Due in 5 weeks, want to breast feed. What do I need?

[RockLovesMincePies]

This will be my 2nd child, but I gave up breastfeeding my dd (now 6) after about 5 days out of sheer frustration.

I am due dc2, a little boy, at the end of Jan and this time round I am determined to give breast feeding a good go this time. But I am not sure what, if any, equipment I actually need.

At some point I would like to try and express so that DP can have a chance to feed his son, also in the hope that we can get out together occasionally which means leaving baby with a family member.

So, what do I need to buy and what are the best makes? Looking at the breast pumps that are available the electric ones are way out of our price range, are the manual ones any good?

Any advice will be gratefully received.

With DD1 bfing was always painless - I has no problems at all. With DD2 it took a few days to get latch sorted out, so I had blistered nipples which were agony!

I don't think you need to get any formula in "just in case". If there are any emergencies there are always places to get formula if you need it (if it involves a hospital emergency then the hospital should be able to supply). There are very very few times when a new Mum would be separated from her baby - buying formula "just in case" seems a bit daft to me.

I found BF painless and know lots of people who did too! Good to be prepared I guess, but you should know that pain often means a bad latch - it's a sign that something needs to be fixed sharpish, not something normal that you grin and bear.

The thing is yes, it CAN hurt but if the baby is correctly latched and attached, then it shouldn't hurt at all. hat said, very few women get adequate support in attachment in the lead up to the birth and therefore many experience pain and all that goes with it and assumes it normal as it's so common.

Imagine lal if you are stuck in the iddle of nowhere (say Wales/Cornwall/scotland) and then you're snowed in. Then it wouldn't be "daft" to have bought one tin of formula to keep at the back of the cupboard surely.

middle - not iddle

Re getting formula in - we live in a world of 24hr Tesco, you don't need to get anything in advance if you have a DP with a car.

Speaking of DPs, Here's an article to make him read because, like with r, men often just want you to cut to the quickest, least painful option because they feel so helpless and sad for you. However, sopmetimes that attitude will knock your confidence. When it comes to brand new babies, they can help best by trusting you and showing their confidence in you.

vintage noooo but that's a very specific case and therefore the advice is not necessarily ideal for all, IMO :)

You are right to clarify the pain part.

The OP's baby is due in 5 weeks and so that was why I was referring to snow and shopping etc and getting in one tin/a couple of cartons/more nappies/babywipes etc than usual. It's one less thing to worry about.

Get the boob + baby combo working first, worry about breastpumps and bottles later!

Perhaps having 'equipment' in the house can make you feel more confident, but it is also a real distraction at a time when you need to be paying attention to learning the 2 most crucial basics: good latch, feeding cues.

Expressing can be a godsend, but lots in the early days can also create a huge amount of extra work (as well as interfere with the establishment of a good supply) so try to leave it til 6 weeks if you can.

Good luck!

Breasts and belief in yourself... Don't buy any paraphenalia yet, nobody lives so far into isolation that if you went down the formula route, you couldn't get it as and when

I speak as a Bfeeding mum to a 4 month old, who bought everything just in case, mainly due to lack of confidence, none of which has been used, electric pulp, bags, formula, bottles etc etc... I also thought I wanted my DH to feed the baby when.in reality with growth spurts and cluster feeds, combined with co sleeping, it worked out that this was a nice idea but not practical

You need good support from your family, understanding you need looking after and confidence that your all your baby needs, yes its uncomfortable, but I would say after about 2 weeks this was gone

Good luck x

I don't agree about buying bottles and formula, and best to borrow a breastpump if you can to check that one works for you before you buy. I have an avent hand one, which is fine for very occasional use, eg DH/MIL/DM/babysitter giving bottle when they were babysitting. DH only fed if I was out, but I didn't worry about going out and leaving him as I knew I had EBM in freezer. I actually froze it in bottles complete with teats to make it easy to use.

-Buy a box of breastpads.
-A sleep feeding bra (buy more fitted ones later when you know what size you are)
-Buy lansinoh cream (although I never actually needed)
If you have flattish nipples then buy ahttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Lansinoh-70150-Latch-Assist/dp/B001PPGR42/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293470761&sr=8-1 latch assist

On the dash to hospital and too ill to feed front - that has happened twice to me (unlucky sod that I am!).

1st time DD1 at 2 weeks was mostly bottle feed formula with some ebm so was fine (I wasn't fine as not allowed pump from maternity so ended up a leaky mess with bandages in my bra to soak up the milk).

