pre-preparation for BF?

[BabyMadnBump]

I bottle feed my first my mother said why BF when their is milk on the market to feed them, my second I tried to BF and I gave up after 10 day due to the fact he never slepted so I never slepted and I had DS#1 who was only 2 at the time to look after, my nipples were very sore and PND, but this time round I want to give it a dam good go, DS's are 5 and 7 1/2 both in school, sleep really good at night, never get up to early in the morning and are good kids, so is there anything I can do pre-preparation wise to help myself?

On the subject of how long it takes to feed. Some people have very quick feeders but as Urbandryad said some take an hour and a half to complete a feed and then want another feed a couple of hours later. My dd was the latter and for those interminable feeds I felt marooned and stranded to the spot - dependent on others to bring me things/turn the light on etc. Sometimes my dp was a bit gormless and forgot to come and check on me and I got a bit lonely & hungry sitting there in the darkening room.

In case I have a slow feeder next time, the lesson I have learnt for is to prepare the environment around me so that I have something to do whilst I am glued to the sofa or bed. In my case this includes:

• easy access to light switches
• remote controls to TV/stereo etc always close
• hands free phone
• pre-recorded DVDs of things that can be watched in small chunks
• audio books
• some system for accessing drinks & food whilst sitting on sofa
• some system for calling dp without having to scream down the stairs

I'm now 38+1 weeks and my midwife has advised me to start trying to hand express colostrum to prepare for breast feeding. It's interesting that this idea has not been mentioned anywhere in this thread so far - is this not normal advice?

Incidentally, I tried last night in the bath, and failed to produce any. Is it likely that I was doing it wrong, or will it take a few goes?

Ive never been advised that, Jillibaby. And despite having breastfed a few times for long periods I have never been able to express anything either so it doesn't work for everyone. Had no problems feeding my babies, just couldn't express. No idea why.

jillybaby - learning to hand express is a good idea (i had to hand express colostrum as my dd was in special care after my cesarean and i was bed bound for the first 12 hours so i couldn't be with her) but since nipple stimulation can cause contractions you should only do it from 37/38 weeks or so cos you don't want to bring on early labour. the fact you couldn't get any might mean your technique needs a bit of working on. try gent;y massaging down the breast towards the nipple before you try to express, the warm bath is a good idea, don't worry if you can't get any, some women can't until baby arrives.

JillyBaby, it's not normal advice, no, and while there's no evidence it would do any harm, there is no evidence it does any good, either...so what's the point?

I think the advice to hand express colostrum as a preparation is about as useful as advising someone to take their pushchair and practise walking round the block with it empty before the baby is born....or practising eating your dinner cold because you have had to attend to the baby before eating it....or practising washing sick or baby poo out of your jeans.

In fact, it's even less useful than those things, because you will definitely end up doing all of them, whereas you may never need to express colostrum or milk

I'm finding this book really useful.
The other thing I did which gave me loads of confidence was to find a list of local sessions where there would be other people bf - e.g. NCT mornings, sure start sessions etc. I printed off a list and realised there was one fairly near me almost every week day. That way i know that however hard it was, I'd be able to get out of the house and ask for advice very soon. I've only actually been to 2 of the weekly sessions, but the backup was there if I needed it.
Also agree with whoever said about getting organised - glass of water, remote control, snacks etc in place in advance so you're not sat there with a dry mouth!!

Thank you all for your responses.
Glad to hear that at least it's doing no harm! Maybe it would be useful to at least sort out the technique, even though it doesn't sound like there's any other benefit. If I see the midwife again before LO is born then I'll perhaps ask a bit more about why she suggested this.

Katy - DH bought me the DVD by the author of that book, but haven't got round to watching it yet.

I found Lansinoh cream excellent for sore nipples (which was only first 2 weeks).\

Also always have big glass of water next to you when BF (makes you v thirsty).

Like eevryone else has said - good information and NCT phone numbers (for any problems).

Like learning any new skill it can take a few weeks for you and baby to get the hang of it but after that it becomes very easy. There are so many benefits and is a real joy - feels like you're giving your baby the ultimate cuddle!

also

never heard of trying to hand express colostrum..... not sure about that either!

I wish I had talked to more people about bf beforehand and I wish that those I had talked to had been a bit more honest / forthcoming about potential problems and difficulties.

Be prepared that bf is probably going to be a full-time job at first and get as much help as you can with other things. Don't listen to anyone who says you are feeding the baby too often.