Preparing for breastfeeding

[CardiCorgi]

I'm hoping to breastfeed when this baby finally arrives, what do I need to start off? A couple of bras, possibly a cushion, breast pads, anything else? I'm in a big city so should there be any problems it would be easy enough to send DH out for other supplies.

One thing my midwife has suggested are these strange plastic doughnuts things to be worn for the last few weeks of pregnancy. They look like this: www.mothercare.com/Medela-Nipple-Formers/dp/B002GUYTSG/sr=1-37/qid=1285660398/ref=sr_1_37/278-8104264-6776142?_encoding=UTF8&m=A2LBKNDJ2KZUGQ&n=44554031&mcb=core does anyone have any experience of using these things and are the really necessary? I clearly can't go into work with anything like that stuck in my bra.

Anything else I could/should be thinking about? This is the one area where I can't ask my mum for advice.

Your list sounds pretty good so far, you should also get a few muslin squares to soak up any leaks or sick. Never seen those nipple former things, I certainly never used them and I had no problems BF DD. It says in the item description that they are for flat and inverted nipples, has your MW said that it would be a problem?

If you wanted to you could go along to a local breastfeeding group (such as LLL or NCT) to get some more information and meet some local BF mums so that you've got a support network ready and you know where to go and who to speak to if you do have any problems.

Things I used in the first few days/weeks:

Lots of breastpads
Lansinoh (very important! My nipples never got really sore but I used this pre-emptively after every feed at first and never had any cracking or bleeding)
Cushion (I used my pregnancy support cushion)
Muslins

Bras - I waited til I got home from hospital, had my mum measure me and sent her out to M&S to get some nursing bras. My breasts went from a C cup at the end of pregnancy to a D cup after the birth, and then expanded again to DD within a few days so it would have been a total waste to buy nursing bras before hand.

Breast pads
Vasaline
sofa cushion with a disposable changing mat and towel wrapped round it
Nursing bra's (I bought padded ones at first, but find the cotton ones more comfortable)
Nursing tops (permenantly in a vest top when I'm at home
Sleep bras

I also got a pump and steriliser but thats personal choice.

I wouldn't bother with special nursing tops. They're expensive and with the exception of the vests normally quite ugly.

In the early days you will spend a lot of time stuck on the sofa while establishing supply and dealing wih cluster feeds. I've found sky+ and a stock of trashy paperbacks you can read one handed invaluable.

Read 'The Food of Love' by Kate Evans and have the breastfeeding helplines to hand.

You might find you don't need to buy loads of breast pads initially- just depends how much you leak.

Unless you have flat or inverted nipples, not sure why you'd need the doughnut things! Oh that reminds me, chocolate, lots of chocolate.

Thanks everyone, that's all very useful. I've got a vest top, but no bras yet and the nursing shops they showed me in one shop I went to just looked weird and more hassle than they were worth. We have stacks of muslins at the ready and DH has told that he will need to wait on me.
I'm in Germany, so not sure about LLL, but there may be something similar and the midwife will be on call. I think support for breastfeeding is fairly good here, in fact I can't think of anyone I know who didn't do it.

I'm hoping to get bf established before worrying about expressing, so I hope that I can leave bottles etc. until later.

The doughnut things are confusing - I don't think my nipples are particularly flat, but then I don't go round comparing them with other women!

I was curious as to what a flat or inverted nipple actually looks like so I found some pictures online:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_nipple

I know my Mum said that she found the shield things invaluable with flat nipples. I don't have flat nipples so figured they were pointless.

You can get soft bras, like night bras, that don't need drop-down cups but they'd be no support if you're bigger.

I wouldn't bother with the doughnut things. Although if you already have them, they don't look like they will do any harm!

The Food Of Love is excellent.

La Leche League is an international organisation so may well have branches in Germany. It's worth googling "Breastfeeding support " in German of course. If you know quite a few people who did breastfeed that's great too.

MN is online 24/7 should you have an urgent question at 3am

Good luck! :) Though it doesn't sound like you'll need it - I'm sure you'll do fine.

Sounds good CardiCorgi

I think you can call NCT from outside of the UK if you do run in to trouble.

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. After seeing those photos I can say that my nipples are definitely not inverted.

Chocolate sounds good, and cake.

Try & find & go to bfing group before the baby comes. It will be much easier to know where you are going & what the deal is before you turn up bleary eyed with a newborn!

Also record loads of crap tv or DVDs and practise mnetting with one hand!

I'd definitely get a decent soft sleep bra that you can easily whip a breast out of. I had to use a maternity bra for the first few nights (a bit like a crop top) and had to take the whole thing off to get the breast out. It was cold!

Mine was from JojoMamanBebe, and they were just sized small/medium/large, I think.

Lansinoh, and sleep bras (cheap ones as you'll need a few, because they need washing frequently in the early days).
I tried pre-preparing nipples with Lansinoh before DS was born, and it was certainly a lot less painful than with DD but probably would have been easier anyway, so not sure whether it helped.

good bf bras. elle macpherson does a nice range.

always drink a glass of water for every feed you do.

use lansinoh.

have hot showers & massage breasts to stop lumps forming / blocked ducts.

if one breast hurts, feed from that side more often to clear the ducts.

get the hang of bf lying down.

bf is great - right temp, no sterilizing.

Bravado bras are excellent & comfy.

Also amazingly useful while bfing are a cup with a lid and a straw for water (this will also be useful in labour) and if you drink hot drinks a thermal mug with a lid, means your tea stays hot & you can easily drink it whilst feeding the baby without spilling.

I have never heard of using those things (I call them breast shells) before the baby comes, and I don't see how they would prepare your breasts for feeding.

My mom bought them for me in early days apparently she wore them for leaks. And you definitely can wear them under clothes without anyone noticing. Your breast gets squished a little, the nipple goes in the hole, and leaks drip down. The air holes obviously have to face upwards. (I think the picture isn't clear there's a rounded side and a flat side, and the flat side goes up against the breast, with the hole for the nipple.)

I didn't wear them but I always put one on the other breast when I was feeding to catch the big leaks. Back when I was expressing I then saved that milk. Eventually I stopped bothering and threw it out. If you don't want to buy disposable breast pads (for economic or environmental reasons), these work too. (I use the disposables, though, even though I have these.)

I personally would have nipple shields on hand. They can protect sore nipples even if they aren't inverted or anything. I had a problem starting on a Sunday afternoon and the nipple shields (plus NCT hotline) got me through feeding that night till I got help in real life on Monday. They're cheap -- it's not like buying a pump you don't use.

Really glad I read this post. I'm reading as much as possible because I would really like to succeed with breastfeeding this time round and these are all very useful.

Thanks for info on nipple formers. I didn't try them last time as I only found out about it when baby was a few months old. Forgotten all about too.. need to make sure I get them this time.