of crisis numbers and pin somewhere handy-ie LLL, ABM, NCT etc

[moondog]

Oh you'll be fine and dandy this time Aitch.
Am sure of it.

[MrsBadger]

I think the handiest book is probably \lin{http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bestfeeding-Breast-Feeding-Best-Breastfeeding/dp/1587611953/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/026-1498523-4704467?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176841679&sr=8-1%5CBestfeeding%7D&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21 and the most useful website (apart from MN of course) is Kellymom , but there's no substitute for actual personal advice.

Track down your local NCT people and a bf counsellor as well if you can, but print these out and stick them by the phone for the horrid horrid nights...
National Childbirth Trust Breastfeeding Line 0870 444 8708
La Leche League Telephone Helpline 0845 120 2918
Association of Breastfeeding Mothers telephone helpline 0870 401 7711

[MrsBadger]

damn, the book was Bestfeeding

[purpleturtle]

I'm going to second the suggestion of Lansinoh. I think it's £10 a tube , but it is basically liquid gold. I got mine on prescription - but my nipples were bleeding by then.

[KnayedFrot]

I agree with getting the numbers of any local organizations who may have BF counsellors. Ask your HV about any BF drop-in sessions etc that may be on offer. If you live in / near a Surestart area there maybe additonal services - I have a friend who trained as a BF counsellor under a Surestart scheme.

Find out if the hospital where you are giving birth (assuming you are not having a homebirth) has a BF counsellor (mine did, but it was not made very public knowledge), and if so, ask to see her when you are on the PN ward.

This alone saved me & Ds' bacon, I know I was very lucky to have seen her, in fact i didn;t realise she existed until day 3 and still struggling, one of the MW's suggested I see her.

[amidaiwish]

"What to expect when you're breastfeeding and what if you can't" really helped me
lansinoh here too here

definitely try and bf straight after the birth. also be a pest at the hospital and ask every mw for help/advice/opinion. They all say different things but one will say something that really helps.

[Tommy]

I had a nightmare with DS1 on the feeding front and when DS2 was born, I think I was less anxious about it because I basically thought, "I'll give it a go and if is doesn't work again, I know it's not the end of the owrld - disappointing it may be..."

However, DS2 and I got on with the feeding really well and carried on for over a year.

My tips would be (seconding others' here)

Try to relax about it
Cut yourself lots of slack and spend lots of time with your new baby - in bed if possible - just feeding.
Eat and drink plenty
Make sure you use the support locally and if no support available, use MN
Lansinoh

Good luck

[mumtoone]

I'm impressed with the number of responses I've had already. I will take a bit of time to read through all your suggestions but there seem to be some good ideas.

Miss Golighty - I think one of the reasons I struggled with DS was I didn't get him on the breast fast enough after he was born as he was very sleepy probably due to pethidine.

[purpleturtle]

And do remember that all babies are different. This one might be a great little sucker from the off (like my dd and ds1 - although ds2 was a different story...)

[Halster]

I second getting the 'Bestfeeding' book too. My first dd was totally bottle fed 'cos she just wouldn't latch on and I had utterly crap support in the post natal ward (and that is where it can all go wrong imo). Second time round I was on a bf mission. I had several bf books lying around my bed in the post natal ward - when I look back now I think this helped get the message to the midwives etc that bf was what I wanted to do, come what may. Despite the fact that dd2 did not latch on until day 4 I am still bfing 9 months on. Second time round I was just so much more confident - I just knew it could be done - a combination of reading all the books I could and getting loads of fabulous advice from MN. Oh, I had the number of a private lactation consultant too (that I never had to use in the end but I knew it was there - I reasoned that a few sessions with her was going to be cheaper than months and months of formula .. it was my fall back). Good luck.

[moondog]

That's an interesting way of looking at it Halster.

[AitchTwoOh]

i hope it will be okay if there's another, moondog. thanks.

[MummyTL]

My experience is similar to several posts here. DS1 was FF because he refused to latch on. When DS2 came along I decided to give it another go, but vowed not to beat myself up if it didn't work out. It was a real struggle but I was determined not to give up. 4.5 months on, and still not easy but DS2 is doing well, and I'm sooooo proud of myself for persevering. I found a brilliant BF counsellor who was able to help me with some specific issues, and also found the LLL and NCT helplines brilliant for telephone help and support. Oh yes, and lots of Lansinoh! Good luck.

[foxybrown]

Relax as much as you can, stay relaxed, try not to worry ... IME second-time around was easier as it wasn't as overwhelming and I had an idea of what to expect generally, not just with feeding.

With DS1 my MW bought me some time with DS1 by suggesting I express and dribble what I could into his mouth. It stopped me from panicking that he wasn't getting ANYTHING at all.

DS2 and DD just got the hang of it straight away. I discovered Lansinoh cream and it was all fine. Wasn't 100% trouble-free, but was an awful lot easier. Good luck with it.