If you intend on breastfeeding, what needs buying before the birth?

[FoofFighter]

Just that really :) ^

wowsers lots of replies thank you :)

My big donut pillow saved my life I'm sure, or at least my back. Did without for a week and remember thinking it was the most comfortable pillow in the world ever when it arrived. I was also so glad I bought my pump. Ended up with a delay to my milk coming in and was sent home from hospital on 4 hourly pumping schedule. I so wanted to do everything properly and would have been out my mind if I'd had to send DH to shops for a pump and learned how to use it etc on the same day I got home. They are expensive but I was sure I wanted to bf so knew it would come in handy at some stage.
Also lanolin - amazing stuff.

I did buy two bottles and a few cartons of formula - just in case. Gave me peace of mind that if it wasn't working, I could still feed baby without panicking. But then - we are about 1 hours drive from anywhere that would sell bottles!

I used during BF:
hand pump (loved it)
electric pump (hated it)
muslins
storage pots for storing milk in the fridge (never froze any)
6 bottles.
nursing bras - bought after I gave birth as the ones I bought before were far too small! Ended up wearing cheap vest tops with no bra for the first week.

Comfy nursing bras. Bravado great as they are stretchy so fit while you change shape - I got mine while pg.

maybe one pack breast pads,.I didn't leak significantly with either DC but they were handy to keep Lansinoh off clothes.

Lansinoh - great for nappy rash and general sore skin even if your nips are ok.

If I hadn't been planning to express at work I wouldn't have bought bottles. I've never bought any formula.

If you could buy having confidence in your nor'easter ability and lots of patience for sitting still for weeks that d would be good.

Oh I do use my widgey pillow lots, its handy for wobbly learning to sit up babies too.

Your body's ability. I don't even know how to write nor'easter.

I wish I had read The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding before I have birth.

I found Lansinoh nipple cream very useful!

I ended up sending my DH for

Nipple shields
Breast shells
Hydrogel breast pads
A breast pump

All the best!

Cake

Lansinoh
Breast pads
pump to relieve engorgement if need be and steriliser
breast feeding bras
lots of pillows to get comfy with

and the number of your local BF support group, BF counsellors/peer supporters, La Leche league etc.

If you need formula, you can buy ready made cartons from supermarkets if you live in a city. Likewise if you need bottles you can get them readily from supermarkets.

Lansinoh, bra.
Wish I had bought a pump in advance, it's just they were so expensive!

Thanks for this thread foof, I naively thought boobs and baby was enough!

List so far:
Cake
Drinks
Snacks
Boobs and Baby

We bought 3 or 4 little cartons of ready made formula, as LO was due on Christmas eve and I was terrified it would all go tits up (excuse the pun) over the bank holidays. DD rocked up 5 weeks early and is now 11 weeks old - cartons remain unopened in the wardrobe but it was reassuring to know they were/are there so a mad dash out isn't needed with screechy wailing baby, if the need ever arose.

We bought an Avent starter pack with a few bottles/teats and microwave steriliser, again iin case things went wrong (I was clearly quite anxious with hindsight). Cheap and has come in v useful as I express now. I would hold off getting a pump until LO is here.

Breast pads, muslins, cheap stretchy vest top under a looser top works for me when I'm out, a couple of good nursing bras (I got fitted after the birth as she was early).

I got some lansinoh cream, my mw said if your latch is good you won't need that. And she was right

ruck cakes and biscuits and drinks are the mainstay of what you need! And new batteries in the remote control

Cakes, chocolate and a footstool.

Definitely breast pads, nursing bras, plenty of loose vests so that you can wear two and do the 'one pushed under, one hoicked over' thing, Lansinoh, muslins, big pillows with pillow protectors on. And maybe a couple of DVD box sets - you'll be spending a lot of time sitting down.

Liking your list Rucknroll

I did bf my first years and years ago but got no support whatsoever and then obviously failed to continue past a couple of weeks hence the not rreally knowing what I might need.

I do remember having oversupply though, is that liekly to still be the case or does it change with each baby?

one of the best tips I've got from mumsnet was to invest in some vest tops that are stretchy to wear under your top (obv over your nursing bra), so that when you bf in public you can pull the top of vest top down, pull your jumper or whatever up but then don't have your stomach on show

whoops sorry, duplicated 'hoiked up' post!

I have some bump bands, they'd do the job wouldn't they?

bump bands don't work, after the baby is born there's no bump to hold them up!

I'm quite chunky so there probably will be for quite a while

Marks and Spencer's do some great stretchy long vest tops which I tucked into jeans and then sort of hoiked down at the top. Breadtfeeding vests with clips seemed to be quite tricky to do up afterwards with clippy bras too.

everything that has already been suggested. oh and the remote control / a good book / magazine as you can be stuck to the sofa for HOURS. i liked johnsons pads as they were quite soft, and last time around discovered the bravado bras which were also v comfy so comfy that i still wear them now

indith this lansinoh / exemption card trick - how does that work exactly? i have spent a fortune on the stuff in the past!

Our local NCT breast feeding counsellor ran a dad's session with her husband. It's a real pity that this isn't standard everywhere as DH was so well briefed on latches and techniques that I had round the clock support to draw upon in the early days. If you can get your DP on board and get him reading books and watching DVDs it really will be a huge help.

agree nancerama my DH paid attention to the BF bit of our ante natal class, even though i wasnt sure if i would suceed at BF. he managed to get DS to latch properly, get him positioned correctly and kept me going when i felt like giving up. he knows so much now i think he could probably retrain as a BFC!!!