Planning to breastfeed - anything I need to buy before hand??

[JamieJay]

This is probably a daft question but I've reached that stage of pregnancy where I need something to fret about!!

I'm intending to breastfeed and hope to express so DH can give a regular bottle. However I haven't bought any 'kit', thinking I'd just wait and see how it all goes and then buy whatever was needed after the baby arrived.

Apart from breastpads is there anything that I should consider getting before baby arrives or will my approach be okay??

We have plenty of 24 hour shops around us so if it does all goes tits up (no pun intended!) it would be easy for DH to fetch some formula and bottles.

I found Jelonet to be much better than lansinoh. It's a moist mesh thing which you put on your nipples to help them to heal and it was the only thing which stopped my nipples sticking to my bra.

Fiveweeks- where do you get Jelonet from? Thanks

Pootles2010: You can get it in the pharmacy and it's sold on sheets which you cut to size.

• Lansinoh (get it on oprescription for free as soon as baby is born.
• I cannot do without a boomerang feeding pillow so I'd highly recommend one. So much easier to get a good feeding position, and therefore latch.
• breast pads.
• nursing bras...not forgetting comfy ones to wear during the night.
• easy to eat food that can be eaten with one hand!

chocolate

Has been said already but....

Definately V shape pillow (cheap at Dunhelm)
Freeze lots of dinners in advance, get all visitors to bring food!
Comfy loose bra or bra top for night.
This shop www.yummymummymaternity.co.uk do lovely maternity bras, got mine in H/I!
Spare pair of arms to feed and water you while you feed! 2 hands wasn't enough at first and DH and I became very coordinated at feeding and watering me between us ifswim!

Good luck, after this thread you'll be very prepared!

Oh, and a friends pregnant friend came along to one of the breast feeding groups with us and was very welcome.

Breast pads
Muslins
Nursing bra - I always get mine after 38 weeks of pg
I like to have a v shaped pillow but I know lots of people who don't use them
Lansinoh
Cake
pile of DVDs or sky plus stuff to watch on tv

I've never had special bf clothes. Just normal clothes that I pull up to feed.

Most of the ones I would add have already been mentioned but defo:

Nursing bra's
Drinks for you
Nipple cream
Space for you to MN (laptop etc!)

There are loads of other things you could buy (pillows, special clothing, breast pumps etc), but I would suggest you wait til you are a couple of weeks in, before spending a fortune! It will give you time to discover what it is that you need/will find helpful. What you may find useful is making a list of things that you may decide you need at short notice, and source them in case they are not available at your nearest supermarket (specific bottles or formula/nipple shields/cream etc).

BTW I recommend Tommy Tippee Closer to Nature range - my Lo loves them and has no issues switching from bottle to breast & vice versa.

I'd also recommend reading as many threads on the bf category as possible - there is SO much to learn about bf and although it is different for everyone, the more experiences you read about, the less likely you will be surprised if things don't go quite as you expect them to.

I found the first few weeks were really hard, but it is so worth it. I was in a lot of pain from cracked/bleeding nipples and it got to the stage when I was crying at every feed (about every hour). My DH eventually had enough and went shopping for some nipple shields for me (silicon Avent ones), and I ended up using these from about day 5 til week 8. At this stage I just dropped them and was very lucky in that my LO was quite happy to do so too. Still going strong at 5 months in now & loving it (although going back to work next week so not really looking forward to the expressing bit!)

The best thing is that there are loads of bf experts and supporters on here (and at all times of the day), so there is always somewhere you can turn if you hit a rough patch.

Good luck!! (And apologies for going on a bit!)

I would definitely recommend waiting before buying a special pillow - if you can learn to BF without one it is preferable, otherwise what are you going to do when you leave the house?

Bookmark www.kellymom.com/ for detailed advice on any and all breastfeeding issues.

Best thing I got that really helped me breastfeeding? A netbook that balances on the sofa. honestly, you will spend hours glued to the sofa feeding, if you can MN, it makes it much more likely you wont get fed up. And then you can order Hotmilk nursing bras, Lanisol & get on-line supermarket delivery shopping all delivered without leaving the sofa. Justify the costs by working out how much formula would've cost you.

oh goodness I forgot to recommend getting an iPhone! You can MN whilst BFing Plus do an ocado order at the 2am feed

if you're getting a pump, make sure you buy bottles that fit it (sounds sensible, but you'd be amazed how useless I some people can be)

A really nice pashmina (sp?) for those early stages of having to get full boob out to feed and fancying a bit of modesty on the train/in the cafe/whilst chatting to the builder...

I really wish I'd had my widgey cushion from the start. I spent the first few weeks with piles of pillows but could never find an arrangement that worked, and those floppy v shaped pillows just don't give enough height for a newborn. Some people have no need of one, but in my opinion it's worth taking a gamble on. Of the people I know, those with larger breasts seem more likely to use cushions. You could always leave it in the packaging to return/sell if you're lucky enough to be able to balance the baby effortlessly in the crook of your arm .