2nd time DD3 was an EBF 6 month old (not allowed any solids by order of paed) and as I literally couldn't stay still long enough to bf her, A&E rustled up some formula for her to have. DH brought some cartons of formula on the way home from the hospital to feed her with (he would have passed about 15 places to buy formula on the way home so lots of choice!).

On the what do you need front (in order of importance)

1. Lactating breast(s) and baby

2. Some decent help once you've had baby and some prior knowledge before you have baby (a goood place to go is www.kellymom.com to get that). Hopefully the ward will have some decent help but if not having done some reading before hand will help you sort out the crap '10 mins L then 5 mins R' help from the good 'baby will feed a lot in the early days - it's normal and to be expected' help.

Also, see if there are any local bfing groups and go before baby arrives so you can meet some of the supporters and build up some rapport.

3. A comfy place to nurse with access to a drink and some snacks (healthy or otherwise). Somewhere to put your phone/mobile/remote/laptop/iPod/book/magazineis also helpful once you get the hang of bfing to help while away the hours.

4. Some sort of nipple cream can be helpful - different brands seem to be preferred by different people so go with what you think you would like but don't get one that needs removing before a feed.

Most women, I would say, have some sort of pain or discomfort when starting out bfing. Pain that last for the whole feed or continues between feeds needs checking out but feeling sore on latching on (which goes as the feed progresses) is normal. Most people riding a horse for the first few times will have sore legs and bottom for a bit but that will go as they become more experienced as will mum as she and baby get more experienced. If it doesn't or if nipples are getting damaged then help is needed to solve the pain.

5. A pump can be helpful but being shown how to hand express is invaluable (I wish I had been as I leaked gallons of milk whilst being separated from DD1 and my pump when in hospital).

Hand expressing can be used to help drain a breast after a feed, to let off the excess if you are engorged or, if the technique is modified a little, you can do to stimulate a sleepy/reluctant feeder to take a bit more. A good tutorial for hand expressing is here.

6. Supportive partner and family. Even if they don't really understand why you want to bf your new baby after ffing your first DC, if you explain why you want their support (or if they can't manage that, their silence) to help you to be successful in your aims. Dads' attitudes really can make or break bfing for some mums so if you ask your partner to be supportive and not to just suggest formula if you have a problem (in some circs. it may be the right choice for your family but not for a problem you are willing to work through).

There is a good article here my DH really likes. He loves being 'the other safe person' for our babies and has never suffered a lack of bond for not bottlefeeding our babies every day although he was the one to mainly bottle fed DD1 for the first 8 weeks before she went back to bfing, has very rarely bottlefed DD2 and DD3 was only bottle fed when I was in hospital and she was over 6 m/o then. Funnily enough DD2 and DD3 are major Daddy's girls and DD1 isn't too fussed.

Good luck with your new baby and don't forget MN is here 24hrs a day.

Don't get formula in. All you need for bf is boobs, plenty of support ( baby cafe/sure start centres and most importantly your dh/dp) and chocolate.

If worst comes to worst, you can always nip out for formula if you need to.

I also wouldn't get formula in if you're determined to bf. When you're sleep deprived and you have a fractious baby in the middle of the night it is so so easy to convince yourself that your poor baby is starving and in need of formula. Often those thoughts pass when daylight arrives - but I know I would have caved many times if I'd had formula ready and waiting to go.

I didn't buy any formula and BF didn't work for me anyway!

Sounds like cheap superstition to me / magical thinking - that if you don't buy it, you won't need it. Rubbish.

Buy some - buy a steriliser and bottles too - learn how to use them and pray you don't need them. If you do need them you won't feel like an unprepared naive fool - and your hungry baby will thank you.

I am not an expert but still feeding at 2 months and I bought formula just in case. Dd had a bottle of formula 1st day home from hospital as I was just soooo exhausted and we are now still going strong.

Buy a little basket or similar to stash your snacks, nipple cream, spare pads, bottle of water etc so you can move it around with you wherever you feed.

Make sure you partner knows how important it is to you. I would not have got to 2 months without dh behind me. He has an important job at feeding time - the winding!

And if you do struggle, which you might not, believe that it does get sooo much easier and lovely! I never believed it but its true!

Exactly showdown.

Just say if bf isn't working. It's the middle of the night, you feel like you can't go on or your nipples are bleeding - how much more of a nightmare would it be to have a screaming baby and no formula.

Not many people live 2 mins away from a 24 hr supermmarket.

I have bf four of them, and initially it hurt every time until my nips got back into the groove, so to speak. That was with a perfect latch.

