help from breastfeeding mums please!!

[mrsdcooper]

ok as the title says this is just some novice thinking about breast feeding asking for as much advice as possible. no woman in my family has ever breast fed (not im my life time) and so i have noone i can talk to about this stuff.

Just wondering what tips and advice you can give me. i would like to express some milk as not comfortable breast feeding when i am out - how often do i do this as well, how best to store and prepare it for feeds and how much does LO drink.

As you can hear i have actually no idea and anything you wish to share to help me would be great - i really want to do this but feel nervous as it is not the done thing in my family. thanks

 

[Christine33]

i cannot really give you give any advice but only tell you of my experience!
i really wanted to breast feed - like really badly.
my baby is now 3 weeks and 1 day old. when he was born he was TINY - only 5ibs 3ozs. my high blood pressure had stunted his growth.
2 hours after he was born he was taken to the neonatal unit as his blood sugar was dangerously low. he was in an incubator for 8 days. four of which he was tube fed.
i wasn't allowed to breast feed him. i was able to express and my milk was fed to him through a tube.
when he got better he wouldn't latch on as in the unit they had to bottle feed him (to monitor his intake).
i can now only express milk for him. it is very time consuming and a bit boring! i give Ali mainly expressed breast milk and SMA gold formula.
i would love to feed him from the breast and personally i would say try the breast and if it doesn't work out then express but i do warn you that expressing is very tiring and time consuming. i express up to 8 times a day.

Good luck!



Christine
X

 

[marley2580]

Make sure that you have a support network of some sort - whether a breastfeeding support group or even a forum like this one. BF can be very hard work at times and if people around you are always saying 'just give them a bottle' it can be very hard to stick to your guns. Good for you for going against the grain and doing what feels right to you. You will be giving your baby the best start in life.

 

[Ragirl]

I second what Marley says- support is crucial!!! I started pumping at 2 weeks in order to build my supply for when I return to work. My approach is to feed her until she is satisfied and then pump off any that is left AND/OR, she tends to eat from only one side, so I will pump the other side. I freeze the milk and to thaw run it under hot water for a few minutes. Hope that helps and glad to see you are going to give this a try.

 

[Zarababy1]

buy lansinoh nipple cream, i sufferd really badly with cracked nipples at first and it helped loads, its expensive (about 10 pound a tube). dont give up at the first hurddle...or the 2nd or 3rd! for the first few weeks i hated it, but now im so glad i didnt give up i cant imagen not having the closeness we have! if it hurts try and try again!...if it still hurts buy nipple sheelds! it can be frustrating not knowing if you are doing it right or if bubs is getting enough there'll be days wen all u seem to do is feed and others the opposite. I have trouble expressing i can never get enough to fill a bottle and it takes me ages i have no problem bf in public but i carry a bottle of formula around just incase! you'll probably find once LO is here it doesnt bother you that much when there screaming for a feed you just want to do it!!

Good luck its an amazing thing im so glad iv done it and im going to continue doing it for as long as i can! if you do need advice theres plenty of people on here that are experts!

 

[AppleBlossom]

I did it for 2 weeks but the pain was too much for me. I regret giving up but I'm glad I tried and at least I was able to pass on the crucial antibodies in those first few days.

If you can, keep at it, it's a great closeness between you and your LO