Breastfeeding books

[ChateauProvence]

Hi, first time mum to be and I’m really hoping to be able to breastfeed when baby arrives. Did anyone read any helpful books for dummies? I’m struggling to get my head around everything - like when to pump, how you know baby has had enough, how to store pumped milk. Sorry I know i sound stupid I just feel a bit overwhelmed

Hi!
I followed a few breastfeeding accounts on Instagram, didn't bother with books. "Olivia Lactation Consultant" is a fab one, really down to earth and she has sooooo many helpful videos and so much info.

I’ve breastfeed two babies for nearly three years now. Never read a book!

Baby can self regulate on the boob, so as long as baby is gaining weight and has plenty of wet and dirty nappies they are having enough!

Your supply won’t be established until 6 weeks post partum so it’s recommended not to pump until then as you risk mastitis.

Why would you want to pump? It’s not necessary - you need to pump the missed feed anyway so you would need to be awake when baby was having the bottle to keep up your supply.

Best tip - help is out there. Ask for it. Health visitors and midwives have very little breastfeeding training, if you have issues, don’t rely on them.

Hospitals have infant feeding teams with properly qualified and trained lactation consultants. Different areas also have breastfeeding charities - our local one has free 1:1 24 hour support from a lactation consultant.

I needed help in hospital to get a latch established. A book wouldn't have helped with that.

Other than that it's basically just try to feed them whenever they are upset at first and a routine will establish itself. Lots of wet nappies means it's going well.

Don't worry about pumping unless you really want to. It seems to be the expectation now that every woman bfing will be expressing. I only did it because I wanted to go to one specific day out. Couldn't be arsed doing it with DC2 so she never had a bottle.

I'd agree with everything PenguinRainbows said.

Try not to put too much pressure on yourself, it will all make sense when baby is here. I didn't read anything. The midwife just showed me how to latch baby on and away we went. I learnt as I went along.

As long as baby has wet nappies and some dirty ones (my babies had dirty nappies every hours for first few weeks 😂) they are getting enough.

As above, pumping not recommended until atleast 6 weeks so I wouldn't worry about all that until you get there as you may not even want to.

I never did. Fed exclusively until 13 months with first, still feeding now at 13 months with 2nd. Never owned a pump or a bottle. If you decide to, you can look into that once feeding is established around 6 weeks and everything has calmed down a bit 😊

All I will say is cluster feeding is normal! Baby will want to stay on breast for hours and it is normal. It doesn't mean baby isn't getting enough, they are establishing your supply. This isn't spoken about enough! It's hard at first, but use to time to relax, watch TV etc. Once established it's so easy.

Good luck!

Honestly most books about breastfeeding are giving you much the same info.

If you're quite visual then Kate Evans' The food of love is lovely. It's done in a comic/large illustrated style. Great in paperback. Not so much as an e-book.

If you want a more straightforward just a book, look at Amy Brown The Positive Breastfeeding Book.

Lucy Ruddle has one that looks great called Breastfeeding Myths which is all about myth busting, which should also have some helpful info in but might not be so straightforward.

This channel has some great short talks in video form. https://youtube.com/@lyndseyhookway-feedsleepbo9255?si=A8_e4mdUjPr6ggnR

Lucy Webber is another breastfeeding counsellor I follow online and she's just released a book which looks great as an intro to breastfeeding too.

Hi there, I am a registered midwife with interest in infant feeding. I thoroughly recommend Global Health Media Breastfeeding Videos. It's a collection of short videos, you can refer to them as many times as you like. Whilst it's true some women go on to breastfeed without problems, many will need some support so you are doing the right thing asking for advice now. My best tip - ask your community midwife to show how to hand express some colostrum and do some hand expressing from 37 weeks onwards. Even if you are only going to get a few drops it will help to establish lactation.

Find your local la leches league group and go along while pregnant. You can see babies breastfeeding and ask the group what they wish they'd known when pregnant. The LLL leader is a trained volunteer and may be able to offer phone support once baby arrives.

It's great to find out about breastfeeding while you are pregnant! Breastfeeding can be a breeze or it can need some extra support....best to have found out about common concerns and easy fixes now.

Also any books by the wonderful Dr Amy Brown and the also awesome Emma Picket.

Thanks all I will check the recommendations out! Everything just feels a bit overwhelming atm!

Oooh yes totally agree with sussing out where your nearest support group is, and going along once you've started maternity leave. They are usually welcoming to pregnant mums. This is great because you get to see BF happening, which you might not have done much before. You get to hear the advice other people are getting and learn some tips etc and it feels a bit less daunting if you want advice after baby is born.

You don't need to cram in loads and loads and loads of info. I can't even remember what I read before DC1 but I do remember that as soon as I had the baby in my arms I realised that it wouldn't have mattered if I'd memorised every book on breastfeeding - not one single word seemed relevant to this squirmy warm alive thing and I couldn't have put any of that training into practice. This is VERY normal, apparently - that's exactly why midwives have breastfeeding training - even if it's not perfect, it tends to be good to get you going.

