Advice on what to bf kits to buy for 1st time mum to be

[petrifiedprawn]

Hello, my 1st baby is due in September. I'm starting to look for feeding kits, bottles, sterilisers etc. I'm hoping to bf (will keep an open mind; it doesnt sound easy!) and am thinking of getting a medela electric pump as this is recommended in a lot of previous threads on here but does that mean I will need to buy Medela bottles, steriliser etc? Can I mix and match and buy tommie tippee bottles/steriliser but still use the electric Medela pump? Many thanks xxx

Congratulations on your pregnancy.

Very very gently I'm going to say this - you don't have to get any kit beyond breastpads and maybe some Lansinoh nipple cream. You have all the kit you need to breastfeed (or will once your DC is born) :)

Obviously if you know ahead of time that you will want to express breastmilk and bottle feed your baby I'm sure others will be along with recommendations about manufacturers etc.

Personally, I got a very cheap microwave steriliser from TKMaxx (basically a big tupperware with a hole in the lid!) and as I wasn't away from my DS until 4 months, bypassed bottles and went straight to a sippy cup for a (very) occasional feed of expressed milk. Have only used the steriliser a handful of times therefore.

I didn't get on with any pumps, either manual or electric. Hand expressing is MUCH more effective for me. This isn't the case for everyone, but I would definitely advise trying it before shelling out lots of money on kit.

Yes, I agree with Mombo- you can save yourself a packet if you wait and see what you need. My pump is gathering dust upstairs. I learnt to express by hand too- no equipment and no washing up either is a really good video that shows you how to do it.

Breastfeeding challenges are overcome a lot more easily if you have the right support and information. The best thing you can do to prepare is to look up local breastfeeding support- LLL, NCT, Baby Cafe etc. Lots of women BF with no problems at all, some need pointing in the right direction and some need to work hard but if you've got someone that understands BF management that you can call on then you're more than halfway there :) (all these services are free)

As mentioned above you won't really need any kit. I really wouldn't recommend expressing until beyond 6 weeks when your supply is pretty much regulated as there's nowt worse than oversupply.

Invest in a few boxes of breast pads and id advise getting a few brands till you find something you like. Boots slimline I soaked through in a few hrs in the early days. Could probs get away with them now (dd is 8wk) I find tommee tippee pads better at night and Johnsons better during the day

Get lansinoh cream off amazon. Godsend that stuff!!

But I'll let u know what I have. At 7 week we started expressing just one bottle so DH can help with the odd night feed

Tommee tippee steam steriliser (was a hand me down)
Avent manual pump (had a voucher from Boots parenting club. works perfect considering I don't really use it that often. Plus Avent bottles screw into it) when it comes to pumps it seems it very much depends in the individual so it's a bigger you can't try before hand
3 tommee tippee bottles (we thought she had colic and they had an anti colic valve and are supposed to replicate breast feeding)

Thank you for your advice, DH will be pleased as it'll save some cash :o)

I've signed up for NCT and will ask midwife next time I see her. I'm finding it hard to identify the things I will need, compared to the things that are out there to make money out of emotional first time mums! There is a lot of very clever marketing going on out there! Thanks again x

I am going to go against the grain here and say that I would get a couple of bottles and a little microwave steriliser.

With dc1 we struggled and she just didn't take to feeding resulting in 6 days of screaming and a over a lb weightloss (15%) as soon as I started expressing (ny hand to start with) she was a different child.

Made sure I had a full set of bottles etc for dc2 and he latched on no problem and wouldn't take a bottle :o

Ooh I know, you get bombarded with ads, don't you? Bloody annoying really, not to mention confusing. You can get a lot of decent stuff second hand, ask your NCT people about nearly new sales- I still get all my DDs' clothes from NCT sales and they do buggies etc too.

