Breastfeeding/pumping for beginners

[Damsons]

I am currently only half way, but starting to think about feeding my baby.

I think I would like to try breastfeeding and pumping. Pumping so that my partner can feed the baby. Logistically how does this work? If I am able to breastfeed do I start that then start pumping when? Do I pump whenever baby feeds? Do I still buy bottles, sterilisers etc the same as I did previously? Does anyone reccommend the best bottle for a breast fed baby?

I bottle fed my last little one and i really regret never trying to breastfeed, and I really want to give it a go this time.

Congratulations on your pregnancy.

Best advice I can give is to find your local breastfeeding support group and pop along while still pregnant. Talk to the team there and know your way around ready for if you need help and support once baby is here.

As for you question on expressing. If the only reason you want to do it is so partner can 'help'. You might want to assess if it will really help you or if there are other things they can do.

For the first 6 weeks it's a good idea to focus on establishing feeding from the breast. Baby will cluster feed as they stimulate your milk production. Once that's done you can start expressing more without too much impact on your supply.

If your main reason for doing it is to help you Id recommend the Haakaa style pumps as you can use them while feeding baby and they are easy to clean. Saves you some work.

If you want to some mothers have good results with feeding baby an oz or so or milk every day from a bottle to get them used to it. For the early weeks they don't need much as it's important for milk supply that they feed from you as often as they can.

Good luck with it and ask for help if you need it

Honestly, pumping is an utter pita and I wouldn’t do it unless I absolutely had to.

once you get to about 6 weeks your supply settles and you have to keep pumping consistently or your body stops making that “extra” very quickly. Pumping is also not as efficient as actually feeding so you may affect your supply if you pump instead of feeding.

as for your partner feeding. Bollocks to that 😂. It doesn’t help, and makes your life harder. Think about it, you on the sofa feeding while he brings tea and snacks, and does the housework, or him sat on his arse on the sofa feeding and watching tv while you run yourself ragged pumping, sterilising, washing up, making him a cup of tea etc…. Give me the sofa! There are plenty of things he can do to bond, nappies, baths, cuddle to sleep, hold baby while you have a shower, get up early so you can sleep…

as for bf itself. Feed. Feed feed feed. Sit on the sofa and do nothing but feed. The baby will feed more than you though possible. Then feed some more. It is normal in the early days to feed pretty consistently, to get your supply established and then increase it as they grow. Night feeds are key to this as it drives the hormones that stimulate milk supply. Letting them just comfort suck as well helps- I hated latching so I just left them there and they dozed and fed all day.

it is really difficult in the early days but after about 6 weeks everything will settle and get much easier :)

I agree with the above that I found expressing for my DH to give a bottle didn’t actually give me a rest. I would have to pump so I might as well have just fed him and not had to bother with washing/sterilising bottles. DH just gave a bottle of formula instead.

Join local le leche league group, there are also loads of Facebook support groups which are really useful, plus loads of IBCLC accounts which post lots of useful stuff.
Read up so you know what to expect, when get help, how to know feeding is going well.

I planned to pump after 5/6 weeks but then decided I couldn’t be bothered, but it’s best to let your supply settle first or you could end up with an oversupply which is painful.
I didn’t buy any bottles sterilisers etc as I knew I wanted to breastfeed. I did try to harvest colostrum (ask midwife for a kit) but never got any until after birth - she fed fine though and is still feeding now at 2 and I’m 20 weeks.

Expressing is extra work isnt always as effective as baby feeding. Can interupt the milk supply. Its lovely partner wants to help but 100% makes things harder, needto focus on latching and regular feeding in first few weeks
look for lactattion consultant in your area.

Echoing others, I’d focus on the breastfeeding first and then factor in pumping later if you want to. You don’t want to pump before 6 weeks when your supply settles (unless there’s an issue like baby in NICU etc) as it can cause an over supply. After that you’d need to pump every missed feed so it doesn’t affect your supply. But for a lot of us pumping is a massive ball ache, where just feeding from the source is so much easier, and what’s actually helpful for Dad to do is cook/clean/look after your other child so you can just focus on feeding and resting. Pumping is extra work for you not less, so should be on your terms when you want/need to leave baby or get that extra sleep. I fed for 20 months without ever giving a bottle though, it’s not essential for everyone. I have a couple of friends who exclusively pumped and they were absolute warriors.

Make sure you find out what breastfeeding support is available locally to you, there’s often drop in centres. Get all the info you can - I’d recommend the Positive Breastfeeding Book by Amy Brown

Honestly, pumping is an utter pita and I wouldn’t do it unless I absolutely had to.
This. Any benefit of partner feeding is outweighed by how tedious pumping is

Can someone please advise.
so I’m exclusively breastfeeding my 6 week old. I want to start pumping as my husband will need to feed in a few months. I’m currently breastfeeding from both breasts in one session as advised by my health visitor.
I pumped after a session and didn’t even make 2oz as he had quite a greedy session, does anyone know the best way to pump and feed?

The Haakaa pump is a great way to express while feeding. You wear it on one side while baby feeds from the other.

it’s also important to note that what you express is no indication of supply. Your breasts are like rivers rather than lakes.

at what age do you need the expressed milk and why do you need it. It can be a huge PITA to do it unless you need it.