My other top tip is one of these feeding/sleep bras. Not the sexiest look, but v comfortable at night to hold breast pads. I'd have worn it all day in the first week (feeding all the time and nursing bra's didn't fit when milk came in).

A small, low energy night light is useful to be able to see the baby and get sorted for feeding without turning all the lights on.

When DP went back to work, he used to bring me breakfast in bed with tea in a thermos mug, which could make all the difference to my morning. You need chocolate biscuits and a big glass of water by the bed too.

sounds all good but although you have great plans to breast feed i would get bottles in just in case. i breastfeed before it all went tits up! also ds1 had to be taken into hospital at 4 days. i feed him before i left the hospital that evening and was sent home to sleep. they were going to formual feed him over night said i could bring in expressed milk in the morning. i needed somewhere to put the very small amount i expressed!
good luck

Would like to recommend John Lewis bra fitting service as excellent. Not sure how big their bras go though.

I second the lots of TV / DVDs box sets. Might as well catch up while you feed.

A comfy chair - you'll be spending a lot of time in it!!! Anything is good. I also have a footstool as a bit short in the legs!

Lilypadz breast pads good once your supply established and if you don't leak much (I don't). Mine did wear out quick though but it was so good not to wear a bra at night.

A drink within easy reach.

My top tip..get it everything you need within easy reach before you sit down and don't feed when you are desperate for the loo as baby will decide to have the longest feed ever!!!

Thanks all! I splashed out on a little netbook a couple of months ago figuring I should buy it while I was still earning plenty. I got a widgie cushion on Freecycle. sounds like I'm good to go (ish!).

I found that having some lovely new PJs to put on made me feel so good after getting so fed up of my by then very baggy, faded and stretched maternity ones.

Having comfy stretchy tops really made BF'ing easy for me in the early days and really helped with skin to skin. I spent a lot of time with no top on and DS on top of me with a soft fleecy blanket over the two of us. It's a time now that I look back on and really cherish.

I got a lovely set from mothercare that had a top and bottoms and a wrap around jacket thing in case of visitors. M and S also do nice cotton sets for £10.

Best of luck, it's such a great adventure and full of smiles

you've got all your stuff covered i think.

i would recommend some comfy clothes...kind of lounging wear...that you can be really comfy in and feel nice in and dressed rather than nightclothes, and warm enough/cool enough for feeding in the very early days and yet still decent enough for people to pop in...parents/midwife/friends etc...(i had ikea jamies and a zip up hoodie)

i would deffo visit your nct group...perfect preparation...especially good bfor watching other mums feed and seeing how they work out the clothing/latch on thing....

just one maternity bra to start...your boobs may fluctuate for a while, and they're not cheap in hefty sizes (mine went up to a 32 L....like fucking "L"!!!!) but quite a few of those vests with a support bra thingie built in...brilliant to wear with loungy suit and also in the nighttime...much comfier than a bra when you're sat for hours!

in my experience (have bf 3 kids for a total of about 4 years!) get your "feeding station" set up before you settle down...better to let the baby scream for an extra 2 m inutes while you get sorted than you be fed up or uncomfy for the feed. you'll need all of the things that everyone else has posted, and also a phone next to you for catching up with friends, a tv doofer, drink, magazine etc...

oh, and a calendar on the wall so you can put down visitors/appointments etc and see at a glance...nowt to do with bf, but a tip none the less!! good luck!

I got my nursing bras from the NCT. Phone them and ask for your local Nursing bra fitter, you then visit their house and try on bras and they get delivered 2 days later. i found them much more comfy and a better fit than Mothercare ones, also the clips to release the cups were a bit more sturdy.

Pint glasses for drinking huge drinks whilst feeding.

I also recommend straws for drinking when feeding lying down.

Oh yes and cake!

Good luck!

chimchar is so right about getting the feeding station set up. The number of times I was a bout 5cm out of reach of my water, remote control, phone, butty!

At your size cut i'd recommed a trip to bravissimo for a bra fitting at aroung 38week's. They are fab for fitting you, you'll find M&S/Mothercare (mothercare only whent upto a GG when I had DD and I'd started at that size pre pregancy)either don't so your size or will not fit you right.

If you don't have a local one, try the NCT as they have bra fitting services through the local groups.

I'd also seconed a vist to there support group before baby arrives. Our NCT group was fab for me and getting out and about afterwareds.

Definitely go and see the NCT BF group - you will get invaluable information about how it all works, how to get babe latched on properly, and so on.

Don't bother buying a breast pump until bf is well established.

I found Bravissimo was good for fitting nursing bras (crap fitting for larger sizes from M&S, Mothercare fitting was wrong, and Blooming Marvellous fitting was too small). John Lewis is also good.

I second MrsBadger's DVD box sets; they give you something to look forward to when getting up to feed and change at night!

For going out and about, I carried an inflatable pillow, which took up no space in my change bag, but which gave me/DS support while feeding out and about. I had a bath pillow from the Body Shop, but the valve was extremely stiff, so maybe also have a look at a camping goods shop, such as Millet's.

Drinking water before, after, during and between feeds a definite must!