Did you get equipment in 'just in case'

[minichicky]

Hi all you lovely breastfeeding mummies!
I hope you can give me some advice as a first time mummy to be!
I plan on trying to brestfeed my baby but am fully aware it may not work out and am determined not to beat myself up if it dosnt.
So my question is, if I cant feed, I would still like to try expressing before giving into forumla.
What are your views on buying, bottles, pump, sterilizer etc in preperation?
One one hand Im worried if I have them to hand, it might be easier for me to give up quicker than I have too, but then on the other hand, I dont want to have to send hubby out in the middle of the night to pick up this stuff whilst Im left in tears with a screaming hungry baby!
I think I would like to express as well eventually so think it would be best to get this stuff in 'just in case' and am thinking now is a good time to look into it all with the sales etc??

 

[Maffie]

Hi

I did buy a pump, steriliser and bottles, but I didnt buy any formula. I had read alot and wanted to a) get a supply of milk frozen and b) wanted to be prepared just in case.

Im glad I did buy them as I became engorged and LO couldn't latch on so needed to express some milk (pump was broken though so ended up with OH doing a trip to tesco at 2am)

I didnt want the formula in the house as I too thought it would make me weak if that makes sense. I would say if you want to buy the things buy the minimum. I have found it handy having the items so OH can now do the odd feed so thay have nice bonding time, so even though I exclusively BF I throughly use all my feeding equipment.

 

[Lunaty]

I did buy some bottles and a sterilizer, ended up getting a pump after LO was born and i send DH out to get some Formula in the second week as my nipples were bleeding and i couldnt pump as i didnt have the damn thing yet! *i had ordered it online

My advice, get a pump before so you dont have to get formula if you dont want to

btw, i ended up feeding with bleeding nipples after one bottle of Formula as i felt terrible hahaa, so 3 weeks in i ended up using one scoop of the whole can!

 

[bonbon]

Hi

i have been bf my son now for 7 weeks and though others may not agree I was so pleased that my sil advised me to get a steriliser, bottles + expessor 'just in case' as i had a very rocky start!

I was not prepared for the amount of times that you have to feed a newborn and after being awake for three nights whilst in labour + having an emergency cesarean I was exhausted. I bf him whilst in hospital where i had constant support from the staff but when i got home i found it all too much! my community mw came to visit me and we discussed the way forward and i decided to express and bottle feed for a week to allow my cesarean wound time to heal and to get rid of the mastitus that i had developed!

after that week i did a mixture of bf and ebm through a bottle and gradually i have increased the bfs and i am now exclusively bfing and expressing occassionally to build up a store of milk in the freezer for when i need to leave him.

i also found it a god send that he would take a feed from a bottle as i have had some complications after my cesarean and have had to go for lots of hospital checks and it meant that i didnt have to worry whilst i left him with my oh or my mum for the day as i had expressed enough for him to have that.

i think some may think it will be too easy for you to turn to the bottles ec and give up on bf but it was actually the opposite for me, it got me through the hard bits!

one bit of advise I would say is dont be too afraid to ask for help, i have had help from loads of midwives, 2 health visitors, a community nursery nurse, a bf councillor (cant spell that!) several bfing mothers at a bf support group, 2 doctors, everyone on here and my mum of course! I also phoned the la leche bfing helpline which was really helpful.... heres the no just incase 0845 120 2918

good luck with the birth of your lo and i wish u every success with bfing!

xx bonnie

p.s. sorry for rambling!

 

[bonbon]

p.s. if u do feel the need to get some ff in the house just in case, i bought some ready made in a carton, it has a long date on it ad is ready as soon as you need it. i did end up using it a few times as like los of people my nipples were bleeding and i couldnt face expressing sometimes. It is up to you really and how you feel about giving your child ff.

I do have a friend that epressed a few weeks b4 her lo was born so that she has some ebm just in case but i dont know if mw would advise this?! may be worth asking?

