Still pregnant but want to know more about BFing!!! (First time momma)

[bebedreamr]

Hi Ladies,
I hope you and your LO's are doing well. So I am due Feb 11th and I am *really* hoping to BF. I have a few questions if you don't mind giving me your advice! I am hoping to be able to breast feed, as well as express so my OH can feed her as well. Am I being too hopeful? And when can I introduce my breast milk in a bottle without causing my LO confusion? How long does it take?
Also, any other information or words of wisdom would be fantastic

 

[LoPanda]

Hi hun, I was clueless when I started and have just got to a month and its been fantastic

My advice would be to: Have some Lansinoh cream ready - I didn't get any til a week or so in and its amazing.

Be ready for your milk coming - its crazy and you have a few days where you just feel like a crazy lady covered in milk all the time - but it gets better!

I know a lot of advice is to get all the help you can for the midwives - but I hated them pulling at my boobs and shoving them in babies mouth so I left hospital (even though they wanted me to stay til she had fed a few more time) and sat down at home with her where I could get her latched properly in m own time when I was comfortable - this really helped for me. As soon as I got home I watched a few latching on videos on youtube!

I only expressed for the first time today - I used a Lansinoh Affinity pump which is pretty cheap (£99) for a double pump and I got a pretty good amount earlier even after just feeding LO so would really recommend it! My little girl is 4 weeks and I will give her a bottle for the first time this week - they advise to introduce at 4-6 weeks I think.


Hope this helps xx

 

[Soph22]

Best advice I received is try it for 6 weeks. The first 6 weeks were really tough for me, there were times I thought about quitting but I was determined. At 6 weeks baby and I both seemed to have it figured out.

Everything I've heard is to wait if possible to introduce a bottle until at least 4 weeks. But if it has to happen earlier (did w/ mine for weight loss reasons) don't despair and just bf as much as possible.

Good luck!

 

[Nervous_1]

Best advice I can give is trust your baby to know how much milk is needed, and then trust your body to make it! Yes there are times (like almost all of the first 6 weeks! ) where you feel like you aren't producing enough milk because baby constantly wants boob, but this is normal and it does pass. Just offer as often as baby asks and you can't go wrong. Good luck!

 

[Mirrie]

This is all great advice!! I was "hoping" to get to 6 months but when I gave birth I realised that if you really want to breastfeed theres only a few things that can stop you so if you are "determined" to breastfeed you can!! I'm now past the 6 month mark and in no way am looking to give it up just yet- its one of the most wonderful tools I have with my son!!

I wasnt without difficulty - ie the first 6 weeks are dedicated to feeding and getting your supply in- your bubba will be a milkmonster and its lovely because its an excuse to concentrate on your baby- enjoy every moment- its a unique bonding experience- although it can feel a bit overwhelming so make sure you also plan time for you by getting your partner to look after baby for half hour or so every day so you can rest or have a lovely bath!!

If I'm totally honest about the pumping and having dad feed baby- my hubby wanted to do it, kept going on about it and I told him it has to wait until baby is at least 6 weeks- I made him wait until 8 weeks because I really didnt want all my hard work down the drain because of nipple confusion!! I had to pump for an hour to get about 2oz (pumping can be hard for alot of people and I think is for everyone at first) Dad fed baby once- which was hassle sterilising the bottle etc and baby was still hungry so I had to BF him anyway- hubby has not asked once since- it seems to be the norm (tell me ladies if I'm wrong) but out of 60 odd members on my fb group - a mix of Bf'ers and FF'ers only 2-3 dads actually get up during the night to help with feeds regularly- its normally a mummy job and popping your boob out is a whole lot easier than the hassle of pumping etc!! I now only pump if i want to add it to food- Thank goodness becuase I really dont like doing it even now- it does make you worry about your supply as well due to hardly getting any milk- remember your baby is getting a lot more milk that the pump can get- I doubt I'l even use mine again even if I have another baby!!

You are not being too hopeful hun but you may get discouraged about breastfeeding from people you didnt think you would be- ie mothers, health visitors, partners etc but do what you know is best for you and your baby and stuff everyone else- they'll all come round anyway!! And coming on here espesh in the early days- I've not been on for a while but the girls in this section were a lifesaver and now breastfeeding is so easy, so lovely and so natural I dont even think about it!

