1st time mom, nervous about bf. please help!

[ready2Bmum]

Hi everyone :wave:

So I am almost 20 weeks pregnant now on my 1st baby. I REALLY want to breastfeed but have no-one to ask all my questions. My mom has 2 younger children (Im 27, they're 13 & 9) She wanted to breast feed but said "it didn't feel right". My SIL also tried but said she "it didn't work out", I am the first of my friends to have a baby so literally have no one to ask. I don't want to end up with it not working out. I really really want to feed my baby myself.

As I am trying to get organised buying things, The 2 questions I have at this point are:
1: Which breast pump should I buy?

2. Which bottles are best to supplement breast feeding?

I have a million other questions about how to actually do it, but I think im going to make an appointment with a lactation consultant as I have so many!!

Any advice with these two issues would be very much appreciated!

 

[Lownthwaite]

Congratulations on your pregnancy.

To answer your questions:

1) This really depends on how much you intend to express.
It's generally advised that you don't pump before the 6 - 8 week mark to avoid nipple confusion and oversupply issues. (This only really applies for a full term, healthy baby.) I have an electric pump - I found manual pumps very time consuming and hard work on the hand! In time though my pump ended up in the cupboard and I resorted to hand expression as I found it quicker and easier - also resulting in more milk!

2) Personally I didn't supplement so can't give full advice on this, but again, I'd say it depends on how often you're looking to offer a bottle and what babys preference is.


What are your other questions? Feel free to ask away - it's what we're here for.

 

[superfrizbee]

I found the kellymom website had lots of great information on breastfeeding

 

[Co_Cowgirl]

I read something that said I was suppose to start switching my daughter back and forth between the bottle and breast feeding right away?

I am going to have to go back to work a few months after my daughter is born. I am only going to be working part time but I will be away from home for long enough that I will have to pump so my DH can bottle feed while I am at work.

 

[RoseArcana]

I can give you my story and some tips I picked up from my peer supporter training -

First off, congratulations on your pregnancy Halfway there!

I waited until my LO's latch was fine and seemed settled to start pumping and attempt a bottle. For us, this was about 2/3 weeks after she was born. We used Tommee Tippie manual breast pump and bottles (closer to nature) to start with. I pumped after LO fed as to not disrupt her feeding pattern. This was all on the advice of my health visitor and midwife. They checked latch and because LO was gaining weight well, they said it shouldn't cause any difficulties with breastfeeding. Be aware though, I had it very easy considering. The main point is to spend those first few weeks working on breastfeeding (which in turn will help you be able to pump efficently later on). Stay on the sofa with your new baby. Keep nearby as much as you can. Skin to skin whenever you can. Allow your baby to feed as much as they want (don't set a routine or timed feedings). Get hubby to be nearby when you feed whenever it's practical too. Being honest, because my OH wasn't always around when feeding, it became a struggle to get LO to take a bottle from him as she didn't associate feeding with him.

I also recommend the KellyMom website for breastfeeding advice Please feel free to ask any other questions in here. Lactation consultants are great but they may not always be the best to ask about general day-to-day queries like the ladies on here

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy, labour and beyond x

 

[Nervous_1]

I would recommend you get a manual pump to start with (I had the tommee tippee one mentioned earlier) because they are a heck of a lot cheaper than an electric pump if it turns out you don't pump often! You can always buy an electric one later on if you find you want to pump several times a day. The tommee tippee one also came with one bottle, and some milk storage pots too, which I used as cups for the first couple of days when my little one didn't get the idea of latching on to feed. This stopped him from relying on a bottle (which is less work for them to get any milk from), and stopped nipple confusion.

As for supplementing, it's recommended that you don't do this. A lot of health visitors/midwives will weigh your baby in the first couple of weeks of it's life and say "oh it's not gaining weight fast enough, you need to supplement". It's total rubbish in 99.9% of cases, they use the bottle fed charts not the breastfeeding charts to measure it!! Don't give in to the pressure if you get this, it's normal for a breastfed baby to gain weight a little slower than a formula fed baby.

That said, I introduced a bottle at the 2-3 week mark because I had to for my health/sanity. I was getting a max of 1 hour broken sleep in a day and it was quite literally making me sick. The bottle meant I got a few hours sleep at night, but all my other feeds were from the breast. This time around, I plan on trying to only breastfeed for longer, but if I have to use a bottle for my health again I will do because I know it won't harm my breastfeeding.

If you have any other questions, or if you'd like a champion you can pm with questions rather than post them for all to see, just let me know

 

[Sam's mummy]

Congratulations on your pregnancy.

I used a medala swing electric breast pump and it was great.
I also used the Tommiee Tippee closer to nature bottlesans my son never had any problems switching between bottle and breast. He used to have one bottle a day from about 6 weeks.

I found breast feeding very hard at first but am so glad that I perservered. The thing I wish I had been told before hand is that it will most likely be painful even if you are doing it correctly but it really does get much easier. Good luck

 

[TheNewMrs]

Hi, I am a BF Peer Supporter in my town so I will answer from what most of my Mums tell me.


1: Which breast pump should I buy?-Medela Swing is a very popular Pump

2. Which bottles are best to supplement breast feeding?- Why do you think you will need to suppliment?

 

[ready2Bmum]

Ladies, thank you all for the well wishes and great advice.