 

[florabean1981]

like the other's have said, i too bought a manual hand pump, which came with 2 bottles & its own microwave sterilizer... then in a sale, they had a big steam sterilizer & never one to resist a bargain, i bought it & it came with a dumy, 4 bottles n teats, bottle cleaner brush thingy & is great. (they're all tommee tippee).
i have been very lucky & only had 1 liitle crack n one little blister on my nipples & no other issues, but i still express once a day & my lo has one bottle of ebm each night given by his daddy, which he loves, lol.

like bonbon said, if you do have an emergency ff- buy a little 200ml carton; they're around 58p in the uk & can be kept for up to 12hrs once opened. i have used ff a couple of times in the early days but he's now only on breast milk.

the best advice i was given was buy some Lansinoh nipple cream (in purple box & tube) & use lots of it!!!! it's about a tenner, but 100% worth it to protect n soothe your nips n safe for lo to digest. many women will agree its a lifesaver!

best wishes & good luck!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

I didn't have any equipment in the house - and that didn't help my LO latch on! I didn't want to give bottles but as LO wasn't latching I had to send OH out for a pump and steriliser. It's not having or not having equipment in the house that will make or break BF IMO. What will, is having enough support. If you're having trouble and one MW/HV/BF supporter doesn't help, demand another! Good luck.

 

[bloodbinds]

I had a pump and some bottles for expressing just in case, but didn't buy any formula as knew i might give in if i did!! Lol.

 

[pennysbored]

I do have a friend that epressed a few weeks b4 her lo was born so that she has some ebm just in case but i dont know if mw would advise this?! may be worth asking?

To my understanding, nipple stimulation can trigger contractions. I'm not sure I'd recommend this unless you are really close to your due date. I mean really close.

And to answer the OP, I see nothing wrong with having that stuff on hand. Like people say, maybe don't have actual formula in the house, but the tools of the trade, well, you probably won't be sorry. Formula is easy to make a quick decision about, but what kind of bottles, pump, etc, you want some time to weigh out the options.
Congrats!

 

[bonbon]

I agree ...... Lansinoh is amazing stuff! Expensive but well worth it! I used to put it on all the time!!!

 

[bonbon]

'To my understanding, nipple stimulation can trigger contractions. I'm not sure I'd recommend this unless you are really close to your due date. I mean really close.' quote

you are probably right, it was just what my friend told me so I am not sure that it is a good thing to do?!?!? I would also b a bit worried that the baby would miss the colostrum which they get the first time that they feed!
Dutch that idea!!!!! Lol

 

[Blah11]

You need a steriliser anyway for dummys if the LO has one and bowls and spoons when you begin to wean. I bought a cheapy tommee tippee breast pump and micro steriliser with the bottles included. I didn't use them much AT ALL but they were mega cheap so it's no big deal.
I wouldn't have any formula in the house if you plan on BF. You can always nip to the shop if you NEED to.. I think having it in the house might make you reach for the bottle when you're just tired and emotional and think you're failing (which is completely normal btw).

 

[Blah11]

p.s. if u do feel the need to get some ff in the house just in case, i bought some ready made in a carton, it has a long date on it ad is ready as soon as you need it. i did end up using it a few times as like los of people my nipples were bleeding and i couldnt face expressing sometimes. It is up to you really and how you feel about giving your child ff.

I do have a friend that epressed a few weeks b4 her lo was born so that she has some ebm just in case but i dont know if mw would advise this?! may be worth asking?

I find that really weird because colostrom is REALLY small amounts it's hard to express colostrom without the use of a hospital breastpump and even then it's still difficult.

 

[MrsSixx]

Hi all you lovely breastfeeding mummies!
I hope you can give me some advice as a first time mummy to be!
I plan on trying to brestfeed my baby but am fully aware it may not work out and am determined not to beat myself up if it dosnt.
So my question is, if I cant feed, I would still like to try expressing before giving into forumla.
What are your views on buying, bottles, pump, sterilizer etc in preperation?
One one hand Im worried if I have them to hand, it might be easier for me to give up quicker than I have too, but then on the other hand, I dont want to have to send hubby out in the middle of the night to pick up this stuff whilst Im left in tears with a screaming hungry baby!
I think I would like to express as well eventually so think it would be best to get this stuff in 'just in case' and am thinking now is a good time to look into it all with the sales etc??