Ideally you'll have skin to skin ASAP after birth and it might be that breastfeeding happens here. It doesn't always. I think for me it only did with DC3. DC1 and 2 weren't interested. I seem to remember vaguely thinking "Oh I'm supposed to breastfeed him now!" with DS1 and trying to make him latch on unsuccessfully. Then with DC2 I didn't worry about it and only breastfed him because they wanted to take him off to special care as he was a bit crap at breathing. DC3 I didn't try and amazingly he just magically did it all by himself. DS2 was given bottles in special care, which I worried about. I had no issues latching any of them later on. Don't stress. There's very few things you can't overcome if you have access to good info ASAP.

Once you get home/after that initial first few feeds which generally happen in hospital, then it will be useful to have your book(s), access to a support group - in person is great, online (e.g. mumsnet, facebook) also great. Being able to easily find answers to your questions is helpful. Knowing all of the possible questions you might have and the answers to all of them in advance - impossible, and unnecessary, and probably irrelevant. So don't stress too much about it.

I think it's helpful to know some of the mechanics of how milk is produced, but mainly it's helpful to know where to look for support.

If you have any friends/family members who have breastfed, it's also worth asking them whether they would be happy to be asked questions. I know that I would have been really happy for people to ask me.

the Positive Breastfeeding Book was my favourite 🙂

I do not know about books, but I have some advice that I learned the very hard way.

1. Buy good nursing bras: I used my sports bra (stupid, I know) which effected my milk supply and give me horrible plugged ducts. I am pregnant again and i already started to use Seraphine maternity bras- they are comfortable and amazing.
2. If you decide to pump, always pump after you breastfeed, not before. I would suggest to buy good electric pumps. They are pricey, but definitely worth it! I started with a hand pump and it took ages (took away the hours sleep that I would of get). With some electric ones, your hands are also free, so you can pump while you are cleaning, cooking, etc...
3. The baby will fall asleep on you while feeding- mine did all the time. Having a feeding pillow really helped. Allowed my little one to be comfortable and for my hands to be free --which was useful to read, eat, be on my phone etc...
4. Get nipple creams!!! I went through a lot! Had such a sore nipples, they were killing me. Also, I used nipple shields which helped with the pain.
5. Storage: Buy freezer bags (Amazon or Boots), you write down the date and time when you pumped, and you can storage them nicely. For the fridge, you can buy little milk containers.
6. Keep formula at home, just in case. While in the UK they against it, where I am from, they advice to top up with formula until you establish breastfeeding. This way your baby will never be hungry, and you -and the baby will be less stressed until your milk fully comes (which can take long if you have C section). It will not effect your supply- especially, if you pump. Hopefully you won`t have any issues but its good to be prepared- no baby should ever be hungry!
7. If you bottle-feed, get a good electric steam-sterilizer. It will save you loads of time. If you get one with the dryer, even better.

1. Keep formula at home, just in case. While in the UK they against it, where I am from, they advice to top up with formula until you establish breastfeeding. This way your baby will never be hungry, and you -and the baby will be less stressed until your milk fully comes (which can take long if you have C section). It will not effect your supply- especially, if you pump. Hopefully you won`t have any issues but its good to be prepared- no baby should ever be hungry!

Please do not take this advice, OP. It is awful breastfeeding advice and could easily sabotage your breastfeeding journey.

Baby does NOT need top ups. Colostrum, and your milk when it comes in, are more than enough for your baby.

Totally agree with this (i.e. with @PenguinRainbows, not with the quoted post). Topping up and pumping can possibly be helpful if there is a genuine supply or latch issue but the best thing to do is just to offer your breast as often as possible. Far more likely to not be able to exclusively breastfeed if you have formula and a pump there from day one.

You don't need to top up while you wait for your milk to come in. Colostrum is plenty and assuming it needs to be supplemented causes more issues later

@PenguinRainbows I'll be pumping before 6 weeks. Want milk in the freezer as my partner will be doing nights.

I pumped in the early days when in hospital. Was so engorged and it helped and didn't cause any issues

To maintain supply you should also be up in the night pumping when baby is having a bottle so your body knows exactly how much baby is getting.

I second the Global Health Media videos. They were the only thing that made sense in those early days.

Maybe find some local breastfeeding groups and go along while pregnant. There are ones run by the health visitors near me as well as a couple of charities and La Leche League. A charity near me is actually running free antenatal classes and another runs 'Breastfeeding your newborn' sessions online too so check if there is anything near you.

You were lucky then.

There is a huge risk of mastitis doing that and it should not be recommended as a safe thing to do just because you were lucky.

I never pump, and haven't had any issues like mastitis, oversupply, blocked ducts. Anecdotally, all my friends who pump have had all these issues and more. I prefer the natural way, milk at source! Of course when I go back to work I may have to pump then.

@PenguinRainbows this is horrendous advice.

So sorry @PenguinRainbows I misquoted! I meant I disagreed with @Katherina02837!

I wont be doing at all the time just enough to keep supply in freezer for my partner.

I will be doing it in the night also. I think they recommend between 1am to 4am.

@PenguinRainbows I'll be mostly breastfeeding during the day. I'll breastfeed on one side pump on the other