First Time Breastfeeding

[lailah2001]

Hi everyone

I am 28 weeks, 20 yrs old and first time mum.

I would really like to breastfeed my baby girl for as long as I can. I've looked at electric pumps but seem too out of my budget especially incase it doesn't work out for me.

Should I buy a pump before baby to prepare or see how it goes with latching baby at first?

Was considering buying the cheaper pump (manual) and see how it goes. Then I could buy the Pippeta later on. Or shall I go straight with Pippeta as it looks a lot better and I like that it is hands free and has a massage mode etc.

Can anyone give me reviews on them?

Medela Harmony Manual Breast Pump
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08DBMQSVN/ref=cmswwrcppapiglttfabc770SQQC9JM8VAS4AAN6B??encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Pippeta Hands Free Breast Pump
pippeta.com/products/wearable-hands-free-breast-pump-grey

Hi @lailah2001, I BF my DS and would strongly recommend an electric pump. Even if baby latches etc, it gives you the option to expresss so somebody else can feed if you need to go out/sleep etc. It’s not essential but I loved mine. I had the Spectra which is chargeable so no sitting by a plug.

Personally I'd say do your research now, but wait until baby is here to actually buy it. You might hate breastfeeding and/or pumping.
I am still breastfeeding my 10.5 month dd but I didn't really get on with pumping and with hindsight wish I hadn't bothered and had just given the odd bottle of formula when my husband took her out etc.
Fwiw it's very useful to make sure that baby will take a bottle if needed, so not a bad idea to give the occasional bottle just to get them used to it. We had a bit of trouble when dd started nursery and wasn't very impressed with the bottl!

@lailah2001 you can hire medela pumps from them direct for a monthly fee. I personally have boobs that didn't like pumping (in the end I tried manual ones, electric and the hired one) however am still feeding my little girl (morning and evening) at 20 months. You can sometimes pick up second hand ones and replace certain parts

Ask your midwife if she knows of any local schemes to hire pumps - that might be a good option. Best of luck - if you're in England ask to be referred to your local infant feeding team if you have any feeding issues as they are so much more skilled than the average midwife when it comes to breastfeeding (unless you're lucky and happen to have one with lots of feeding experience and extra training).

same @Kayjay2018 - I had/have plenty of milk, but could pump for 40 mins and end up with 1oz of milk

You don't need a pump at all unless you're planning to be away from baby for prolonged periods. Save your money and get one later if you need it. There's a whole industry trying to make money out of products for breastfeeding mums, but all you really need is your breasts.

The best thing you can do to prepare in my opinion is to do some reading and to identify sources of support in advance. Two fabulous books I'd really recommend are the Positive Breastfeeding Book and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (don't be put off by the stupid name!). Find and contact your local La Leche League - they are fabulous and often offer free antenatal breastfeeding courses. Save the number of the National Breastfeeding Helpline in your phone. Work out what the local provision for feeding support is and how to access it. All of those things will make it much easier for you to get off to a smooth start and to access early support if you need it, which is the key to success.

Good luck

I do find my electric pump is really useful, I express enough for a bottle overnight just to give my breasts a break when I'm sleep deprived at 4am 😴
A friend of mine really rated the BellaBaby pump which is around £50 on Amazon and Aldi have the Lansinoh double pump on offer for £89 at the moment.