Help me BF DC2..

[EMS23]

I'm due DC2 in 6 weeks. DD was born at 38 weeks, a bit small at 5lbs 7oz with low blood sugar etc..
We spent 4 days in hospital during which she was tube fed high calorie milk and I expressed teeny amounts of colostrum for her.
It was horrendous, she never latched properly and I just couldn't make BF work. The pump I'd bought didn't work and I quickly fell into PND. I gave up BF all together on day 6 after zero support from midwives on home visits and feeling too overwhelmed to seek external support.

So, I want to try again this time. I've bought a Medela Swing pump (Medela pump in hospital worked for my colostrum). I'm going to make a list of phone numbers and breast feeding groups in my local area.

Any other top tips? I'll have a 22 month old toddler to care for this time too so am very nervous about not having time to commit to this if I struggle again.

TIA

Do you need to pump? In my experience, pumping added an extra dimension of stress and faff to things!

I agree with Banana - avoid pumping, at least for the first couple of months till you're in the swing of things and have ironed out any early issues.

Does your 22 month old like being read stories? Lots and lots of new/charity shop/library books on hand so you can read to him/her while you are BF.

Also look into co-sleeping guidelines and safety tips and decide if you want to try it - a godsend for increased sleep.

If you can, go to the local BF groups NOW so that you can meet people and get to know who can help you.

Can you call a bf advising person now to get some reassurance? Then you'll have someone one to call from day one if the hospital staff are not helpful.

I guess I bought the pump as it was so necessary last time. She wouldn't latch and with her low birthweight etc.. they wouldn't discharge us from hospital till I said I'd express.
Then we got home and the pump didn't work which was the beginning of the end of BF. So I wanted to be well prepared.

I'll look into going to a group and talking to a BF counsellor now, good tips, thanks.

another thing to look into is a doula (see the Doula UK website to find ones local to you) - you can get postnatal doulas with bf experience/qualifications. I found my doula was absolutely fantastic in getting bf going (the midwives were too stressed/busy to have time).