Breastfeeding support

[Mmolly2013]

Hello

I'm due my first child next week I'm 23. I've decided I want to breastfeed my baby for the first 4-6 months at the least. I have researched and I'm all set for breastfeeding. My partner is all for it as am I and he is incredibly supportive and going to help me.

The issue I have is my immediate family are all men ie brothers, cousins and dad, no females around so I'm bit worried about the logistics of breastfeeding with so many men around. I'm really close to my dad but how do I get over this and not care about moving to another room anytime me need to feed. Just to put into context I'm the first person in immediate family to have a baby and also out of my friends so even the fact I'm breastfeeding is a bit taboo to them.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Google breastfeeding covers / nursing covers.
They hide everything but you can still see baby to check what is happening. My dad gets very uncomfortable if I don't use it!
I got mine from TK Maxx, it was less than a tenner.
Good luck!

Yeah I have a 'snoob' which is great.

When the baby is hungry all I care about is feeding her, once you get the hang of it it's easy to get them on with not too much of a fuss.

H&M do some good nursing tops. I haven't used my snoob since I bought the tops. Can't see any boob when feeding! I fed in front of my bro on the weekend. I just got on with it - it's all about confidence xx

Have you let them know if advance that you will be bf so they get used to the idea? Maybe arm yourself with some facts and figures about why bf is so good for both you and baby.

I found the early days/weeks quite hard so give yourself plenty of time alone with baby to get things going, check their latch etc Once we both 'got it' and the feeds started spacing out i really started to enjoy the special bond.

Once bf is established you may be happy to use a cover or might decide you are comfortable without one.

In terms of practical support: Your midwife and health visitors should be able to help in the early days.

Ask the midwife on your next antenatal appt for a list of local breastfeeding drop in sessions, i found them really helpful when i needed extra support in the early weeks.

Also make sure you have some numbers to hand in case you need support outside of office hours, eg la leche league or NCT

And get some lansinoh nipple cream!!

Good luck!

Thanks for all the advice, I've made them aware but I think I'll bring it up again just to make sure everyone understands.

Kiddicare have some branded BFing shawls in their sale v cheap.

There are also some great breast feeding support groups on facebook

Well done for researching! I didn't and had a steep learning curve!