Breastfeeding what do I need?

[Ladypug]

Looking on some websites and there are bottles and manual or electronic breast pumps. What will I need if I plan to breastfeed? I suppose I need bottles to express into...help!

I wouldn't worry about expressing until you've got bf established (usually around 6 weeks). Your baby may never take a bottle so no point buying loads of stuff. For successful bf you need

Lansinoh
Breast pads
Nursing bras
Muslins

I also quite like the book 'the womanly art of breastfeeding' - great for problem solving and support when things seem hard.

You don't have to express but I sometimes do as it allows me to go out for a few hours. If you want to express you will need a steriliser, bottles and a pump. Breastmilk storage bags are good for putting in the freezer, they can be expensive but home bargains have cheap ones that I have found to work fine. I bought an electric pump. Some people get on better with an electric, some find a manual easier.

Lansinoh, nursing bras and the phone number of an IBCLC lactation consultant if you need support.

If you do buy an electric pump I recommend the Specra range on Amazon - they're 1/2 the price of the Medela and just as good. No bells and whistles and very utilitarian looking but for £50 for such an effective pump you can't really complain.

I'd also reiterate justabigdisco's list, and add loads and loads of drinks and snacks for the first 4-6 weeks.

To start all you need is your boobs, the baby and time to get the latch sorted oh and maybe some lanaloh (spelling?!).

If you want to express I'd wait until I've established my supply and baby is happy at the breast before introducing any bottles. It is lovely to be able to give others such as DH a chance to give the odd feed so you can catch up on sleep or go out for the evening but to start it is all about you and having the time to get comfortable with feeding. For me I found the best pump was the Philips advent but then I preferred tommy bottles as they were shaped more like a boob. Hope this is some help.

But honestly don't stress about that stuff yet just focus on getting comfy with your baby and enjoy all the snuggly time of feeding and watching lots of box sets whilst you establish supply. good luck.

Drink water. Eat porridge. I swear by porridge eating for good milk production. Electric pump all all the way. 1st baby? Lansinoh. Lansinoh do really nice breast pads as well.

Breasts. Thats about it!
I did buy a manual pump with Dd1 and an electric jobby with DD2, each was used twice, when I had blocked ducts, and when DD2 went on a three day nursing strike. And I fed for eight solid years. Bras that don't press against or flatten the ducts are important. But that is all you need. I never used bottles so can't comment on them.
I will say though, that if you want to BF, having the number of a good lactation consultant/breastfeeding support person etc, is more valuable than a pump. Then if you hit a tricky bit, like a tongue tie or a nursing strike, you have someone to help you through it.

I agree with The Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding. Great book, got me through some tough times with breastfeeding.

oh and I also found having family who totally supported my choice to feed really helpful. When things were tricky at the start and my babies were feeding for hours on end it was really helpful to not have anyone making stupid comments about them clearly being hungry and being topped up with formula but instead family members bringing me cake and lots of drinks as I was stuck to the sofa/ in bed. If anyone even slightly questions your choice to breastfeed set them straight and make it clear it's not up for discussion.

Thanks guys, this is so helpful! I never thought about not having to express immediately, that's helpful!

Boobies. That is the end of it there really.

Water/water/water and water!!
Nursing bras - primarni have some surprisingly nice ones (fairly cheap too)
lasinoh as your nipples can crack
Breast pads definitely as you and your tops can get a bit milk stained
Oh and some scent free body wash... Just because I always used to worry about my DD tasting the soap - you don't have to though..

I have always heard good things about pineapple for helping milk come in/helping with supply (I bf for 19mos and can't say that I noticed myself but its still a tasty treat!)

Agree with pp about expressing too.
If that's what you're wanting to do you're going to need a steriliser (microwave ones are the easiest imho) and manual/electric breast pump and containers for the milk xx

Before starting on any creams try to smear a few drops of milk around your nipple every time the baby finishes feeding. That's all I did.

Good latching is also important. When ds started feeding the milk coming out hurt like hell for a few minutes, and the first few weeks, but my nipples were fine.
To avoid blocked ducts you can massage the breasts down where they are harder and aren't emptying as much.
I wouldn't buy anything to express unless you really think you will use it. DS was fine with at least a couple of hours between good feeds and I did manage to go places.
For the odd time you could use formula cartons.
A great time to express is during a hot bath or shower.

