Breastfeeding advice

[pandaeyes44]

I am currently 25 weeks and hoping to breastfeed my baby. I never managed it with my first and was offered very little advice or encouragement.

I wanted to ask how you prepare. Do I buy bottles? A breast pump? These things are all quite expensive and I don't want to spend money on things I might not end up using if baby fails to latch or my milk doesn't come or whatever.

It's quite likely I might end up having a section so what would I do about feeding baby until my milk comes in? Can they have formula in the meantime? Will there be help to show me how? There seems to be a woeful amount of classes or support in my area. Is it something midwives help you with before birth?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm really hoping to do this even if it's just for the first few weeks or months. Any advice would be really appreciated.

Hi. I’m hoping to bf this baby. I bf last time so feeling a little optimistic that I’ll manage it this time, too.
Are you boobs leaking at all? I’ve started harvesting colostrum but it isn’t recommended until around 36 weeks as it can bring on labour. I’ve stored the syringes in the freezer and plan to take them to hospital with me incase baby can’t latch straight away for any reason.
I’ve bought a pump off eBay. A medela swing-paid about £20 for it. I’ve also bought a few bottles, just incase. Nipple shields incase baby struggles to latch too. I used these with my last baby as he was quite small and could t quite latch properly. Weaned him off them quite quickly though once he got the hang of feeding.
You can always ask the hospital to top up with donor milk while you get your supply established.
Lots of skin to skin, flapjacks, plenty of water and fenugreek tea all do wonders for your supply too.
Hope this is helpful

Oh and get a tube of Lansinoh nipple cream. Brilliant stuff in the early days!

Put the lansinoh on twice a day for a couple of weeks before birth as it really helps prevent nipple cracking and pain.
Drink more and then drink some more. It doesn’t matter what you drink as long as it’s not alcoholic! Eat plenty doesn’t have to be flap jacks or anything special you just need lots of calories.
Rest as much as you can with the baby. Skin to skin doesn’t have to be immediately after birth. It wasn’t with either of mine. We did skin to skin a lot in the days after birth. My 16 month old still like to feed in the bath.
A few bottles in the early days when you are desperate is not the end of breast feeding. If you do give a bottle always breast feed and then top up but not with a full feed.
Dummies are great when you need a half hour break from cluster feeding.
It’s really tough for the first few weeks and then suddenly it’s the easiest thing

Personally I would hold off on buying bottles / pump / formula until baby is born and see how you go, you can always buy from a supermarket/next day delivery etc. Before your milk comes in you will be producing colostrum, which is thick yellow stuff. It is very high in calories (and other goodness) so should be all baby needs until your milk comes in fully. Baby needs to feed lots to build your supply, so topping up with formula can slow this process. I would try and avoid unless advised by midwife.

Hand expressing colostrum when I was pregnant helped me with breast feeding. It gave me confidence that I was making milk! (Obviously not proper milk) I also liked that I had a stash of it in freezer Incase my milk took a while to come in.

Most baby’s don’t need supplementing while you’re waiting for your milk to come in. Baby should still be able to get colostrum in that time which is designed to see them through those first few days.

I wouldn’t buy pumps or anything in advance. You shouldn’t really introduce a bottle (of breast milk or formula) until breastfeeding is fully established at around 6-8 weeks. Your body needs to work out getting the supply right for baby and baby needs to work out how to drink!

I’d also recommend not introducing a dummy for those first few weeks either. Allow baby’s needs to suck to be satisfied by the breast.

NCT do classes over zoom which can also give you local contacts for once baby is here. There will probably be local breastfeeding groups too that are still running (they are in my area) and they’ll have volunteers there to offer support aswell.

The midwives should help but I don’t know how hit and miss this is by area.

To me preparing isn't buying stuff - it's research and mental preparation. Could you get out a couple of books on the subject? This way when things like cluster feeding come up you'll understand it better instead of potentially feeling like feeding isn't going well or whatever.

Get the number for the National bf helpline and put it on your kitchen notice board. They are brilliant and even if you don't have an actual concern and just need to vent, they listen.

Don't worry about milk coming in or stuff like that. It's all colostrum in the first few days.

Emily Norris on YouTube for breastfeeding tips, lots of good info there.

Good luck

I was gifted a breast pump and I got one free bottle from a baby event other than that I had nothing. The midwives will support you on the ward aswell as the support workers (mine were absolutely fantastic) my DC couldnt latch and ended up ng fed for a few days but they were their every two hours on the dot encouraging/ helping me to harvest colostrum and brought me the pump on day 2. Still want latching after 4 days and one neonatal nurse (he was initially on transitional care) introduced nipple shields and the rest was history. She saved my breastfeeding journey! The hospital should provide you everything u need to breasfeed including little bottles to store any pumped milk if your in long enough for your milk to come through and also the milton for sterilising. You dont need formula either, the hospital will provide the initial feeds until u can get some brought in if bf doesnt work out. I also second the lansinoh nipple balm.

You don't need to buy anything! If you need to express it's best to do when your baby is there and where possible it's best to leave dummies and bottles until breastfeeding is established. 'You've got it in you! A positive guide to breastfeeding' is a good read though. You will produce colostrum when baby's born, which they need in
miniscule amounts. Your breastfeeding journey might look very different from your formula feeding one. If there are any in person breastfeeding support groups in your area, go before baby's born and meet some mums and babies who are currently bfing.

Thanks all, I feel so very nervous about it all.

I didn't even attempt with my last dc and I have to say he got into a routine with bottles and sleep really well so im a little scared that this time it will be a lot harder going. I worry about not knowing about how much baby is getting, feeding on demand and not having that same level of routine which worked so well for us before.

Having said that im older and wiser now and I think I would at least like to try. I just really don't know how to begin. I don't even know how to get baby to latch. I'm hoping it just comes naturally.

I have ordered a couple of books tonight and hopefully they will make things clearer. I had been told that pumping can help bring your supply through too...

Having breastfed one baby and formula fed the other I would say you don't really need as much of a feeding routine for breastfeeding as milk is always available on demand at the right temperature. Certainly for the first 6-8 weeks you want baby feeding as often as they want to, then it sort of settles down into more of a pattern.
Latch, I was pretty lucky and my babies could latch pretty well, but you want to hold them tummy to mummy and their nose level with your nipple. They will open wide and you bring them closer so they get a good mouthful of breast. You can watch videos on YouTube but to be honest until you have a baby in your arms I'm not sure it really makes sense. Midwives should be available to help and you can look and see if there are any support groups in your area.