Hi Minichicky!

I bought an Avent microwave steriliser which included some bottles just incase I hit problems. I also bought some ready made Aptamil cartons. I didn't buy any kit for expressing but I wish I had (including researching the best pump) as it was a pain in the arse when I did need it urgently! I also should have bought Lanisoh in advance. Lastly, I wish I had read a book on breastfeeding before I started dohh so I was better prepared.

I have run into problems and stuck with BFing firstly with the brief help of some Medela nipple shields (don't recommend you buy these unless you absolutely need them) and then with the help of my Medela Swing pump. This is a really good pump for occasional/daily pumping IMO (not exclusive pumping), so I would recommend this one if you are going for electric. I tried the Avent ISIS beforehand and didn't get on with it.

I liked this book a lot too (as I said, just wish I had read in advance): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Food-Love-Formula-Successful-Breastfeeding/dp/0954930959/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261648358&sr=8-1. She's a bit of a hippy but I think her advice is sound. And this is a good site to read to: https://www.kellymom.com/.

 

[minichicky]

Thank you so much everyone. We decided to get some stuff in and I picked upa Tonmme Tippe electric steriliser with 2 bottles for £20 in the mothercare sale! I think I will wait for the next asda event and try and get a bump as well.
I wont get any formula in though as I would want to try expressing before giving formula.
I hope I will get a lot of support. My sister exculisly BF both hers and was also a counsellor for a bit as she loved it so much! I also have a very good friend who has just BF for 8 months so will be able to turn to these people for help and advice.

 

[sun]

I didn't buy anything at the beginning, but my MIL got us an electric pump (which comes with bottles) as a gift so OH could feed occasionally too. I didn't get a sterilizer though - I just boil the bottles for 10min after I use them which sterilizes them - not worth buying one since I only pump every second or third day.
xx

 

[dacosta]

We bought a steriliser and some bottles which was definitely handy as we had to sterlise a bottle teat when my right breast became so engorged lo couldn't latch on - the teat was used as a temp nipple shield and worked wonders.

So I'd recommend getting the sterliser, a few bottles, a manual pump and a nipple shield - because you never know what you'll need until it's too late.

Oh and pack lanisoh in your hospital bag!

I went for the tommee tippee manual pump and haven't had any problems, but I've only used it a few times to relieve painful boobs.

So far I haven't fed lo from a bottle and don't intend to - not yet anyway (11 DAYS OLD) but it's good to know you have the equipment if needed.

 

[AP]

I do have a friend that epressed a few weeks b4 her lo was born so that she has some ebm just in case but i dont know if mw would advise this?! may be worth asking?

To my understanding, nipple stimulation can trigger contractions. I'm not sure I'd recommend this unless you are really close to your due date. I mean really close.

I have been told by Alex's neonatal nurse that this is more common than you think. So long as its over 37 weeks then its ok. I too ws shocked, but appartanley they know of many mums who express and freeze before baby is born!

I dont quite understand what happens with the colostrum, maybe its kept seperate from 'full' milk.

 

[bonbon]

QUOTE]

I do have a friend that epressed a few weeks b4 her lo was born so that she has some ebm just in case but i dont know if mw would advise this?! may be worth asking?[/QUOTE]

I find that really weird because colostrom is REALLY small amounts it's hard to express colostrom without the use of a hospital breastpump and even then it's still difficult.[/QUOTE]

I know I did question ityself but I'm completely new to bf so I wasn't sure if it was me being thick!!!! I must admit I found it rather strange esp as I was really excited about feeding my lo
for the 1st time and I think expressing Beforehand would take that away!

 

[Punky79]

Bit late to this but I was another one who bought stuff beforehand - I like to be prepared!! Good job we did because we had to top up one night because he had low blood sugar and I would have gone mad if we had to run round buying bottles etc.

I didn't have any formula in the house though but we just bought those ready made cartons.