Breast Feeding - Newbie first time mum

[Militarywife7]

Hi ladies,

Just looking for some advice as im trying to get prepared for my little one arriving in January.

I am hoping to breast feed, and my breast feeding seminar isnt until next month. I'm confused if people buy the electric pumps in advance prior to baby, or if they wait? I'm saying this as pretty much everyone I know had issues with breast feeding and it didnt work out.

I'm therefore unsure if its silly of me to purchase a pricey electric pump in advance on this basis? and just wondered what everyone else done x

[Tomorrow_1]

Why not buy one of the cheaper manual pumps and go for an electric one later, if you need it? I bought a manual one when my baby was a few days old and it’s really easy to use, though it takes a bit of time to pump one breast. Also happy to answer questions about breastfeeding if you have them! It’s hard at first but it gets a lot easier after a few weeks.

All the best for the birth!!! 😊

[Militarywife7 in reply to Tomorrow_1]

Thank you for the advice, this was my thinking to buy a cheaper manual one first just incase things dont go to plan. I appreciate the recommendation - many thanks for the offer x

[Cheekymonkey85]

I waited & bought nothing. Issues with breastfeeding are mostly due to lack of proper support & understanding. Lots of women (backed up by family members) believe that the constant need to feed is because there is something wrong with your milk etc, so turn to formula. It's normal behaviour. Latch problems can be due to tongue tie. It's mostly down to perseverance and pushing for the right help if needed. I struggled with my first, but second was a dream to feed. The first 6 weeks are the hardest, but once you get passed that it can be easy. When a did eventually buy a pump I didn't use it all that much, it's easier to feed straight from boob, so you don't even really need one at all to be honest. It's nice for other family members to feed them but there are other ways for them to bond with baby etc.

I always recommend joining uk breastfeeding support on Facebook. It's a great advice page if you do struggle xx

[Militarywife7 in reply to Cheekymonkey85]

Thanks for the recommendation, I will definitely join that support group as I'm open to getting as much help and information as possible. I'm glad breast feeding went well with your second baby, I will definitely try to preserve x

[MissSaoPaulo]

I'd wait and see. There's always next day delivery if you decide you want one. Another option is to rent an electric pump to see how you get on before deciding to buy one.

I found breastfeeding tough at first, although it gets easier and stopped being painful if you persevere. I have ended up pretty much exclusively expressing though as bb was slow to gain weight and this way we can monitor what she takes. It's what works for us and she's exclusively on breast milk but Daddy and other people can feed her, so I like it.

I've got an electric pump which is great and a manual one which is good to have handy - I tend to use mine in the car on long journeys.

Hope your pregnancy is going well on this final stretch, not long now

[Militarywife7 in reply to MissSaoPaulo]

Hi lovely, I hope you and baby are doing well? Thats what I said to my husband, good old amazon prime Thats happened to a few girls I know in terms of baby was slow to gain weight and expressed so they could measure what they were drinking. Which is also a great option depending on how baby takes to breastfeeding. I'm glad you found a solution that works for you, and I would be happy doing either of these. Everything is going well pregnancy wise and I havent had any real issues, I'm 32 weeks now so things are speeding up. xxx

[pinkie93]

The vast majority of breast feeding issues are down to a lack of proper understanding and support. I've only ever known one woman who physically couldn't produce milk. Also if you have to stay in hospital after birth then at some point they will probably push you to supplement with formula, don't feel pressured into this. Midwives were horrid to me in the hospital, apparently I would never make enough milk, tell that to my exclusively breastfed 91st centile 17 week old baby.

In my opinion, once you know how to get a good latch then successful breast feeding is all about relaxing. Lot of skin to skin and watch your baby so you can learn their body language cues. Drink lots of water, eat when you want, take vitamins, go without a bra and let your breasts air dry whenever possible to prevent soreness (when I'm home I'm topless or wearing a very loose fitting cotton top without a bra). Also cluster feeding can go on for hours and hours, I've had sessions of 6+ hours. Don't panic this is entirely normal, just go with it, surround yourself with snacks and get a Netflix subscription (also wear compression stocking and try moving your legs if you're sitting for a long time to prevent DVT).

Sorry I've gone well off track here, but I wouldn't buy a pump now and actually if you do pump I would avoid it for the first 6 weeks-3 months, you want to get as established as possible. Also the issue with pumping is your body cannot get all the signals from babies saliva, this tells your body what antibodies your baby might need. Get as much support as possible and please don't let anyone tell you your body isn't capable. Good Luck!

