how to prepare or where to start? hoping to breastfeed but not sure

[kiki88]

I believe Asda have an upcoming Baby event. im currently just over 14wks. I think id like to breastfeed to give baby the best start etc. I have quite small breasts and nipples, wondering if this will limit us. also what should I be buying when I see it at a reasonable price? can I express to share the bonding/work load/be able to get out of house without baby in tow? I've read alot that its all about demand feeding and expressing wont establish the milk as well compared to just breastfeeding? help? manual pumps/electric? what brand/shape of bottles is best in general or which are better for combining breast & express? any advice greatly welcome. trying to spread out the cost and plan on buying little bits and pieces here and there to squirrel away. also looked at a 3sided co-sleeper crib secondhand off gumtree which id obv buy a new mattress for. night feeds - help?

Hi, I just wanted to to respond to your fears about the size of your breasts. You don't need to worry. Before becoming pregnant I was size 36AAA! My boobs were so small I had to buy my bras from specialist shops. I've had no problem at all with my milk supply, in fact I suffered from over-production at the beginning.
Have you had a look at Kellymom It has a lot of useful suggestions.

I would recommend reading The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.

'The Food of Love' by Kate Evans is great..... a real down to earth, funny and informative breastfeeding book. Don't worry about buying stuff. And don't worry about breast size either !

I'd buy the 3-side crib, or you can also rent an excellent bednest from NCT for 6 months, it saved our life. Expressing can work for some but not others. Of my circle of bf friends I am the only one regularly expressing, a lot of people don't like it. I was able to rent a pump from my Children's centre so I knew before buying that it was ok for me. We bought a Tommee Tippee sterliser kit that came with a bottle the day DD came home from hospital, it was all we used for several months. Personally, I would not worry too much about expressing, you may find you literally don't have time to do it and it is just an extra stress. I found a good nursing cushion a much more important investment in the early days, but again you may want to try them first in a Children's centre or a BF group to find one with a shape you and LO like. And a sling... And a lot of support, RL and online :)

Yes to the co-sleeper crib! We have a bed nest and it's the best thing we have.

Everything else, take your time with. We got a steriliser before our son was born, and that was fortunate because he ended up in NICU being bottle fed for the first week. It took me a while to bf properly, and it took until about ten weeks to want to express enough for feeds. Don't worry about bonding - it's fairly clear that my three month old is delighted to see his dad, and he's not fed him since he was about a week old.

In the early weeks, if it all goes well, you may not want to express because your working with your baby to build up your supply to meet the baby's needs. I've demand fed, and it's generally worked well (ask me again in the middle of a growth spurt!) Once you feel confident, then expressing can be helpful to allow you some time off

Bottles etc are a personal preference. At a week, he preferred slow teat bottles, and he now seems to like the Nuk bottle. I think there's a bit of trial and error with which bottles work for you.

Get some lansinoh in too - it's lanolin cream for your nipples - and a super rescue if they start to feel sore. Finally, find out if there's a breastfeeding cafe near you - these really were the best source of help and support for me in the early weeks. I can't talk them up enough. Also, they have biscuits

I have small breasts and had no problem breastfeeding for 18 months, I would have continued ( if only for the convenience) DD had a bottle as well from 7 months, when I returned to work. I guess it worked for me because I didn't have any hang ups. I know there can be other factors as well; my SIL breast fed her first but bubba 2 was a problem. I think breasts are sexualized to such an extent that we forget what they ere intended for. get some booby bottles ( boots own are good) just in case, Remember babbies don't get milk proper for about 5 days, so hang on in there girl. If you are lucky enough to be able to express milk ( I couldn't ) that's a plus.

If I was you I'd wait until baby is here before you buy a lot of bottles etc. It's recommend that you wait at least 6 weeks to establish breastfeeding before introducing bottles. I spent £70 on the tommee tippee starter set and used hardly any of it as ds hates those bottles, and bfing went well so I've no use for it. I do express a few times a week now. Asda have baby events a few times a year, and often I've found better deals on amazon. Always shop around Congratulations and good luck. BFing is one of the hardest things I've done but very rewarding and you get an amazing bond with your baby.

I went to breast feeding classes. Ask your midwife to refer you to one. It's a great way to meet other parents and have a laugh at the assortment of hand knitted boobies in all shapes, colour and sizes.

I had the 10 minutes in an nhs ante natal class (with knitted boob), a couple of packs of breast pads and a tube of lanoish. Crucially I had no formula which was how I succeeded on the worst night (after which we actually bought some and a bottle. I didn't express at all in the first two months, then bought a cheap pump to prepare to leave ds.

Its a hard slog but the best thing about bf is that you don't need lots of stuff.

I was fortunate to have great ante natal support; massage, breastfeeding classes etc, depends where you live . Contact your local children's cenre if you have one. They run classes have sling libraries and so on. All the best.

I found the bravado body silk seamless bra the comfiest bra for pregnancy and breast feeding. I also bought a load of stretchy vests from aldi and use those under normal tops instead of buying nursing tops. (Pull top up and vest down underneath bra so your tum stays covered.)
Lansinoh nipple cream will your friend in the first few weeks.

hi, i wouldn't worry about the size of your breasts before breast feeding i was a small B, when my milk came in i went up to a c.. and your nipples will get larger!
i have the event electric pump, works well for me. be sure to give your baby a bottle from a young age now and then to get use to it as my 7 month old son has never taken a bottle he refuses and breast feeds every 1/2 hours and i can never leave him with anyone.. and stock up on breast pads! and some nipple cream as very sore first week x

"mil" (we're not married or engaged) is doing my head in. im only 15wks and shes talking abt decorating a nursery in her house (wtf!?) told her there was no need as baby wouldn't be leaving this house for first 9 months (as long as I can take time off work) as I would be breastfeeding. response oh no no you won't be doing that, thats far too long &the baby will be massive by then. excuse me but its my baby im growing inside of me and im wanting to do the best I can for them. freaking me out. feel like im being controlled already/like shes thinking my baby is guna be staying with here. if anything shes putting me off letting them out of my sight. I plan on doing the best for my baby, if I can bf I will try my best. "sis in law" (his bros gf) os due 2 wks later but lives a plane ride away is gettin peace & im being tortured! not fair! im stressing already thinking im guna have no time just the 3 of us when we get home. cannot cope with the idea of people staying longer than a cup of tea. if im bf i can sneak off upstsirs? dont like the idea of feeding in front of people at first