What exactly do I need for Breastfeeding?

[sel2223]

Hi ladies,

I'm hoping to Breastfeed and also express milk into bottles so my OH can do the occasional feed. I'm a FTM and have no idea what I actually need to buy in advance....

Breast pump (any recommendations)
Bottles? Steriliser?
Nipple guards/cream?
What else?
Some back up formula?

What about for the colostrum I've read about that people start collecting in the weeks before birth? What do I need for that....baby syringes? Do you just squeeze it straight into the syringe?

Sorry if I sound really thick, I'm clueless. Thought I might as well start getting prepared while I'm stuck in the house though!

sorry OP couldnt resist!

Your list looks fairly complete though from what I can recall in the distant past.

Not sure about collecting colostrum, never came across that sorry.

Congratulations on your imminent arrival, you sound prepared and not at all thick

Absorbent breast pads.

@FunnyInjury that made me laugh! 😂

No you don't need to collect colostrum in advance. Your body makes it for the first few days when the baby is born and it will contain the right antibodies etc for the current time, not a month previously when you expressed and froze it.

I wouldn't buy any formula in advance normally but in the current climate and potential difficulty getting supplies in an emergency, for peace of mind, it could be worth getting either a pack of premixed bottles / cartons / a tub of milk powder and a bottle (something like a Mam one that you can self-sterilise in the microwave so no need for a steriliser and one bottle would be enough to have just in case).

Pumps - if you are going to be expressing regularly then a decent electric one is the Medela Swing. If just now and again, then the manual Tommee Tippee is cheap and does the job (but makes your hand hurt after a while!).

/\ haha!

It’s not usually a great idea to formally express in the first couple of weeks, when your boobs are just learning how much they should make - if you do you could have problems with oversupply. So a pump could wait and be ordered later, as they are expensive. But things like a hakaa (is that how you spell it?!) and breast shells are a good way of collecting leaky milk at the start. You may want to buy milk storage bags for the freezer.

Any bottles are fine, and a steriliser would be good. Many say not to introduce a bottle in first 6 weeks due to potential nipple confusion, but many others experience that if they wait that long, the baby won’t take a bottle. I never used that many bottles but personally wouldn’t use a bottle in the first 2-3 weeks while you establish feeding.

Lansinoh nipple cream. Some breast pads in case you are a leaker - lansinoh again we’re my fave brand. A cabbage! Honestly does help.

I would recommend the LLL book ‘the womanly art of breastfeeding’ and have a read before.

What you really need is to get the latch right from the start. Otherwise it's going to be very painful. Do some research in to latching to make sure you get your technique right. You won't know it's wrong until a couple of days later when you're nipples are cracked and sore.

You just need boobs.

I'm also planning to breastfeed and my list is pretty similar to yours! Following in case there's suggestions I don't have.

I second breast pads, these seem very difficult to get hold of at the minute so I'm considering getting some reusable ones which I can wash. Nursing bras is also on my list.

If you are mainly breastfeeding and just doing the occasional bottle of expressed milk you probably don't need a steriliser. You can put all the equipment in a big pot and boil it in water to sterilise it.

🍈🍈

I found one of those half moon pillows really useful to rest the baby on when feeding
Breast pumps- maybe try a cheaper manual one first and see how you get on, if your supply is good they dont take too long and it will save a lot of money. If not medela is a good brand
Breast milk storage bags
Depending on when you're due, if you cant get to any breast feeding classes before do a lot of research online and watch as many you tube videos as you can find to help

Congratulations

I have used nothing but boobs and a shit load of Lansinoh nipple cream (tube upstairs and down, applied BEFORE and after every feed in the early weeks).
Expressing is not worth it. My pimp is gathering dust, bottles unused at almost 7 months.

Savoy cabbage for when your milk comes in properly.

Really agree about learning about the correct latch. That's the most important thing. Plenty of googling now.

Nipple cream, add a cabbage to your shopping & make or order some washable breast pads. Good luck

*Pump! Not pimp

I would get a manual pump first as if you’re going to get an electric one get a good one and some people really struggle to pump so I brought mine at about 6 weeks once I knew I had a good supple, I got the ardo calypso double pump. The main thing you need for successful breast feeding is time and patience, it’s honestly the hardest thing I’ve ever done but I’m so proud of myself for sticking to it, educate yourself on what’s normal for breastfed babies, for example cluster feeding, you’ll go through periods in the first six weeks where it feels like the baby wants to feed almost constantly and you’ll want to rip your own nipples off and it’s completely normal, the baby is just establishing your milk supply, a lot of people mistake this as the baby is unsatisfied as they aren’t getting enough milk but this isn’t the case, you just have to settle down with lots of snacks and be completely led by your baby! The first six weeks or so are a challenge but once you and your baby have mastered it then it’s the easiest thing, no faff, no getting out of bed!! Lots of skin to skin really helps, I’d say I found a good breast feeding pillow a life saver and lanisoh nipple cream for the first few weeks, I’ve never needed breast pads but it’s always good to have some in!

