breastfeeding?

[krista21]

i bottle fed my first lg,and I'm due in October with my second. i really wanna breastfeed but I'm scared i wont feel comfortable. i just don't like the idea of breastfeeding infront of people,i know its a natural thing and i know you can get a cover to go over you. im just nervous,and if i wanna breastfeed do i need bottles? i wanna be 100% just on breast but if i go somewhere can i express or something? im really confused on to what to do,helppp:(

[EeekPreggoAgain]

Hiya, it’s perfectly natural to feel daunted by it. Lots of people will say “what! Don’t be embarrassed doing it in public it’s your right!” And yes, of course it is but that doesn’t mean you’ll feel comfortable doing it straight away! Of course it’s a bit weird, you’ve not done it before! I breastfeed until my daughter was one and soon got used to doing it out and about. It helped being out with other mums doing it as we were all out flashing our boobs together! Lol. Honestly though, I’m sure after the first few times and once you’ve got the hang of actually doing it you’ll feel fine. I had three or four bottles and a pump so I could express. We only started doing this after about 6 weeks I think - I think I’d read about not confusing them early on - maybe check that though. I wouldn’t buy lots of bottles though, just one to start as my daughter had a couple of different teats before she would take it, Mam was the one she liked in the end and I had to get a really slow flow one otherwise it was kinda like water boarding her!! Poor baby! She always fed happily from me or my expressed milks from my husband and slowly we introduced formular as we reduced breastfeeding when I went back to work at a year. Good luck with it all.

[SirVixofVixHall]

You get used to it, honestly. I was stressed about feeding in public. I am busty anyway so when breastfeeding they were huge and it was hard to expose a breast discreetly, however I found that with the right clothes I could do it easily once I’d had a bit of practice. The longer you feed for the easier it gets. I fed my babies on crowded trains, in cafes, and once in Ikea on a sofa- a man sat down next to me and had no idea I was feeding until the baby accidentally kicked him.

[Magpiefeather]

I would buy a nice cover now so you have one ready. I had thought I wouldn’t be bothered about covering up feeding in public but when I was still getting used to latching etc, it would have been useful and made me feel more comfortable. I kept meaning to order one once I realised this but was too busy / spaced out to get round to it with a newborn! I’m not sure the brand but there are some covers which have a kind of flexible plastic bit in the top so it doesn’t flop over babies head and you can still see what you’re doing latching them. They look great. Good luck, hope it goes well for you

[Tj9694]

I'm currently breastfeeding my six month old. Not going to lie the first couple of times I breastfed in public I did feel embarrassed but you soon get over it - if you baby needs feeding you just get on with it. Took me a little while to figure out which clothes were best to cover me up but to be honest I don't really care now if a bit of my boob is showing. I'm not going to cover my babies head with a muslin or whatever to make other people feel better! Best tip I got was to practice at home infront of a mirror - you will be surprised how little breast is actually on show once the baby is latched on.
Good luck op

[Magpiefeather]

Ooh PS i would also recommend getting some nice nursing tops / dresses before baby is born if you can. Again I didn’t and felt really restricted by what clothes I had, and wished I had a couple of tops that I felt nice in and that made nursing less of a faff. Everyone had recommended two tops and pulling one down and the other up. This would have worked except it was a heatwave when my baby was born!

[FranticallyPeaceful]

I’m very pro breastfeeding and I’ve never done it in front of strangers to be honest. Best thing you can do is buy a sling that covers you whilst feeding... nobody will have a clue! especially when combined with a BF top, but they aren’t needed. I fed mine out and about all the time and nobody was any the wiser to it

[FranticallyPeaceful]

Or rather, I have done it in front of strangers... they’ve just never known! They assume baby is sleeping

[Lightsong]

Get some proper nursing tops, honestly you can't tell that you're feeding. I've carried baby round supermarkets while nursing and nobody knew. Or just wear a strappy vest with a nursing bra underneath a floaty top. Just try and feed before they get to the screaming stage or you might have a battle latching on and end up a bit more exposed. By the time my second came along I didn't give a shit about feeding anywhere in front of anyone!

[Murane]

I wear a vest with an ordinary top over it. Top gets pulled up, neck of vest and bra get pulled down. No special nursing tops required.

I prefer to feed under a cover but didn't buy a special cover, I just use an ordinary pashmina. I stick the end of the pashmina under my bra strap on the the opposite side to where the baby is feeding, and wrap across my front and under the armpit on the feeding side. Then get my breast out underneath and pop the baby under the pashmina.

[Sunshinegirl82]

It's easier than you think to do it without anyone noticing once you get the hang of it! In the early days you can always head to a feeding room when you're out and about. Most shopping centres and big shops (like M&S) have them.

[Feb2018mumma]

I expressed at first, milk lasts 5 hours when out and about so you can carry bottle with you and my baby doesn't mind it room temp. Use a hakka or nature bond pump as so much gentler, now he's a few months am more confident and bought a feeding apron off Amazon that I will feed him under

[userabcname]

Don't worry OP - I was so worried about feeding in public and the first time I did so (at a cafe) no-one even noticed! Honestly! Just have a good practice at home. I found nursing specific clothes to be more discreet than normal clothes although I am now much better at navigating buttons, zips, pulling tops up over vest tops etc (plus I care less what other people think). I can highly recommend the Facebook group Can I Breastfeed In It? which will give you some great ideas of what you can wear and how to feed comfortably when out.

[krista21]

thankyou all so much! defiantly put me abit more at ease with the idea of breastfeeding:) i have 20 weeks to go so i have plenty off time to get more knowledge and understand. its such a terrifying thought for me o.o lucky for me I'm so flat chested so i don't think ill have much boobage hanging out haha! wheres the best place to get a nursing bra? on my first baby i remember when my milk came in i thought i was pamela Anderson:'),my mistake was i didn't relalise that a push up bra would mould my boobs to that shape,was so embarrassing:')

[ethelfleda]

To echo pp- you will get used to it. I am bf'ing my 6 month old and have never purchased special nursing clothes or sling or anything. Did the best top under the top trick as previously mentioned. I have fed in public LOADS and nobody has ever said a word. And congratulations

[ethelfleda]

That should say vest top!

[mildshock]

If you want to try then do just that I've been breastfeeding DS2, out and about for the last 8 months and barely anyone noticed.

I've never had any negative looks or comments, people in Costa have brought me drinks when I was pinned down cluster feeding.

The only "reaction" I've had while breastfeeding was when we were out for a meal with a lot of friends for DPs birthday. I was chatting away and helped DS latch (quite discreetly, no one could see any part of my breast) and it was only when I paused mid-conversation that our friend noticed I was feeding DS, turned his head away and said "oh OH, shit, sorry!"

We're the first of our friends to have children, most don't even have nieces or nephews, he had no idea how to act and thought he was being rude by not giving me privacy. It was really quite comical, we had a good laugh about it and since then he's been completely un-phased any time I've fed DS2 around him.

I thought it was going to be really difficult to breastfeed discreetly, as I have huge boobs that are always in the way. flowing tops with a nursing vest underneath work really well!
Normal vest tops will be completely fine as you're small chested.

We bought bottles just in case we needed them. We're only just starting to try him with them, as I'll be going back to my course soon.

Good luck, enjoy