Completely Lost with this...

[BabyCleo]

My first baby is due May 27. Im currently 36w! YAY!

I don't know what to do. I want to try breastfeeding, but honestly, I kinda just want to pump it and not have baby attach to me. I don't know why, but to me that feels more comfortable. I have bought soothers and such but bow im being told to not touch them until baby develops a latch? Does this matter if im pumping and feeding from a bottle? I want hubby to be involved with feedings but now (in my pregnant hormone rage) I just want to cry cause im so lost and confused, it also dosent help im being made fun of for wanting to breastfeed cause (my boobs will never look as nice) (ps hubby isn't the one saying that, its a friend) How hard is the first part...?

 

[BabyCleo]

also, when do I pump when I get home from the hospital? what happens IN hospital? UGH.

 

[staralfur]

Honestly, pumping sucks. It's really hard. It's not nearly as effective as feeding the baby directly so you work twice as hard for half as much, and there's nothing worse than having to get up in the middle of the night to pump. Exclusively pumping is usually something people (very admirably) do as a last resort if they can't make breastfeeding work.

I would try feeding directly to start and see how it goes. You honestly won't know how you'll feel about breastfeeding until you try it. I've always really hated my nipples touched and thought I would HATE breastfeeding, but it's really very lovely and comforting once you get the hang of it.

Tell your friend that breastfeeding doesn't "ruin" your boobs, if anything changes them it'll be pregnancy.

Your husband can help out in a lot of other ways - he can change diapers, cuddle your LO while you take a nap, etc. I found that it was all nice and exciting the first couple of times that my DH got to give my LO a bottle but the novelty wore off really quickly and I ended up doing most of the bottle feeds myself!

Don't stress. Give nursing a try, you might love it, and if you do it's the easiest way to feed your baby. If you don't like it, you can figure it out from there.

 

[tulip1975]

My intention was to exclusively pump. A friend of mine did it recently, and she's still going with it at 8 months. She actually gave formula until her milk came in.

I wasn't very comfortable directly feeding either. But in the moment, I just went ahead and directly fed him as soon as he was born so that he could get the colostrum. Eventually I decided to hold out for 2 weeks before I started to pump. My baby is 3 weeks old now and I pump once or twice a day, getting 4 to 8 oz in 10 minutes. So pumping is definitely worth it for me. I really like the eye contact the baby makes with me and with DH when bottle feeding.

It is easier in the moment to just pop the baby onto the breast, and I still do that most of the day - but pumping gives me freedom when I'm feeling sleep deprived or stir crazy.

I have another friend who pumps, feeds directly, and gives formula to her 10 week old. Do what works for you. The latch thing won't matter if you only bottle feed - that's just for the breast. You may not have a problem with nipple confusion anyway. I gave mine a pacifier at one week, and he's eating and gaining weight like a champ.

Good luck!

 

[Beanonorder]

I agree with others to give it a try first. Especially while you still produce colostrum. Its thick and doesn't pump easily. Also, once your milk comes in you need to try pumping and see how it goes. Not all ladies are able to successfully pump although they can successfully breastfeed. I pump twice a day and on a good day I get 80ml and a bad day only 30ml. I mostly do it to increase my supply.
Pumping is a drag!

 

[misspriss]

Breastfeeding doesn't "ruin your breasts", pregnancy does. They have tested women who BF and FF and the breast changes are the same. BF actually lowers your chances of cancers and stuff.

I'd try it, breastfeeding with your child on you releases hormones that help with bonding, so it may change how you feel about it. If it doesn't work, then you can pump. Or you can try both at the same time.

PP are right, pumping is a last resort really. It is harder than BF. You have to get up and wash parts in the middle of the night, it's tough. In order to bring in your supply, you have to pump every 3 hours round the clock (even at night!), for several weeks.

Good luck with whatever you do!

 

[Mushymilkfor2]

Like all others said definitely give it a try first! It can sound so much more difficult that it actually is. I once read a quote that the first 3 weeks are the hardest, but by 3 months you feel sorry for moms that formula feed. Which, isn't exactly what you said, but pumping and feeding that way would be very similar. You will always be either pumping or feeding. Yeah, when someone else is around, you'll be able to have them feed, but you'll still be doing most the work. And with having to pump, it'll be double the work.

Breastfeeding is amazing, and it doesn't ruin your breasts at all. And your "friend" teasing you about it isn't very friendly at all!

