Stupid Questions From Mum-to-Be

[CupcakesHay]

Hello

I'm not due til late Jan - so am pondering random things at moment. It's going to be my first time too... which is probably why you'll all look at my question and be.. doh!

Anyhow I'm planning to BF - what do I use the breast pump for/bottles for? How many bottles will I need to get?

Sorry - i just figured - beofre becoming pregnant - that you just breast fed and that was it - but not realise it's all a bit more complicated than i thought.

Thanks, in advance for the advice.
H x

Definitely agree on the sterlising thing. I sterilised nearly everything that touched my first son's lips and got quite obsessive about it. I then read on mumsnet that it wasn't necessary to do sterilise anything so I didn't with DS2. It drove my MIL crazy!

I exclusively breastfed both boys but expressed a lot with the first. I'm not quite sure why I did; with my second I rarely expressed and he never had a bottle. We co-slept which made feeding a lot easier. Consequently I never felt the need to express to give a bottle. If we have another baby I'd definitely co-sleep again; it made night feeds so much more comfortable.

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.

Oh, and another thing:

Try and tune into your instincts. I found giving birth and becoming a mother quite over-whelming and relied on other people for guidance and advice. I found it all a lot easier when I started listening to my instincts. Other people mean well but have their own experiences and opinions in mind; my MIL, for example, was convinced that breastfeeding couldn't work because she hadn't and kept telling me very gently that perhaps it was time to stop when my son was a week old. This might be why I fed him until he self-weaned, but I am quite stubborn!

Seriously though, listen to your instincts. It is a powerful thing in a mother.

I didn't have bottles, pump or formula in the house at the start with first DC. I thought I might crack and give the baby a bottle if I had the stuff to hand and I was exhausted/sore. And so I would have done, I remember thinking: if I had a bottle I could give him, I would, but I haven't so I shall just have to carry on trying to BF. Just as well I couldn't as he has a life-threatening milk allergy (didn't find out for a while) and I have now successfully BF three children. I do credit the "no alternative" situation I had created for myself as a big factor in my getting it going.

I did get a breast pump but never could express much . . . I do wonder whether I could have succeeded better with this if I had started earlier. I waited till DS1 was about 4 months old.

I agree with leaving it. I had to go away for a day when dd1 was 5 weeks and expressed from week 3 so there was enough. She had maybe 4 or 5 bottles after that and i fed her until she was 1. I fed Dd2 for 2 years andshe didn't have a bottle in all that time. She was admitted to hospital at 4 weeks and had to be tube fed as even the experienced paed nurses couldn't get her to drink bm from a bottle. I was given hospital breast pump and bottles to express when she was ill so didn't need to buy anything.

mme red and white was just thinking about hand expressing as that's what I used as they were handy just to take the top off. No other reason, not encouraging formula feeding.

I have bf 3 children adn tbh you don't need bottles or a pump.

I don't know about BF, as I FF from the start, but would second the "just leave it and see if you actually need it" idea with most baby things that seem absolutely essential when you're pregnant. If I could go back, I'd have just bought a moses basket, a car seat, and a few multi packs of baby gros and vests.