Beginners guide to bf - any tips?

[dolly1]

Ladies I am 22 weeks and starting to think a lot about after the birth - what to do and how to do it.
I'm sure this has been asked a million times before, but would anyone mind advise me on how breast feeding tips please
How it works? How best to get things 'flowing', expressing etc.
Is it possible to have any kind of routine when bf?
Treat me like an idiot!

I'm so keen to try my best, not least for the selfish reason of how lovely it must be to be form that bond with the baby, but I want to be realistic and armed with knowlegde.

Also really terrified of bf in public! I know that's stupid but really feel insecure about anyone but dh and mum seeing me doing it. Am I weird?!

I haven't read all the thread so apologies if repeating anything.

Right, this is my second time of b/f and I am so much more positive about it than last time.

1.Read, ask questions, read some more.
I knew nothing about b/f apart from 'its natural' and 'its much better for my baby' I never knew it could be difficult.

1. Find out about your local b/f groups

I never knew they existed and when I said to the hv that is was going to switch to formula at 6 with ds 1 she said 'okay then' rather than, 'let me lok at your latch, refer you to a b/f counsellor etc' There are people who can help you to b/f best get to know about them before you need them (you may not even need them!) I go to a b/f group with ds2 even though I don't have any problems as it's still good to make/keep contact should anything go wrong.

1. It might not hurt!

Ds2 -6 weeks monday - came out, latched on and has been there ever since! No pain, no bleeding nipples and no soreness. Really, it can happen.

1. B/f in public

DS1 -no way!! DS2- Have in cafes, the register office, restaurants. What changed?? I knew why I was doing it, why I wanted to and it became important to me. Get out and b/f in public as soon as you can to not build it up into a really major thing. Go somewhere quite first time round, practise 'sorting yourself out' at home and wear those same clothes when you do venture out. Make sure you have b/f bras and you can get some great feeding tops from Mothercare that have easy access (to get your confidence up) V-neck jumpers are great as you can stick your hand down them, sort your boobs out and no-one can see what you're doing. I am not an ardent ' will b/f anywhere I like to' I do find quiet corners and face walls a lot but if it gives me the confidence to do it -so be it.

We have a lot of birth stories on here -anyone wanting to share a breast feeding story for those wanting to, needing support/ideas?

Those that are flowing well -how did you do it?

The only thing I would say is, if you ask for help and you aren't happy with the answer - keep asking!

Been thinking of more advice for you dolly.

Try not to give a dummy to LO for a couple of months. People told me it can interfere with supply and latch and I didn't believe them, but it did. people will tell you "the baby is using you as a dummy" but it only really occurred to me a couple of weeks ago (dd is 6 months!) that a dummy is just a replacement nipple, so why not let 'em use the real thing ?

if you do finally succumb (I say this as someone who was practically forced to give dd a dummy by interfering well meaning relatives and now wish I hadn't - for several reasons but mainly I hate seeing it marring her pretty face ) get Tommy Tippee Closer to Nature dummies. They are hideous and huge but the suck required for them is more natural.

It's difficult to help you feel better about the feeding in public, you just have to get on with it. Suffice to say I have never had a negative reaction to it, in fact I have had many lovely comments from people. You just have to get yourself in the mentality that your baby has a right to be fed whenever and wherever it so choses!

Don't worry about reactions to bf in public, as with anything you hear about the negative but not the 1000s of +ve reactions (or no reaction at all) I have never had a negative reaction (or am too thick skinned to notice ).
Don't panic if your baby seems to just want to feed all evening for the 1st few months, it's normal, use this opportunity to veg in front of the TV/ read a book
If you are alone make sure you have TV remote, telephone, drink, snacks handy before sitting down to feed. The doorbell will go halfway through, and you will figure out how to answer it still feeding
Don't get hung up about which one you fed from last time / has it been emptied / should I swap sides? As long as you make sure it's roughly right in the 1st few weeks the baby will make sure he or she is getting what is needed. I didn't believe this until DS would fuss at one breast and then settle down for a long satisfying feed as soon as I swapped.

Adding on to

Don't panic if your baby seems to just want to feed all evening

It doesn't mean you don't have enough milk!