Is there any preparation for breast feeding

[flowerbomb]

Hi all. I'm hoping to breast feed however I'm very scared because I had a difficult time with my first son and I couldn't get him to latch. I ended up solely expressing and I had to do this every 3 hours. I'm not going to do that this time round because it absolutely drained me. I had to set my alarms during night, get up to express then I'd go back to bed and then my son would wake for his feed so I'd be up again and then back to bed and then my alarm goes off again.

I want to try again I'm just scared. I've bought some lansinoh cream. Should I start using this now?

Thanks for your advice ladies

 

[SarahTWD]

Lansinoh is only really for sore, cracked nipples. I used it with my son when my nipples were sore and bleeding and it was a godsend. I've just bought a tube ready for when it happens with this one. I don't think it will do anything before you are actively breastfeeding though and it isn't cheap so I'd just wait until you actually need it.

With my son I initially found it extremely difficult to breastfeed him and in all honesty if it wasn't for one midwife on the transitional care ward we were on I would have probably given up within a couple of days. She sat with me for 2 hours one day getting me to try different positions and eventually he latched on perfectly while laying down on my side. I breastfed him until he was 3 years old when he gave it up by himself.

Good luck hun xx

 

[Shepherdess]

I agree with above, you don't need to use lansinoh yet unless your nipples are dry. Worth using as soon as you start feeding though to prevent dryness.

There's no real preparation you can do but it's worth reading up on breastfeeding and looking at different positions.
It's also a good idea to look into breastfeeding support groups in your area

If you struggle to get baby to latch speak up to the midwives and health visitors

 

[KHTW]

And it may be worth writing a few hundred notes saying "keep going" and "you can to this" and hide it all over the house. And I am only half joking! I hope it goes smoothly for you x

 

[flowerbomb]

Thanks for the advice ladies. X

 

[Princess81]

There are also antenatal breastfeeding sessions in most areas, depending on where you are, some childrens centres will do it and they will have information leaflets.
There's also La Leche League, online. They are worldwide lactation specialists and will know every trick in the book. Also, depending on your location (again) there are breastfeeding cafe's and peer support workers. A lot of support out there for breastfeeding mummies because, if that's your choice, we all want you to succeed.

 

[CornishGirl]

I'm not sure how much help this was to me, but I was told I could express colostrum from 36 weeks and collect/store it if I wanted. I did this and practised hand expressing every day. I only got a tiny bit at first but more just before my son was born.
After birth I didn't get the 'golden hour' with the baby. It was about two hours after the birth that I finally had a midwife help me feed my son. He struggled to latch at first so she suggested expressing a little into a syringe to get him interested. She was impressed with how much colostrum we could easily get and I think that might have been down to me practising?

He's almost 23 months old now and we're still going.

 

[TORino]

I was determined to breastfeed my daughter and son and I have both times made a point to insist on someone coming out to the house everyday to check latch and basically tell me it’s going right. Just for the first few days I mean here I think I saw a midwife or a feeding specialist everyday until maybe 10 days old. My boy lost a fair bit of weight and I was wobbling this time round so I needed the reassurance he was getting the hang of it.

Trying the different positions helped me as well, have someone show you how to do it lying down as it’s really useful when they are feeding lots to allow you to rest.

Best of luck

 

[Shanivy]

Torino absolutely agree with you. Definitely ask or demand help if you've need it. My breastfeeding councillor was great help. She got me a hospital grade medela pump from my midwifery unit.

If you've tried before chances are you'll have the positions down. Though I'm going to have a practice again to refresh my memory after four years lol. I'm very determined this time to solely bf for at least six months.

And everyone seems to disagree on this, but for me Ive decided not to have any formula in the house as a "just in case" I know myself, and after a bad night if I was struggling or panicking, I'd give baby a bottle. I had a few problems after birth that meant I couldn't give dd any of my breast milk for 18 hours. So for me my daughter didn't do well latching once she had tried taking formula from a bottle teat. Then it was just a cycle of pumping and bottling like you and trying to latch just sort of took a backseat to expressing

Good luck. Xx

 

[SarahTWD]

And everyone seems to disagree on this, but for me Ive decided not to have any formula in the house as a "just in case" I know myself, and after a bad night if I was struggling or panicking, I'd give baby a bottle. I had a few problems after birth that meant I couldn't give dd any of my breast milk for 18 hours. So for me my daughter didn't do well latching once she had tried taking formula from a bottle teat. Then it was just a cycle of pumping and bottling like you and trying to latch just sort of took a backseat to expressing

Good luck. Xx

Same here. I bought some of those ready made boxes "just in case" with my son but never used them so aren't bothering with this one. I've got 2 bottles but they're only ones I've got in free boxes etc, not bothering buying them as last time once my son latched on he didn't want anything else, I had doctors telling me to give him water in a bottle at one point but he flat out refused any type of bottles, he just wanted boob.

I know many people use bottles for expressed milk or combi feeding but 100% breastfeeding worked amazingly well for us and hopefully it will this time around xx

 

[Chase]

I think it's helpful to read up on realistic expectations on bf. Like you my first couldn't lay h, I expressed for a year and it was brutal. With my second I assumed it would come easier for him. It took 5 days to get him to latch and even then it was hit and miss... He would Bob on and off and drive me nuts.

I think there is a misconception that baby comes out, latches and feeds and if that doesn't happen right away you can't bf.

The other thi g I see a lot is that you do t produce enough milk this is actually very rare. It can take a while for milk to come in (3 days with 1st and 5 with 2nd) and it's normal for baby to feed little and often especially during the night as mither nature made it so out milk production is best between the hours of 12-4am

Make sure your partner knows whether you are happy for formula to be suggested. For me moaning about bf (let's face it it's hard on you at times) was just a release, I wasn't looking for a solution, he learned that the hard way.

Stick with it, after 6ish weeks everyone should be having an easier time of it. It's an investment but totally worth it