I think I used the wrong word by saying "supplement". I don't mean to use formula at the same time, I meant bottles so I could express and Daddy could do some feeds also! I like my sleep!! But on a serious note, It would be nice not to be exhausted and I also don't want my OH missing out on bonding. He very much wants to feed aswell. So I thought I could express milk into a bottle sometimes? Ive heard of bottles which are better because they are more like a real nipple?

Im sorry I sound so green, but like I said, I have no-one to ask my silly questions!

To the ladies who said I could ask questions, I will take you up on that offer! They literally start as basic as how to I know when the baby is getting enough. How do I know when baby is done? How often do I feed? If I feed on demand how do I get them into a routine?

I have to go back to work after 6 months, so I believe I can only feed for 4 months, giving me 2 months to wean the baby in time for me going back to work. From what Im reading it could take longer than 4 months to get used to things! I feel a little over whelmed to be honest

 

[Lownthwaite]

How do I know when the baby is getting enough. How do I know when baby is done? Baby will come off the breast content / fall asleep. Baby will be gaining weight - there is no hard and fast rule as to how much or how quickly so please don't worry about baby gaining X amount in X amount of time.

How often do I feed? On demand.

If I feed on demand how do I get them into a routine? Remember there is a very big difference between a routine and a schedule. A breastfed baby can easily be guided into a routine. Play, bath, story, feed, sleep; as apposed to 6:15pm play, 6:30pm bath, 7pm etc etc....... don't hold yourself to times - baby can't tell the time follow babys lead

I have to go back to work after 6 months, so I believe I can only feed for 4 months, giving me 2 months to wean the baby in time for me going back to work. You can return to work and continue breastfeeding. I returned to work just as DD turned 9 months. She would take EBM in a sippy cup from the childminder, never had formula and continued feeding till she naturally weaned at 2 years old. If you don't want to wean you don't have to.

 

[SarahBear]

My first bit of advice: DO NOT SUPPLEMENT BREASTFEEDING! If you do this, you may quickly find that breastfeeding "just doesn't work out." Also, get in contact with Le Leche League. The vast majority of women for whom breast feeding "doesn't work out," it's because they're not being given proper support. VERY few women aren't able to breastfeed as a result of their actual physical abilities.

 

[SarahBear]

I see you didn't actually mean "supplement." Still take my advice seriously for supplementing with formula.

how to I know when the baby is getting enough. How do I know when baby is done? How often do I feed? If I feed on demand how do I get them into a routine?

Trust your body to provide for your baby. Educate yourself about how breastfeeding works so that you understand things like normal behavior when your milk is coming in, normal newborn behavior, and normal behavior during a growth spurt. Also if stuff's coming out (pee and poo), you know stuff's going in (milk). Take your baby to those frequent doctor's visits to make sure he or she is gaining weight. You know baby is done when baby isn't eating and doesn't fuss for the boob when it's taken away. Remember that boobs are the original pacifier and suckling is a great way to stimulate your milk "supply." You feed when your baby wants to. Again, remember that boobs are the original pacifier. Also think about how you're not always hungry on a schedule or the same from day to day. Babies are the same way but more so. Honestly, I would advise against a "routine." I would advocate to listening to your child's needs. If you listen to your child, you will be better able to be in tune with and meet their needs. Also, your baby WILL settle into a routine when they're ready. When you see this happening, you can encourage it and begin to anticipate their needs based on it while also listening to their needs because so much happens while they're developing that can throw off their routine. Honestly, all you have to do is have the boob available when the baby wants it and everything else will fall into place. Problems can arise in the beginning and having some sort of support available is key to success if problems do arise. As for bottles, make sure breastfeeding is firmly established before introducing the bottle.

 

[SarahBear]

Missed the bit about weaning. There's no reason to stop breastfeeding when you go back to work. I went back to work when Violet was 8 weeks old. She's not a few days short of 9 months. She is still breastfed and takes breast milk in a bottle when I'm gone. She's not a huge bottle fan and doesn't take much when I'm gone, but she makes up for it in the evening. When I am around all day, she takes more milk during my normal work hours. I would encourage you to keep breastfeeding when you go back to work! It's healthier for the baby and easier and cheaper for you!

 

[TheNewMrs]

They say to avoid expressing for the first 6-8 weeks to allow your body to know how much milk baby needs. Not meaning to alarm you at all but I would not expecting to have any quality stretches of sleep until at least the 3 month mark. By then a lot of babies are doing 3/4/5 hour stretches but rarely before that. While your hubby does not want to miss out on bonding, he can bond in loads of ways. Getting a nice sling and taking baby out in the afternoon for a nice long walk to let you sleep for an hour or so will really benefit you both- Him bonding and you get to catch a snooze. In the early days your breasts will wake you up anyway even if baby has been given a bottle of your milk, when they get full you will need to empty them- another reason why its not the best idea to express early on.

Once you get the first 2 weeks down you'll know exactly how and when baby needs fed and may even master feeding laying down so you won't have to actually get up to feed (giving you a much more restful night!)

You can still BF while back at work. Thousands of mums do it!