hi,

Well I was thinking of splashing out on double electric breast pump.

yet other people say that I shouldnt bother because they are evil and really really sore and that I should just exclusively breast feed, however.....

I have 1 flat/inverted nipple and my other is not particuarly big so I worry about latching on - I also want to express so that my hubby can help out (plus I can have that longed for glass of wine!).

My MIL said to me yesterday that they are awful things and that I shouldnt bother with them - but surely there are some really good ones around now (as opposed to 30 years ago) which arent that bad???

what do you guys think, should I wait and see how I am after the birth? or do I get it now?

if so are there some which are better (less painful) than others ??

my sister swears by the medela manual breast pump, she says its not painfull at all and doesnt take to long to get used to xx

Yey!! Another girls with a dodgy nip!! My lefty is flat/inverted and it did make it harder to establish breastfeeding. However, once we had got going i breastfed DD for just under one year, so it can be done.

My dodgy nip advce would be to take extra EXTRA care with the baby's latch so that you get it just right. I didn't and ended up with very sore nips with my crap left one being the worst. I ended up using a nipple shield on that side while it healed and that worked wonders.

I did buy a lansinoh latch assist, which i didn't use all that much, but i will try it again this time. I basically just used to pull my nipple out as much as i could and then latch baby on that way. The latch assist is a little cup with a suction bulb on it that sucks your nipple right out.

I pumped in the early days because DD was jaundiced and had lost more than 10% of her birthweight in the first week so she needed formula top ups to help her improve. I would breast feed her first, then give her my expressed milk from the previous session and then DH would top her up with formula from a cup while i pumped to keep my supply up and to get some more expressed milk for the next feed. I couldn't have done this without a pump - ie hand expressing - i don't think and i also think that having a Medela Swing single electric helped too.

But, you don't know how you will settle into breastfeeding yet. Baby might take to it like a duck to water and you might not even need to pump at all until you get to the point where you want to save some for when you're away from bubs or fancy a drinky poo.

I wouldn't bother getting any type until you know whether you will need it.

A double electric is good if you need to do tons and tons of pumping, but it's a LOT of extra ££. That's fine if you can afford that, but if not the single one is fine. I've bought a milkies milk saver this time too so i can catch any milk being let out of the other side while feeding or pumping.

Anyhoo, i waffle. Good luck!!

wow gosh its a minefield....!!

I have heard good things about the medula.
However, a double electric breast pump is quite an investment!
I have bought a simple manual pump to start with, and then if I find that pumping is for me then I might get a better one.

As an aside, inverted nipple should not stop you breastfeeding as baby takes the whole areola to form a teat not just the nipple - that's why it's breastfeeding not nipple feeding! I have also heard that wearing breast shells can help to correct an inverted nipple - might be worth looking into. Nipple shields can also help - if you google it there's lots of information on breastfeeding with inverted nipples.

Sorry, i didn't mean to come across as overwhelming.

You will pick everything up very easily and it's much easier to "get it" when you're doing it in practice too.

I've got the medula double electric breast pump, prob an over investment but I wanted to be prepared just in case, as like you I want to be able to express so DH can feed baby too sometimes and for a break sometimes and I also heard it was good for relieving very full breasts. I guess there is no harm in waiting to see how you get on and buying one later on, but from my research, that brand and type tends to get the best ratings and feedback and electric ones are meant to be much quicker and less painful, but I have no first hand experience!

Hello. I have brought and avent single manual breast pump i was going to buy double but my nan reminded me i wont be expressing from both breasts at the same time, i could do one after the other. I didnt get electric because i have heard its harder to express from them. I obviously haven't tested it yet as i haven't had bub but i think its best to get one for night feeds that hubby will be doing, (obviously we can't do them all) and for days where i won't be there and hubby will need to feed. I think they are best to atleast get a single manual maybe not fork out on the whole double electric one.

When I had my first I had inverted nipples (both), I couldnt get him to latch so I bought a very expensive double electric pump and I pumped for 8 months
as far as hurting goes....so does breast feeding for the first few weeks, the great thing about a pump vs baby is that you can adjust the suction so when your nipples are really sore you can make the suction a little less and it doesnt hurt as bad.
For the money I might wait and see how baby latches, my plan this time around is to wait and have the money there, if baby cant latch OH will go out that day and buy the pump.
From pumping for so long and getting my nipples pierced to help bring them out they arent inverted anymore so Im hoping I dont have an issue this time
Electric pumps are great, they have way better suction imo. Also, without a double, it takes...well....double the time. So really it depends how often you are using it and for what reason, for me, I needed to pump and then feed so a double electric was by far the best option, you can put them on and sit at the computer until its done and then feed baby, and a lot of the time you end up with 2 bottles full and can store some

I don't have inverted or small nipples - quite the opposite in fact - but have bought a manual breast pump to get me started and then will look into the electric ones as and when I need one rather than spending loads on something which I may not need.

Also hospitals quite often do a rental scheme for breast pumps and talking to the midwife who runs my Parentcraft classes the other day they also do a rental scheme at the local Sure Start Children's Centre (they do all sorts for expectant and new mums at my local one) so may be worth considering that -can't remember what monthly fee she said but think it wasn't much more than £10.