Congrats on your LO- so exciting xxxx

 

[Bay]

Hello. Congratulations, what a wonderful and exciting time

For me prsonally, it took two weeks for bf to not be painful. I am certain my son latched on fine, but my nipple skin wasn't used to all that rubbing, so i had grazes but once my nipples healed and hardened, things have only improved since.

I too hated the midwives pulling at my boob and shoving my son's head. I guess when someone pushes your head forward, you naturally just want to jerk it back, which was what my baby did. So i just let him find his way. This does go against the bf manual, but it has worked for us. I am sure you will find out what works best for you and your baby

I read books on bf before i gave birth, and i knew intellectually that newborns would want to feed on demand (which was what i intended to do). However, i wasn't prepared emotionally. My son would want to feed every 30 minutes, and whenever i held him, he would be searching left and right and cry if he couldn't find boobies. A difficult time when i felt my nipples needed a break to heal lol. But it was all worth it in the end, and i made it through, and by the sounds of your determination, i have confidence you will do just fine too

 

[Bay]

I'd like to also mention that i exclusively bf for six months (we slowly introduced solids around this time). Around this time, i also pumped and introduced the bottle, and even to now at 15 months, my son refuses to drink from a bottle or a sippy cup. He will only drink from a straw! So if you leave it too late like we did, they may reject the bottle altogether, but i'm sure there are ways around it even if it does happen.

Oh and also, in the first few weeks, they say to free range your girls and allow them to air dry so they can heal. I did this and lived in a dim home for weeks with all the blinds shut lol. If you do this, watch out for leaky boobs and have a towel at hand. I didn't know this, so you can imagine the shock and mess i found myself in when the other breast was leaking

 

[Leopard]

It is different for everyone. Personally DD had her first ebm bottle day two, she has a bottle usually every second day. No confusion here, she still takes well to he breast

 

[canadabear]

YAH for wanting to BF!!

The best advice I can give is to have AS MUCH SKIN TO SKIN AS POSSIBLE and BF as often as your LO wants it! JUST DO IT. You may feel like a milk machine, and need a lot of help around the house for the first 3-6 weeks or so, but it DOES Get easier and you WILL start to have time for yourself etc. SLEEP WHEN LO SLEEPS AND LET PEOPLE HELP YOU WITH EVERYTHING ELSE.
It really is for a short period of time compaired to the rest of your life with LO, so just concentrate on getting BF right for the two of you.
I am not sure about expressing, as we haven't done that yet, not sure if we will. But make sure everything is good with bf before you try it.

SKIN TO SKIN.. best thing EVER for me!!

 

[lisaf]

I had a lot of issues, but I was determined and have managed to sort them all out. So like another poster said, your determination will be a bigger factor in your success than almost anything else.
Learn as much as you can beforehand about proper latching, trust in your supply as long as you are getting enough wet diapers. Research your local resources ahead of time so you won't have to struggle to find help when you're already overwhelmed etc.

Prepare your partner for the kind of help you will need... even notify family who may want to drop by constantly that you may need extra time at first due to establishing breastfeeding, clusterfeeding, skin-to-skin and hope they can be flexible with you and keep visits brief for a while etc.
Plan food ahead as best you can, make and freeze meals if you're up for it, or get a grocery list of easy to make foods etc... snacks you'll need and can eat one-handed (granola bars, sting cheese). If you can ask family to bring meals by, that is SUPER helpful, there is nothing like a hot home-cooked meal in those early days!

As for nipple confusion... well, I don't know if that added to our problems or not because we had a bottle introduced from day 1 (NICU stay, then latching issues). We were able to work through it if that was part of the problem, but it took a lot of effort and help from experts (one lactation consultant in particular saved my ass... I would not be breastfeeding today if it weren't for her... she is the one person who finally got my son to latch for me).

 

[grandbleu]

I agree with having Lanolin (the brand mentioned before - sorry I've spelled it wrong I think - make sure to get teh kind that you don't have to wipe off before each feed - makes things easier) - Start using right away even before you get scabs on your nipples - might help even preventing them in the beginning.

Also watch "Latching" videos on youtube...I didn't and just did it "on my own" and I think that led to early problems and pain. It's better to do it right from the beginning.

Go to a local Leche League meeting in your area - they are so helpful and supportive especially for us newbies.

Remember it may (and probably will be) painful in the beginning but if you persevere it should get much better.

Good luck and Happy Birthing!