Help me compile a list of essential (and non essential) breast feeding items.

[suwoo]

I am so determined that I am going to successfully feed DS2 due in July after not being successful with the other two. I have had a breast reduction which may go against me but other than that, I really want to give it a good go.

I will take it one feed at a time and have already visited a la Leche counsellor and know the details of the baby bistro.

I have a pillow, a pump, breasts .

What else do I need to get? I am thinking nipple shields for worst case scenario and lansinoh.

What else?

Ugh, when I think about the saggy, baggy feeding bras mothercare tried to flog me.The bras I have now have foamy shaped cups which make it easier to flip them up and down.
I used cheapo boob tubes from Primark worn beneath bra line as tummy covers. Should be nearly the time of year for them to be in stock again.
I have an insulated mug with lid (starbucks/tk maxx). Means I have a chance at a hot cuppa and no worries about spilling over baby.
Boppy or some other type of feeding pillow.
Torch/ booklight for checking latch and lots of other stuff in middle of night.
Boo to DH; if he'd had abdominal surgery I'm sure he'd not expect to be taking full care of two kids while he recovered.
Enjoy the cuddles and try to let the lack of suppourt bounce off you. It's their problem/ issue, not yours

In my experience - b/fed both children for 10 months exclusively (they both randomly rejected the breast at similar times), nipple shields are invaluable especially if you are having trouble getting the babies to feed in the correct positions. My two both did this irritating thing where they released and then panic sucked as I removed them and this led to very sore nipples and some minor infection which was horrible, painful, time consuming and made the milk taste bad for the baby.

I'd also say to have the pump ready and use it as early on as you can (pump one breast whilst feeding from other). I found this helped increase my milk supply (pumped occasionally when had time from 3 days with first) and helped the baby get used to feeding from a bottle as well as the breast. I neglected to do this until much later on with my second and found that she flatly refused a bottle (would only have a cup) and I struggled to produce any milk (hardly even 1/2 oz) when pumping when there had been an abundance with the previous child (sometimes 10oz from one breast). This made it a lot harder to rest or leave her with anyone else even for a short time.

THE most important things however are absolute confidence and perseverance and finding what works best for you and your baby though!

Thanks for yet more advice. Oh and Gina its 3 kids. Although DD is 7 and doesn't generally wake up now . Maybe I am doing DH a disservice, he will get up while he is off work, but I bet my bottom dollar he won't after that.

Just looked at some of your other posts. It's hard not to worry that you're not producing enough milk but once you start stressing or supplementing that'll only undermine things. Just be oblivious and confident in your own milk and instincts. I'd say that a baby (within reason obviously) needed supplementing with a bit of food rather than changing to bottles if their weight was dropping off after having risen for a while. I always started off gently with a couple of tastes of pureed apple or pear (nothing else in it) and built from there to more regular meals of pureed fruit then onto fruit with a bit of baby rice to bulk it out starting around 4 months - i.e. It never occurred to me that formula would nourish the baby better than my breastmilk at any stage and i think you have to be militant about making yourself believe this. Health visitors didn't like this but could never give me a good reason.

I think with your wakeful 2 year old it'd be good to just take some time to talk to them about why they need to stay in their own bed, not making a big point about the new baby, focusing more on how it makes everybody feel tired and sad to be awake in the night and everybody would be able to play more/would be less irritable in the day if him/her stayed asleep in their own bed. It's always good to ask them how they have been feeling when they woke up before and reassure them a bit that you love them, feel proud of them and there's nothing to worry about. I'd also tell them that mummy and daddy need to sleep at night so you're not going to come in anymore when he/she wakes but that this is nothing to worry about cos you're just nearby and is in fact a triumph for them because it means they have grown big. Maybe offering an incentive like a little toy or favourite breakfast if they manage a couple of nights in bed and then really sticking to your guns when they kick off all night for the next week. I find praising them for trying even when they don't succeed works well to keep them motivated too.

Thanks curiosity. I've mostly done all that with DS and he always gets a present when he has slept through. It is purely habit for him now, he doesn't seem worried or anything. He is now sleeping through 2-3 times a week which is fantastic given his worst ever episode of 24 wakings- before midnight .

Regarding the weaning, I prefer the BLW approach and waiting for 6 months which I did with DS even though he was bottle fed, I aim to do this again.

The thing is, its very difficult to comment on supply because as far as some health professionals are concerned it is an impossibility to breastfeed following a reduction as drastic as mine.

I am crossing my fingers that my supply is there, given the signs I had after having my other 2 children.

Lol, just had to google BLW - looks good! I never know what things are called! Sounds similar to the stage both mine had come to by that age which was fantastic for freeing up some time whilst eating.

Health professionals can only really tell you statistics and probabilities, you won't know till you try and I'm sure people have successfully managed it. Just don't let them make you feel too negative. The human body is capable of some amazing things. Here's hoping you get a really good sucker as well!

Sounds like you're having some success with the sleep thing too. I normally offer incentive for 1 night success, then for 2 successive nights then for 1 week success and then stop giving reward to avoid it becoming habitual rather than a reward but find it's really important to not give any attention when they wake up. Then just carry on with praise and that has worked for me but some children just hate bed and sleep lightly - my mother in law says my husband was like this! lol He still is, which may be useful when my twins are born!

