Routine ? or is this not possible

[emmy01]

Hi I'm due to have my first baby in oct and I am planning to breastfeed, if i can, but i am really unsure about all the ins and outs, my mum didnt bf any of her children and neither did my MIL so I feel I have no one to ask.all the books I have read recommend demand feeding, however I really want to establish a routine as soon as possible I know alot of people are against this and suggest feeding on demand but I dont feel this is right for me and my baby. am I being completey stupid is a routine possible when BFing? I would really love to breastfeed as I totally agree with all the benefits I only want the best for my baby and me. I am quite aware that routine prob wont be possible for the first weeks , any advice from anyone who is an in an established routine or thinks the same and has achieved this I would be so pleased to hear from you. thanks emmy

Riab, you say: "The reason I said about expressing is that by expressing you ensure you WON'T have the problems of supply and demand. If baby still seems hungry after a long BF you can give a bottle of expressed milk to 'top up' and ensure they are taking good full feeds. Because you express milk twice a day your breasts will always produce a good amount of milk. "

Riab, I don't want to 'get at' you, as I have had a word on the other thread, but this quote from you (above) has to be commented on, sorry.

Expressing twice a day (apart from being unncessary in most cases, and having no benefits at all with regard to topping up, in most cases) is absolutely not good for mothers who have a good milk supply already. I speak to many mothers who have uncomfortable and sometimes a real problem with over-supply because they are routinely expressing more than their baby routinely needs.

Please stop extrapolating from your own experience and limited understanding and reading....what worked for you is not Gospel, and does not reflect the physiology of breastfeeding.

I don't think people are trying to undermine personal preferences. I think you can be very lucky and find a great routine early on for your baby or you can get a baby who totally does not fit into a routine too. I think the most important thing which can be pointed out to new parents both when it comes to sleep and feeding and other issues is not to expect too much in the first couple of months. We have all been there wishing our babes where a little more predictable, but I think the more you stress about routine the less you are going to enjoy the first months. I have so many threads on MN where people are desperate because their 4 week old baby wakes for feeds at night or how to get a 12 week old to sleep through the night. It's not like that having a baby and I think it can be pointed out!

Wow I didn?t realize this was such a contentious area, thank you all for your replies. I can understand both sides of the argument I feel riab has been taken slightly out of context I don?t think she was saying let you baby go thirst in this heat for sake of routine, she has a regular feeding pattern that she would adapt to suite abnormal conditions, but usually the routine she follows is enough for her baby, and as for saying expressing is bad for mothers I feel this is untrue, hospitals actively seek mothers to express and donate milk to help they would not do this if it was bad for us, our bodies can make as much or as little milk as we require its just creating the supply or demand for it and expressing can help those who are struggling to do this. However these are my thoughts and I am aware others may think differently. If I return to work and want to breastfeed I will have to express and I don?t think this is bad for me or my baby. I can see I will need to do some form of demand feeding to begin with but I am still hoping to fall in to a relaxed routine after a few months. Fingers crossed.

Emmy, it's not really an argument or a personal opinion where people are differing.....it's to do with how some people know how breastfeeding works in general, and some people understand this less than others.

Hospitals often ask mothers to do things that are bad for them

However, on the whole, expressing is a useful thing for people to know, and I wish there were more hospitals that took donated milk from kind mothers. It's also a good thing to know how to express when mothers cannot bf direct.

But expressing can indeed be bad for some mothers - as I explained, a mother who has an already generous supply can be made hugely uncomfortable if she then expresses on top of that. As you say it creates extra demand by increasing the supply. There is no reason why a mother needs to express if everything is going well, though she may choose to, of course, for situatiuons when she is not going to be there.

The idea that women ought to express in order to be ready for growth spurts and to do this twice a day from the early days is pure Gina Ford, and therefore one might wonder if this is based on any true understanding of how breastfeeding works.

Hope you have a lovely pregnancy and enjoy your baby!!

Emmy - another vote for the kellymom website - I often look at it even now and dd2 is nearly 6 months.

Have you thought about attending La Leche League meetings? Bf with dd1 went a bit pear-shaped, so I was determined to be more successful with dd2 - attending lll meetings and listening to experienced bf mothers really helped. Also useful to have a contact who can help with latching etc. I had a LLL counsellor come out a couple of days to help with positioning etc - I found her far more helpful than hv's and mw's.

I demand feed my dd2 - and she is in a sort of routine or more to the point a regular pattern.

I personally wouldn't get wound up about trying to instigate a routine much before 3 months - as before then there are loads of growth spurts etc.

IMHE, it takes about 12 weeks to get really comfortable with bf, in terms of bf in public and getting the lo to latch without all the fumbling (this may just be me .