Breastfeeding

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Lasinoh or childs farm nipple cream???

I have nursing bras from Lidl from my last pregnancy, want some new ones... wheres your go to for nursing bras??

Any tips on what you swear by regarding breastfeeding will be welcome too as i only managed 6 days last time due to infection and medication!

Superdrug little stars nipple cream.

Amazon bamboo reusable breast pads.

Freya underwired and padded nursing bras.

Learn to hand express, it's great if your newborn struggles to latch and can relieve fullness.

Not related to breastfeeding but for comfy knickers, get full briefs a few sizes too big and wear them back to front!

I think nipple cream is much of a muchness really, I used lanisoh throughout. When I noticed the slightest bit of red under my boob I had a hot shower, hand expressed and used warm flannels on my boobs for a couple of days in between feeds and managed to prevent infection taking hold. I checked them as much as I could after that.

Bras, I got in the figleaves sale, and got some quite pretty ones :)

Bamboo breast pads I found more comfortable and I used boots extra slim when out and about.

Keep snacks to hand, particular if they cluster feed, plus phone to hand and TV remote

You can also get a remote for plug sockets which I kept next to my breastfeeding chair. We had two: sidelamp and heater in the winter, then sidelamp and fan in the summer.

Multimam compresses (expensive but oh so worth it- pop them in the fridge for cooling relief)
Cabbage leaves for when your milk comes in (bit smelly, but magical)
Snacks in bite sized pieces- lots
"The womanly art of breastfeeding" book
Water bottle that you can open one handed
TV streaming subscription
Extra long phone charging cable
Fleece pads to keep your nips warm (may just be me that had this issue, but after feeding I had painful nipple vasospasm and keeping them warm with fleece pads really helped!)

Lansinoh - way better than any other I tried.
Bamboo pads - way more absorbent and comfortable than disposables. Although I found it handy to keep some disposables for emergencies as I had an over supply for a long time.

plus a big water flask and lots of snacks for next to your chair.
Plus a box set

Kellymom site
Food of love by Kate Evans - accessible book set out in comic format with pics
Big water bottle

Other than that, just relaxing as much as you can - head to bed with the baby and get in a little love bubble. This was unthinkable with my first pregnancy but lovely with my second. Bf relies on oxytocin which is assisted by being super chill, lots of touching etc.

Lansinohl.

I think saying this too will pass alot helps, setting goals. (a wk then 6 then 8 ect.) Second Kelly mom and also Dr Neumann, a Canadian guty but vvey helpful. If you can find a boobie group to go to then they are fab. Question the nurses. 1 wanted me to put my preemie on a four hour feeding schedule.I was already to question this when a Nurse sister said feed on demand.

Lasnshion
Bamboo breast pads
Get the community midwife to come out every day until you are discharged to help with latch
Get a good latch. Done be afraid to unlatch and try again. It’s very unlikely a tiny baby will get it right the first time.
Learn hand expression.
Prep your partner so they know for the first few weeks you will be feeding, showering, brushing your teething and playing with your older child.
Get some clothes you can breast feed in ( I like small show from amazon)
Get some cognito travel mugs
Snacks
Tv subscription
A couple of long phone cables
Try rugby hold
Google flipple technique and safe cosleeping

If you're having pain look at your nipples for any blocked ducts. They'll look like little white dots, give them a scrub/exfoliate in the shower it'll open up - probably not doctor or midwife recommended but it worked for me!

The pain doesn't last long, after a short while you won't even realise it's happening. I loved breastfeeding ❤️ I hope you get to experience it pain free this time round.

Good luck!

Wow thanks everyone 😊

Thanks @engard
Im having an elective section this time from too many complications before so am hoping my mind will be in a different place too. I am much more determined!

Lasinoh therapearls. Can be used hot or cold

Commenting so it appears in my 'I'm on' list so I can steal all these tips

Best nipple cream by a mile is the balm by No Expert Midwife. Slightly more expensive but totally worth it, I found Lanisoh to be very sticky and hard to apply and actually even painful sometimes if nipples were very sore.

I used both disposable and reusable breast pads but the shape really annoyed me. Maybe because I have quite small boobs but I found the circle shape of the pad showed through all my clothes. So I started using the removable padding out of bras and bikini tops. Sounds a bit weird but if you have ones that are the shape of the whole cup (ie not just a little chicken fillet of padding!) then you can just slip it inside your nursing bra and it's smooth and the right shape. Then chuck in the wash when needed.

Other essentials for me have been:
Breast pump (might not need this though so maybe wait before you buy)
Phone app to record times of feeds and which side you started on
Freezer stocked with food and helpful people to cook for you!
Next to me/snuzpod cot attached to bed so you don't have to get out of bed to feed
BF friendly tops that you don't care about getting milk/vom/baby poo on. I bought a job lot of feeding tops on eBay as well as a lot of second hand button up shirts to wear over the top. Cardis are good too.