[JojoWash]

I had one ready, I bought mine secondhand off eBay there’s loads on there as people do get them and don’t end up being able to breastfeed. Just give them a good wash and sterilise and they are like new. To be honest mine wasn’t even out of box when I got it x

Saves money and if you don’t use it just sell it again ! X

[Militarywife7 in reply to JojoWash]

Really good idea, I didnt know you could sterilise them etc Thank you for the recommendation lovely x

[JojoWash in reply to Militarywife7]

No worries xx

[Baypony]

Hi again! I’m also due in Jan and i’ve decided to wait to get a breast pump and see if I get in OK with breast feeding first. In my area you can hire an electric pump but if I can breast feed i’ll try with a manual one first then maybe progress to an electric one. I’m not too fussed about worrying about it until after i’ve got into a routine with baby and i’m trying not to get stuff that I might not need.

[Militarywife7 in reply to Baypony]

Totally agree, I dont want to end up with loads of useless baby items that I wont use or need. Although the manual pump does make sense as they are reasonably priced. Its nice to get feedback from other expecting mummies too x

[Tugsgirl]

Buy a cheap one and if you get on with pumping ok then look at getting a more pricey one. Good luck with it xx

[Militarywife7 in reply to Tugsgirl]

Thanks lovely - good idea that was my thinking too x

[Octoberbaby2019]

You don't need a pump straight away until you want to express. You could get a really cheap manual one.

The first few days are the hardest until your milk comes in. With the colostrum you really barely can tell if anything is happening at all when you're feeding. What helped me was getting a midwife to sit with me and hand express some of the colostrum so I could see that it was actually working. I didn't get much help at the hospital and if you're struggling you need to ask for someone to take the time and sit with you and see that you are positioning correctly and most importantly that they can tell that the baby is actually eating cos tbh I couldn't tell not until my milk came in which luckily happened on the 3rd day for me but for some it can take longer.

Let us know if you have any questions, don't be disheartened and go to breastfeeding groups if you need to. I went after my boys tongue tie got cut cos I suddenly felt like everything felt wrong and got one on one support as I was the only person there it was great. Also if you want to supplement with formula milk you do that, don't let anyone say its wrong, you need to do what's right for you and baby. Be open minded, the most important thing is that your baby is fed.

Good luck with it and ask more questions if you have any, happy to answer from my experience x

[Militarywife7 in reply to Octoberbaby2019]

Thank you this is extremely helpful advice, did you ask a midwife to sit with you at the hospital or during the home visit? It seems like quite a few girls that I know were also unsure if the baby was drinking etc Thats a good idea on support groups - I always welcome advice especially being a first time mom. Thank you for offering additional advice, its much appreciated x

[Octoberbaby2019 in reply to Militarywife7]

It was at the hospital, but it was actually the midwife who had been there during my labour and just by chance came to see how I was doing as she is from the maternity unit not post birth and when I saw her I cried and told her that nobody had taken the time to help me, so she had a word with staff (not that that helped) but she made sure she helped me to express. After that I felt really silly and that I should have insisted on someone sitting with me, that's what they are meant to do! And they're meant to make sure the baby is actually eating before they sign you out too. So please remember this and if you are in a hospital where the staff just seem to be busy insist to have someone sit with you for a whole feed or help you to express by hand just for peace of mind. The colostrum should be expressed into a little pip they can provide you one as its quite precious little gold 1ml is already a lot!

And if you think something isn't right keep at the staff cos even thou you're a first time mummy your intuition will be right believe me x

[NE90]

I would buy a pump in advance... but maybe not spend crazy amounts! Breast feeding is definitely hard and unfortunately I gave up after 2 months due to a really low milk supply and I had a poor diet. But it helped me so much having my husband feed my expressed bottles to our little one in the night! xx

[Cheekymunchkins]

Amazon next day delivery will always come to your aid! I bought little martins pump after having problems with feeding my little one, I later weaned her back to the breast once my boobs had healed a bit. It was quite cheap and worked much better than the second pump I bought so that I would have one for each side. If you are planning to pump and store milk then it’s a different thing to needing some help in those first few weeks. All you can do is hope your baby latches well and that the milk comes in quickly but some level of traumatic experience is par for the course with early feeding. You can’t focus on those who have failed and if you really need to give the odd formula bottle because it’s getting too much in the early days then don’t feel bad about it.

It is difficult but if you really want to do it you will push through that like with anything in life, but having a baby is a lot going on and if breastfeeding makes you too unhappy to continue then that’s okay too. I second another lady below that it’s a lot easier with the second baby.