I'd really only invest in breast pads and muslins for now.

Great advice above! I'd also advise taking a breast-feeding class before baby arrives, if you can. Its not quite as 'intuitive' as it should be, so having someone talk you through things like correct positioning, latch, making sure your baby empties the breast, fore milk, hind milk, stopping your nipples from becoming sore, avoiding mastitis, etc, is really helpful and should help your confidence when the time comes.

What do you need? Good nursing bras (get fitted at 38 weeks by a professional nursing bra fitter, if you can), some nursing tops, breast pads, and at least 20 muslins or cloths for leakages/baby vom. I never used lansinoh, because I'm allergic to wool and it contains lanolin, but I used to just express a drop or two of breast milk and rub it on my nipples afterwards and that worked a treat. BM is magic stuff - it has healing properties. And drink loads of water and eat good, nourishing food. You'll be very hungry and your baby will be eating a diluted version of what you eat, so give him/her good stuff. Good luck!

thank you :-) I was going to ask when I should get measured for nursing bra as that's confusing too. Apparently you should do it at 37-38 weeks but other places say your milk comes in on day 3 after baby arrives? So do you need to get measured twice?

A decent nursing bra fitter will be able to guestimate how much bigger your breasts will become when your milk comes in from their size at 38 weeks, so no, you shouldn't need to get fitted twice.

Fab, thank you!

Thank you so much for starting this thread, OP, and thank you to everyone who has replied. As a mum who feels I 'failed' at BFing first time round I'm bloody determined to succeed when DC2 arrives and threads like this are really helpful.

I know! Everyone on here knows so much, I'm browsing the websites making lists of everything I need and it's so much easier to ask advice on here than trust the catalogues as they will sell you all of it if they can!

I recommend some of those breastfeeding support vests. That way you can use those the first few weeks and then get measured for a few bras after

Boobs and lanolin.

I'll be honest here if I had relied on expressing to be able to get a break I'd have given up BF. As it is I bf 3 2 of them for over a year. I NEVER expressed. After bf was established I let others give them formula in a bottle to get a break. It's not poison.

If expressing works for you great but if like me you get a dribble and don't want to spend hours feeding then bloody expressing then use formula.

So yes, boobs, lanolin, breastpads. After my milk settled down I didn't use pads and just folded down the cup of my normal underwired bras.

I'm a bf slattern BUT thought it would give you a very low goal to aim for if you hit issues. I used a v pillow too so I could mumsnet and eat while feeding rather than cuddling all day [shame]

I agree with all the above suggestions but also used BM to prevent cracking etc.

I am like Silver and gave up trying to express. After sitting there for an hour with a sore boob and only a dribble of milk I decided it wasn't worth it!

My main advice of what is needed, is to not be afraid to ask for help. And if you are still not sure about how it is going, ask again! There is definitely a knack to it and it is not something that you just naturally know how to do! I wasn't shown properly with DD1 and I ended up with nipples that were so sore it made my toes curl with each feed! I then got some proper help (different midwife) and went on to feed until she was 12 months! Don't ever struggle or feel like you are bothering people.

Thanks Silver and Sezra!

Yes don't be afraid to push for help. It's normal to be a bit tender at first but any sign that the nipple is getting "damaged"/mishapened after feeds get help. Don't put up with pain because "it's supposed to hurt".

Breastfed babies feed a lot (more than you'd probably expect) so have low expectations of how much else you'll achieve. Have a comfy spot to feed and lots of books/good TV/mumsnet/snacks/drinks nearby.

Get a nursing pillow, I got a bad back leaning over feeding dd so bought a pillow called mybreastfriend! Love it, although any v shaped pillow should do.

On a slight tangent, but other things you might need...a water bottle to drink from, thermos travel mug for tea, snacks that I can eat one handed, reading material or kindle, or tv remote. And make sure all these things are within easy reach before you sit down to feed. Nothing worse than being attached to baby and being thirsty, hungry or having the remote just out of reach.