I barely used my pump hand expressed when weaning for milk for ds breakfast and used the pump in total 7 times so not worth it. Used closer to nature breast pads after trying several cheaper brands and they are worth the money settled on them in the end i was allergic to lansinoh so used boots own brand as it doesn't contain lanolin and ebayed for some cheap new with tags nursing bras so breastfeeding really doesnt cost as much as baby shops would have you believe i had a cold water steriliser i didnt use when i had dd as preferred the microwave one did the job when ds came along as i rarely used a bottle for him

Hi OP. I agree with what everyone else said. However, to answer your question if you do decide to buy a Medela Swing electric pump, you don't have to use the Medela bottles. The pump comes with a bottle you express into and a Medela Calma teat so you can feed straight after expressing (just attach the teat to the bottle). But you can also just pour the expressed milk into special freezing bags to store and then pour into the bottle of your choice once defrosted.
I used Lansinoh breastpads and they were the only ones that never let me down even with my very forceful letdown.
Breastpads and Lansinoh are your essential. Breast pump is not unless you need to be away from your baby in the first few months or you want DH to help with feeding.

I agree with all the others. You don't need anything, but Lansinoh is a bloody good idea. Start using it straight away, apply generously after every feed from the very beginning. If you do that, you'll hopefully never know why I suggest it

Breasts, breastpads (asda ones are my fave) and lanisonah

Everything else can be brought when necessary. If desperate you could always use a new specimen pot to cup feed some hand expressed formula (unlikely but shows how you really don't need to splash the cash now!)

If you Breastfeed you don't need to sterilise anything

Hot soapy water and air drying is fine

And as all the others have said other than boobs, breast pads and Lansinoh you don't need anything else

I would recommend a book called The Food of Love by Kate Evans which is terrific & excellent for a first timer

here ...

I'd second many of the posters - I'd hoped to bf with DC1 and didn't have any equipment (except breastpads) in advance - I trusted it'd work out. As long as you have easy access to say a 24hr opening supermarket (in case of a feeding emergency!) I wouldn't worry about it now.

You need your boobs. I didn't bother with that laninsoh stuff, just bought some reuseable cotton breastpads. They are v. comfy.

I agree with the posters who say all you need is a tube of lansinoh and a box of breast pads at first.

More important is to find your local bf group and go along before the birth, especially if you can get some antenatal bf classes - really helped me!

I have a cupboard full of unused baby stuff....

I never even used nipple cream. If you buy a tube and don't use it then it's really good for putting on your nose when you get a cold and it gets all sore from blowing it all the time. Also it makes brilliant lip balm.

I expressed every day - DH did the 7am feed so I could get an extra hour's sleep before he went to work. A friend gave me the Medela Swing and I bought replacement valves etc and it was great. Had two Tommee Tiptee bottles, used the Medela bags for sterilising and stocked up on Lansinoh and breast pads. Don't bother with gel compresses, my MW gave me a great tip: nappies - pour hot water for hot compresses and keep one in the freezer as a cold compress. For everything else, Kellymom.

If we are recommending books then baby led breastfeefing by gill rapley is bloody fantastic. Its a new release. Just read it (DD is 6mths old) and I kept thinking I wish this had been out when I was pregnant.

Great pics, info on all aspects including tandem feeding, extended feeding treated as the norm. Really empowering plus a section on coping with relatives advice!

eaurouge yep brill lip balm as found labour dried my lips out and as a spot hand cream on knuckles after all the handwashing!

I need that book lagoon haze!

Loved her book on baby led weaning

Yep, lots and lots of breastpads. 6 months on and I still need them, although not as many. Tommee Tippee for me.

Lansinoh (one tube has done two babies and there's still loads left). Have heard that vaseline is just as good though.

I also bought a Tommee Tippee manual breastpump for about a tenner, which has been fine.

Bought a steam sterilizer (had tiny microwave) for twenty quid from Argos, but that wasn't until I'd got BF sorted and could leave expressed milk while I went out.

Lasinoh also makes brilliant nappy rash cream if you are fortunate enough not to need it for your nipples. I agree with what everyone else said about not buying sterilisers etc. your breast milk is sterile.

Its written in a similar way ruby when I'm done reading it and passing it around I may donate it to our breastfeeding group.

You see, I never needed breast pads as I never leaked - already from this thread you will notice how everyone's experiences are different.

Yes, lansinoh is brilliant stuff, but I made do with the free samples that the mws handed out (cheap skate me)

If you don't want to breastfeed (it is allowed) or just want to bottle feed occasionally, Mam do a self sterilising bottle that you shove in the microwave for 3 minutes, get a couple of those or as suggested a microwave steriliser (kiddicare had Avent ones for £9.99 earlier this week)