Couldn't breastfeed ds1 - pregnant again and really want to this time

[Moandy]

As it says really. Was desperate to breastfeed. Had a breast reduction about 8 years ago. Tried in vain, with help from everyone to breastfeed ds1, but he would never latch on. Led to me expressing for 6 months, but only being able to pump about 500/600ml a day at the very max even with domperidone. Does this mean my supply won't be enough to breastfeed the next baby? Any tips? I gave in too quickly to pressuring midwifes to give a bottle of formula only a few hours after birth and I feel like that doomed me. Should I try nipple shields with this one? Any tips welcome, I really want to prepare myself to get it right!

Hi
I've breast fed 2 babies, for over a year each time. I would say perseverence and support is everything. It is hard to get it established.

With my first baby, he really struggled to latch on. He had tongue tie which didn't help - get that checked and dealt with asap. I struggled for hours with a very sad baby that first night until a very nice nurse sat with me and said she wouldn't leave until he was latched on. And she stayed until we got there. I was so grateful. When my milk came in a couple of days later it was shocking and painful. I needed a pump to be able to get my breats down enough for the baby to latch on.

Same with my second, although his latch was better. But it HURT for the first couple of weeks - a lot. I really wanted to do it but i really needed the help and support of my husband (who took over with many other jobs etc) and a health visitor and breat feeding support group at various stages.

You need to give yourself time to get there - support is so so important.

Look up colostrum harvesting, expressing colostrum, collecting in syringes and freezing it can make a huge difference to supply (36 weeks onwards). It's also useful if you're unwell and can be given to baby if there are initial latch problems. The La Leche League are an amazing resource for feeding advice and have 24 hour volunteer helpline too. Good luck!