Breast pump advice ?!?!

[Aries29]

So stupid question here ....

My last baby didn't take to breast and as it was 10 year ago and I was only 20 he was whisked off to the nursery by the midwife and brought back in the morning. She said to me " he's bottle fed " so not much choice for me there.

Planning on trying breast feeding this time. If baby doesn't latch properly even after trying a lot can I still express with a pump and feed him that way ?

When mothers say baby didn't take to breast , is it that they just don't lath on or that they don't like the breast milk taste etc ?

Don't want to spend £70+ on a pump and it be wasted

 

[Laura1992]

I don't think there are many babies that don't like the taste of breastmilk, I think when people say they didn't take to it, they mean there were issues with getting baby to latch properly. With the right support, any issues such as problems establishing supply or latch issues (often tongue tie) can be sorted early.

They say it's not a good idea to express at first with a machine, but just to use your hand in the very early days. The hospital should be able to help you with that.

I am determined to try bf with my twins when they are born, and have found a local lactation consultant whose number I've saved into my phone in case we have problems in the beginning. I think once it's all established, it gets easier for sure.

Main thing is, try not to put too much pressure on yourself and try to relax about it. Skin on skin contact as much as possible helps with the let down reflex (getting the milk to start flowing each feed) too. Good luck with it

Find a lactation consultant: http://www.lcgb.org/find-an-ibclc/
Facebook breastfeeding support group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/348465081936918/ (UK Breastfeeding Support

 

[Aries29]

Thanks Laura, ,yes I was thinking it was more to do with latching on then the taste. I'll deffo try my best with skin to skin and bf . ahhh I might leave buying a pump then for a bit. Seen the tommy tippee electric one with the steriliser kit and other bits for £45 new

 

[Slb24]

I tried BF my daughter. She was born at 37+4 and weighed 4lbs 9. TBH I don't think she was ready at all and I struggled getting her to feed from the breast or bottle. But I ended up bottle feeding as that's what she took to best. She also had a slight tongue tie and a lip tie. Which no one picked up on. Definitely ask the midwife/HV to check
If your struggling getting baby to latch on. It's easily fixed and I would probably have been able to BF if they had picked up on it.

In my local hospital they have a lady who comes round and helps new mums with BF. Ask your hospital if they provide this service.

Another thing was I was given diamorphine not long before my daughter was born. This can make baby more tired. If your planning on BF I don't recommend having it at all as it will interfere with those first feeds if it gets into baby's system.

I used a tommee tippee pump and offered a mix of formula and breast milk. I would hold out though and buy a medela pump as I've heard really good things about them. I would wait until after you know whether baby has took to BFing though as they're pricey. Xx

 

[Aries29]

Thanks ladies , medela pump I'll have to google that . That's what my thinking is, to leave it till I know for sure if he will take to breast . Due on the 1st Dec so I could order one and get it before the xmas rush with any luck .

I had gas and air and pethidine last time, considering my son was 8lb 5oz and BACK TO BACK I think I did well. Took hours to push him out . Dead against an epidural and diamorphine is the same as pehtadine . Not sure I can cope with just gas and air !!

 

[cornishfairy]

Hi! Just to share my experience, I wanted to bf but my son showed no interest at birth and during the 12 hours after, but was then whisked off to neonatal as he had an infection from inhaling meconium in the womb. Long story short, we kept trying in neonatal and later when we were on the childrens ward, with little to no success despite the help of breastfeeding consultants coming in to try and help. I have quite flat nipples and theywere suggesting I needed to try and make them a bit 'perkier' so he could catch hold of something but they were so full they wouldn't do that for love nor money! We tried nipple shields which he seemed a bit more keen on but I found the whole process very exhausting and trying because I had so much milk gushing out all the time those first few weeks that he was njust getting drowned in it and it ended up being too stressful. Luckilu I had a manual breast pump from a friend which I was able to use while he was in NNU and also continued with after as he took to bottles well. Because I wanted to keep trying with breastfeeding we'd have a go every few feeds for about 8 weeks but eventually I had to accept iI'd have to pump every feed (during this time we also discovered he was allergic to dairy so no formula!) Anyway, I invested in an electric pump (single at first then eventually a double to save time ) and he had my expressed milk for just over a year. Lots of people said they didn't know how I did it but to me it was a lot easier than trying to bf a baby that seemed terrified of my boobs!
Anyhow... I've waffled enough, but general gist is yes you could definitely pump if you need to, but I'd pick up a cheap manual one first off in case it all works out fine. And like the others have said, there is a lot of bf support if you need it, both in hospital, and in the community. Search for local bf groups as they're great whether you're struggling or getting on fine, just for some social interaction as well as the boob factor! My friend works for the Breastfeeding Network and they have a helpline you can call if you need to chat to someone for advice, also your health visitor should be able to point you in the right ddirection for support.
Fingers crossed it'll all work out perfectly without needing to worryabout pumps II'm going in prepared for a possible battle again this time, pump and nipple shields going in the hospital bag, but hopefully I won't need them either! x