I would say don't expect too much of yourself initially and just take it day by day and plod along for the first 6-12 weeks. After that it becomes second nature and really incredibly easy.

As a recent breastfeeder I would say don't get formula, do get a pump.

I had to express from day one (first by hand) as the baby was not well. 6 days later I am expressing every 3-4 hours.

I'm also glad I bought a coldwater sterilizer thing too. Got it from ebay really cheap.

Microwave sterilising bags are great for one-off bottles.

A carton of ready made formula is a good thing to tuck away in case you get ill yourself and your DH has to step in before you can express anything.

Not an expert at all but during the first few days trying to get to grips with breastfeeding, after the second night of tears DH went and bought formula 'justin case'. It's still sitting in our cupboard unused, but was such a comfort knowing it was there if we ever needed it.
I second the suggestion of having a basket of essentials to carry around with you - make sure there's chocolate in there!
We thought the electric breast pumps were way too expensive but after a very painful experience with engorged breasts we bit the bullet and bought a Medela swing which saved my sanity. It was also great for DP to give DD a bottle while I got some sleep.
Also.... worth having a dummy around - this also saved our sanity. DD is a VERY sucky baby and at the beginning would have literally been on the boob 24/7 if we hadn't figured out she wasn't hungry just needed something to suck.
Above all, just remember it WILL get better.
Wishing you the best of luck :)

I exclusively breastfed both of mine, and I did always have a couple of cartons of formula in, just in case I fell under a bus or something really. I used them to stir into food once we got on to weaning.

I found the manual pump too annoying to use, and then couldn't justfy the expense of buying another, electric one. Poor DP, I didn't really deal with any need he might have been hiding to feed the baby. He had lots of cuddles, and of course got to feed once we were on to weaning. I think he was OK

I would say you need;

1. Good fitting nursing bras, get big sized sleep bras for the first few days as if you're anything like me, your breast will be enormous and your normal nursing bras won't fit. You might be uncomfortable so you don't want anything restricting your breasts initially.

1. Nipple cream, lanisoh or kamilissan are good in my experience

1. Lots of muslin cloths

1. Plastic breast shells, to put in the opposite side of your bra whilst feeding to collect any milk which might leak from the other side. I wasn't prepared for this and had to change my top every time I fed til I realised what was going on.

1. A supportive partner or family. The numbers of the local NCT or ABM counsellors or peer supporters.

1. A hand breast pump is useful if you are engorged and just want to express off a little to relieve the pressure.

1. Hot flannels to put over your breasts if they are sore or engorged.

1. Confidence in yourself and your ability - you can do it! As someone else said, very few women physically cannot breast feed, but lots will give up usually because they haven't had the correct support or have been given the wrong information, e.g. that they don't have enough milk. Breast feeding is based on supply and demand, if you feed your baby often, your body will keep making more than enough milk. If you don't feed your baby often, your supply will diminish.

I would say, don't get formula in. I was told this by a midwife at my first ante-natal breast feeding session. (I have 3 dc and pg with No 4). In any sort of medical emergency, it is usually better to keep feeding if you can, and if you decide that you really do want to give up, you can easily get some formula, bottles etc in then. I was also told by a midwife that if you feel like you want to give up because you feel like you haven't got enough milk or it's too hard, leave it 3-4 days if you can and then decide. Usually, whatever the problem was will have passed by then and if not, you can either get some more help or make your decision on whether to continue.

I'm also a peer supporter with the ABM and have fed 3 dc for a total of 4.5 years! Hoping to feed No 4 (due end of March) for another 2 years.

Good luck, I hope it all goes well.

Lansinoh, DVD box sets to watch, books to read to older child and lots of babysitting support. Bf is normally easy if you know exactly what you're doing and have the time to dedicate to it without having to care for another child. Unfortunately the two are usually mutually exclusive.

Find out as much info as possible on BF ie cluster feeding, weight gain in the infant, 'normal' feeding patterns (don't expect LO to 'go for 4 hours' between feeds - BM is digested more quickly than FF so baby will feed more frequently etc etc)and see if there is a peer support BF counselling group in your area - they can be really helpful with things like latching on etc.

Buy a good and easy to use flask / big mug, so you can have lots to drink while feeding LO - flask is good if you like hot drinks etc.

Good bra(s)

Favourite drinks

muslin cloths

Comfy chair / pillows for feeding in

Possibly BF banana cushion (there's a relatively inexpensive blow up one from a well known chemist that I found good)

LOTS of self belief - YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!

Good Luck!