does anyone know where i can hire a breast pump from and how much that costs

[pregnantbabyelephant]

does anyone know where i can hire a breast pump from and how much that costs
my baby id 3 and a half weeks old and only bf
im finding it quite tiring and thought if expressed some my dh or other family and friends could help with the feeding
or is it best to buy one and if so what on do you recommend i think id prefer an electric one

also what do u think the best age is to introduce a bottle so i still bf
and maybe just give the odd bottle or two of ebm ?

have you considered feeding while lying down and co-sleeping? many mothers who bf also find co-sleeping aids bf. cosleeping mums also get more sleep than mums who get up to feed their babies.

this US site explains a lot of the FAQ and concerns for parents the links at the bottom of the page is also highly recommended. the only question about it is that is seems to imply that co-sleeping in more common in europe and i don't know how true that is. certainly isn't in the UK, imo.

Try hand expressing before you even think of the hassle and expense of hiring/buying/using a breastpump, PBE.

Hand expressing is flexible, no sterilisation of pump parts needed, for instance.

Most people's experience is to wait a while before expressing and giving bottles - at 3.5 weeks, your dh and others can do a zillion other things to help, and sitting feeding a baby is actually the least tiring thing on the list

Expressing is a great skill to learn, and it does allow you the chance to do things without your baby and to have a bit extra sleep.....but you don't need to learn it yet, IMO.

Good points by kiskidee, and when I said 'sitting feeding a baby' I include 'lying down' in that

When it's going well, breastfeeding is no more tiring in itself than breathing - it's all the other stuff around caring for a baby and a household that can be a challenge, and others can do all of that.

I've got a breastpump you could have ffp, only thing is its a hand one not electric so it can be effort.

thanks for the advice
i suppose it true what vry well could happn would be dh would b giving a bottle of ebm
and id be tiding the kitchen !
even more tiring
i do bf lying down at night but worry if i fall asleep with dd in the bed with me
thanks for the link kiskidee i will look at that
so what age do u think expressing is ok or is it best just to bf

thanks sleepless thats very kind of you but i think id find the manuals tiring but v nice of you to offer

You can hire pumps from nct, they are really powerful and fantastic but if you are planning to keep it for a while it is quite expensive I think it was about £40 per month. If you go onto the website there is a phone number and they can tell you where the volunteers are in your area.

I hired one when ds was about a week old, and we tried to get into a routine where dh gave the last feed of the day (about 11ish) so ds was used to bottles and we were able to go out later on. It was nice for dh to have some intimate time and sometimes I even got to bed early!

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