FTM popping over from second tri!

[Beautiful11]

Would be so grateful for any advice you mummy's could give..
I'm 20 will be 20 when Baby number 1 arrives i really really want to breastfeed more so than anything Ive read so much good stuff about it...but after 6 months im going back to work part time 2 days a week while mum looks after LO and my DH parents live in a different town and want to look after LO one weekend every month which is something im coming to terms with! (wont be until im comfortable and baby is a little older) but my question for you is do i need to buy bottles maybe formula in case i cant breastfeed? i want to express for above reasons but when can i start to do this? also its my 21st 3 months after LO is born so what do i do about alcohol being in my system? you see im adamant to breastfeed but it seems its all just boggling in my mind and i really don't want to give in and formula feed any advice would be great thanks for reading ladies xx

 

[PearDrops20]

Congratulations firstly
I bought bottles and 1 little carton of ready made formula milk that you can just heat up as a just in case as sometimes babies or mum may not like it for whatever reasons, I didn't need them as my LO latched straight away and we took to it like a duck to water

You can use the bottles for if you do express/pump as well so its not just for use for formula feeding
I started pumping once a day from 3 weeks, as my OH wanted to take me out for a meal to celebrate and my mum had him for a couple of hours, I had one drink as that's all I felt comfortable with and spent the rest of the night on lemonade and J2O's so do what you feel comfortable with

 

[Pearls18]

I personally didn't buy formula, I trusted my body, just as well I did because one tough night I sent DH out to get some because like many FTMs I had convinced myself I wasn't producing milk, thankfully it took him so long to get there and back (the 24 hour shop was over an hour away) that DS fed and fell asleep and never needed the formula so I swear it was because of this I succeeded, if I had given him formula which I would have done had it been there I think I wouldn't have continued. Your baby isn't going to starve if you have to pop out to a shop to get formula, so for me it is a waste of money and perhaps too much of a plan B that could make you falter in a weak moment. I did have bottles for expressing etc, I didn't express until 4 weeks to get my supply established.

I got married when DS was 3 months, I expressed enough in advance that I didn't need to BF him for 24 hours so I could enjoy a tipple and not be BF, I still had to sneak off to pump and dump for comfort as I got engorged, but the next day he went back to BF fine

After 6 months I decided to start giving formula instead of expressing when DS was babysat or I had to pop out, I still BF most of the time but I basically stopped expressing, for me my minimum goal was to exclusively BF for the first 6 months, after that I took it a day at a time which is what I will do this time.

 

[kalyrra]

First off, here's a thread I posted awhile back: https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/breastfeeding/1900733-helpful-tips-advice-new-moms.html

Second... if I have any advice to give, I'd definitely have to say don't go into this thinking you might not be able to breastfeed! So many new moms (myself included) go through a time where we are convinced that we are not producing enough milk!

A true supply issue is actually pretty uncommon. Basically, as long as your baby is gaining weight (even if it's slow), and producing wet diapers then your baby is getting enough milk.

Hope this helps!

 

[seaweed eater]

I agree with the above posters if you just feed on demand you will likely be fine. Newborns act hungry and want to nurse all the time -- it's their job. It doesn't mean you are not making enough milk.

I also wanted to say that I went back to work part time at 4 months and full time at 9 months. It was fine. I was able to keep up with LO's milk intake and also nurse him outside of work for 7 months -- now he no longer nurses (his choice) but I am still pumping. You can start pumping around 4-6 weeks but don't go overboard or you will increase your supply too much -- a small oversupply can be good if you are working but you do have to pump every day to maintain it.

Kellymom is a good, very extensive website if you want to do some more reading

Good luck and I hope the rest of your pregnancy goes well!

 

[Beautiful11]

Thank you!