 

[Kristalebear1]

Hey! This is my first to, I'm due exactly a week before you hehe. I am in the same track of thinking of pumping exclusively but after some awesome advice from girls on here I am going to give breastfeeding a try for 4 weeks (while still pumping to get a stash up) then decide what I prefer. I already pump my colostrum as I have loads of excess (i have only pumped 3 days and already have 4oz frozen in 1/2 oz-1oz sizes) i get about 1 oz every time i pump which is good since colostrum is supposed to be harder to pump. I will say this pumping is ALOT of work and i only do it once a day at the moment. I have a hand pump as the electric doesn't work as well on getting the colostrum out, and it takes 30-45 mins, alot of patience, and hand muscles And while I'm not sore after (my OB says you shouldn't experience pain during/after) my nipples are sensitive for about 20 minutes. Spending 45 minutes sitting down pumping is alot of time even with an electric, and I think.id much prefer to be holding my baby to me and binding with her during that time.

I hate my nipples being touched but I know that if I can't breastfeed I will pump like there's no tomorrow to produce milk for her as I want to keep formula as a last resort only. Regardless I am super happy to have a small supply of colostrum to give her if my milk doesn't come in fast enough so I can avoid formula supplementing.

(note if you do want to pump before you give birth make sure to clear it with your doctor )

 

[lisa1980]

I agree with everyone on here....pumping is much more work. BF directly (once established) is the least work-intensive (and cheapest!) way to feed a baby. I mainly BF but also sometimes pump, sometimes give formula, so I've had a go at all of it!

I'd say that you won't know how you feel about it until baby is here. I wasn't particularly determined to BF before I had DS1 but after he was born it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to want to BF him. It's the same as how you think it seems like it would feel weird to have a baby in your belly and feel it move etc before you get pregnant...once the baby is in there it suddenly doesn't seem so strange.

Oh and your friend is talking rubbish. My boobs are so much better now than before I had my babies (wish I could say the same for my tummy). I had a pretty flat chest pre-babies but now they're much bigger and perkier than before. My DH is overjoyed - we've saved money by BF and improved my chest

 

[lisaalove]

I am currently bfing and pump once sometimes twice a day. I ff my first and I am SOOO thankful I'm not dealing with bottles right now Honestly though everyone has different comfort levels with bfing/pumping/ffing it's really what feels comfortable to you though I do suggest at least trying it. My DH is a little jealous he doesn't have breasts as lo always wants to cuddle them! I absolutely love it. I will say that when I pump tthough it's probably the most boring part of my day!!Oh and I think that thing about bfing and boobs looking bad is a myth mine looked great after my first (bf for the first month) and now I am bfing again and they look FANTASTIC!

 

[luna_19]

As others have said the first few weeks is challenging but Omg pumping SUCKS. It sucks so much, bf is awesome so easy and you don't have to even get out of bed!

 

[AnonymousCAT]

Hey! So happy to hear that you are getting so close now! Congrats!

I'll chime in with my two cents too. I admit that I really wanted to bf despit all the hurdles I had and if I didn't want to do it so badly I probably would have given up as those early weeks were some of the hardest of my life. So I am a bit biased. But when DS was born he was in the nicu and wasn't able to feed so I had to establish my milk with pumping, so I have quite a bit of experience with pumping and it is a lot of work. I had to pump every 3 hrs night and day. After every pump you have to wash all the equipment and then sterilize it at least once a day too. I can never pump enough quantity compared to what DS needs as he is way more efficient at getting milk out of my breasts than the pump. So I would have to pump way more often for longer to get what he needs if I were to give him pumped milk exclusively. I honestly would be worried about being able to pump enough to satisfy him. Also, pumping is time consuming and you still have to feed the baby after you've pumped/while pumping?... And then wash and sterilize all the bottles too. This all seems good until you factor in how often newborns eat. I had no idea how much time I would spend feeding the baby. It was honestly every 2-3 hrs night and day for quite awhile. And DS was not very efficient at getting the milk out at first so it would take about 1.5 hrs to feed him, keep him awake during that time, and change him. By the time it was all done I had about 1.5 hrs to either eat, sleep, or shower before doing it all again. Now at that time I was pumping too as my milk supply would have went down as DS wasn't emptying the breast completely at that time so I would pump after bf which was awful. However, once we got the hang of bf it is definitely the easier thing to do. Just pop him on, feed, then off. Plus you get the great cuddle time. I would try bf at first and see what you think. Commit to doing both for a few weeks then make a decision once you know what each is like. Once you've experienced both you will know what you are saying yes or no to. Something else to consider is you may need to rent a hospital grade pump to bring in or maintain your milk as not all the retail pumps are strong enough to do this. I've read that your milk production capacity is a result of how many prolactin receptors you can lay down in the early weeks so I would think you would lay down more with a bf baby vs a pump as well so may be another reason to try bf initially. Anyways, whatever you choose it doesn't matter, just got to feed the lo somehow! Whatever works for you!