Why cabbage?

You shouldn't express until breast feeding is fully established, I'd give it at least 6 weeks. You might want back up formula and bottles and sterlizer (I just used a microwave one). I expressed with my first but it took hours to get a small quantity, with my second I didn't even try.

I only NEEDED the breast cream, breast pads and BF bras.

also express milk into bottles so my OH can do the occasional feed

I’d forget about this for now. expressing is an utter PITA- even if your OH feeds you will still need to express at the same time to maintain supply. It can also fuck with your supply as it isn’t the same as feeding a baby, and it can mentally worry you as some people just can’t express and start thinking they have no milk...

It’s easier to just feed as much as you can until everything is established. If you’re worried about bonding your oh can cuddle, change nappies etc.

Taking a bottle is unpredictable anyway. With my first she took bottles fine- i made sure she’d take one as i was going back to work- then one day she decided no more and never took one again. My second i didn’t bother and it was just much easier without the expressing and faffing.

To start you need plenty of muslins/cloths. Breast pads. Nipple cream. Shields might be worth having just in case.

Formula personally i wouldn’t. Breastfeeding is hard- several times if I’d had it in the house I would have switched there and then. Not having it meant i knew i only had to survive the night and i could get to the shop in the morning, by then the drama had passed and i was OK again.

Mostly what you need is a comfy sofa, lots loaded up on your netflix/tv/box sets, magazines, books, and an oh to fetch and carry and bring food and drink, and to keep on top of housework while you relax and feed as much as possible.

Ladies, I can not tell you how helpful all of this is, thank you!!

Keep the tips coming, I really appreciate it.

I am also curious about the cabbage!

I've breastfed two babies - well still am bf-ing one of them - I would highly recommend the following:

• join breastfeeding Facebook groups for your local area; it's great to find people in the same situation and when the current situation improves you can arrange meet-ups etc.
• reusable breast pads.
• have a good read through the KellyMom and Breastfeeding Network websites. These are both full of relevant and helpful information. There are many many sites full of utter tripe about breastfeeding but that may unnerve you when you're googling at 3am with a screaming newborn! Research now what to expect- when milk comes in, cluster-feeding, typical newborn behaviours and so on.
• get your partner / whoever you are living with to read through the info too. The last thing you need is someone telling you to "just make up some formula" when you are establishing feeding. It's hard work and you need someone who understands and supports you.
• stock up on snacks and meals that are easy to eat one-handed.
• a pillow that is curved (your pregnancy pillow if you have one could work). Not essential but I found them very helpful to get a newborn up to the right height and comfortably latched; one that curves around you is good for different positions such as the rugby hold. Also if you end up with a c section it acts as a good way to pad the incision.

-tops you can nurse easily in. I recommend joining the group Can I Breastfeed In It? UK for ideas on non-maternity clothes you can bf in. Make sure to pack nursing-friendly clothes in your hospital bag.

• a mini pack of stuff for you at night, kept on your bedside table. Include painkillers, a little tub of nipple cream, some cereal bars (bfing makes you hungry!), a fresh pj top (you often leak/baby sicks up) and anything else you find yourself using frequently.

Personally I did not bother with pumping. It was such a faff and much easier to just feed the baby imo. I did have back-up formula, in the ready made packs, and I think it's worthwhile doing (my first, for example, ended up having formula as his first feed while I was in theatre after birth. We successfully established bf-ing when we were reunited). I didn't harvest colostrum either time; I asked the midwife with my second as I was having a c section but she said it wasn't necessary. I did buy nipple cream both times but honestly I've never found bf painful at all so never used it (donated my unopened tubs to bfing friends). Lots of people do though so get some in case!

Forget about expressing for at least a couple of months.
If daddy wants to bond with baby there are literally 100's of other ways he can do this.

Silicon nipple covers are great for preventing leaks, nipple cream is a must.

That's about it

@InTheSummerhouse

When milk comes in on day 2 or 3 your boobs get ridiculously hot and sore. There is something in a Savoy cabbage that soothes this. Sounds stupid, but boobs get so hot they literally cook the cabbage.

It’s not nice having your beautiful new born smell of cabbage! But the relief to boobs is worth it.

Savoy is quite a pretty cBbage. My midwife was very impressed with my arrangement of leaves that looked like a frill on my top.