Re: the length of time it takes for milk to come in post-section -- it may help you to think that all the sucking baby is doing, in addition to comforting baby, is also stimulating the breast to produce milk.

One thing I did with my second that I didn't think to do with ds1 was to pump (with an electric pump rather than a hand-held) every 2 hours the first night even though ds2 was sleeping peacefully through the night. OK, I didn't get any milk at all, but the stimulation hopefully tipped my body off to what was expected! Also, I would suggest putting him on slightly before he starts to ask for it (but don't be panicking and thinking, 'is it time, does he want it, should I wake him?'). If it has been a couple of hours since his last feed, give him a little go on the boob to see if he's interested -- this might be easier than trying to get a cranky baby to latch on.

I think it is fantastic you are working so hard at this before the baby comes. Good luck.

Thanks Oregonian. I am an all or nothing kind of girl- which is what worries me....I will either do this or I won't

Its the won't that worries me. I think I will go back to the baby bistro in the next few weeks for some extra encouragement. I've got 10 weeks to go.

yes, do -- it is so important to be around others in the same situation who can support you.

Thanks . I first went there at 18 weeks and I think they thought I was mad .

I'll be MNetting from the hospital and getting DH to look at the latching on videos on youtube, hysterically shrieking for him to check if it looks the same.

Oh god help us all I can see it now.

suwoo, regarding supply I heard a fabulous thing on here a while back. When I was feeding dd1 I really didn't know whether the "wet" nappy was wet enough iykwim? because lets face it - its how many wet / pooey nappies you are dealing with that tells you if they are getting enough milk.

A lady on here said the nappy needs to go thud when u drop it on the floor. If it doesn't go thud then you know u have a problem. If it does go thud its wet enough.

I also had a deal with my local weigh in clinic that I would get my baby weighed every week. That way every week I could see a little gain and knew everything was fine.

Thanks Kitkat. A thudding nappy is indeed a full one! Should it be 6-8 of those a day then? Thats a lot of wee

Hiya,

I did'nt breastfeed but one of my best friend's had a baby almost 2 weeks ago now and I got her this Lansinoh pack from ebay the seller is fab they were here in 2 days and both were still sealed in boxes as promised, and she says they are both great items apparently the cream really helps and the pads are more absorbant than the other brands she's used, she would tell me if they were pants not just saying that cause it was a gift

Tbh I can't remember how many u are meant to get a day in the 1st few weeks someone will post soon I should think

for 1st 4-5 days you'll just have colostrum (?spelling) and not much pee/poo once the merconium (?spelling) has passed. just make sure they aren't dehydrated (ask midwife / health visitor if you are unsure). newborn wee are very small and the nappies certainly won't thud!! I had to put cotton wool in DS2's nappy to make sure he was actually wee'ing in the first week.

Cheers everyone. I think I am possibly getting some slight leakage in the night as I have noticed some circles on my top in the morning- only one boob so far, but that is a really good sign.

Thanks for the link mamadiva, I really need some lansinoh, but I've got loads of breast pads, a friend gave me 50 and I got a load FFP from here.

The thud thing might be a good test for an older baby, but I am not so sure it would work for a newborn. The cotton wool test could work, esp if baby is a boy.

Dh won't be taking a month off . Its the summer holidays so luckily there are no school runs. I'll cope...I have to.

Thats fair enough then if you have your dss, I can see why he took longer off to help you, glad he made himself useful . DH will be great when he is here and hopefully I'll be almost 100% after my section after the 2 weeks, I certainly was last time.

Hi Suwoo,

I was just thinking - because you are having a c/s have you sorted out some extra help for the first couple of weeks? My DS2 was c/s and I had made sure that DH and my Mum were going to be around to help me and be there for DS1. I found that I had lots of time to hold, feed or sleep beside DS2 that I wouldn't have had otherwise because of my demanding toddler. I don't think I would have had (or felt comfortable asking for) the same support if I hadn't had major surgery so ironically the recovery from c/s gave me a good start to establish b/f. I wish you the best of luck!

Thanks Tiger. DH is home for 2 weeks or so and then my mum and dad are coming over from France for a week (staying in a hotel). Its the summer holidays though, so no respite from DD and DS1.

I had a question I was going to ask last night about colostrum but can't for the life of me remember what it was .

Another vote for Bravado - fab.

Don't bother with the nipple shields, you prob won't need them and they are easy to get if you do.

Ditto the pump, which you will only need if you need to express milk if you are going to be away when you baby needs a feed. Didn't use mine till I went back to work.

Big comfy cushions to support your arm while bfeeding? I used a V-shaped pillow doubled ver, came to just the right height.

Don't bother buying special bf tops. Roomy tops/T-shirts/shirts fine.

Bravado bras are great. mothercare are terrible.
I liked breast shells and still use them for early morning feeds when leaking a lot from the 'spare' boob.
Sky plus essential IMO, when you are up BF at 3/4am its fab to be able to watch something you like instead of whatever crap is on. I watched nearly all of CSI with DD in the early days.
V cushion handy for first week or two after CS but I found I didn't need it after that. And Lansinoh is fab, I have a very nearly full tube you can have FFP if you want it.
I had EMCS with DS, DD was almost 21 months and my DH doesn't do getting up in the night either...the first few weeks are really tricky but you do manage, just takes a bit of practice and don't arrange anything for mornings until at least 3months lol.