breastfeeding cream, which one to buy?

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redballoon wrote: »

Im quite strong minded so i know i wont give in at the first hurdle, BUT i was thinking of getting a small tub of formual so use as well as breastfeeding as hubby feels he will be left out of the feeding process. will it be ok to formula feed once or twice a day as well as breastfeeding if i do this from the start or will it hinder me and the latching process?

If hubby wants to feed baby, you could express some milk and use that. In the first 3 months or so, you'll have so much milk that it'll be really easy to express several ounces at a time. If you are still nursing after 6+ months, it'll become gradually more difficult to express (body can now tell the difference between breast pump and baby), hubby may have lost interest in bottle feeding and you can switch to cow (or fortified soya) milk after 12+ months anyway.

I don't think using the occasional bottle will cause problems. My baby was happy to have a bottle now and then. However, I do think mixed feeds (breast-milk and infant formula milk) are really difficult to keep up and you would end up stopping breast-feeding much earlier than you might have planned. (SIL and cousin went down that route.) On the other hand, if you are going back/to work early then mixed feeding could be a winner as it could be difficult to express enough milk while at work (pump several times a day, put in fridge and give to child's carer for use the next day - very tiring) so mixed feeding would be less of a surprise to baby if/when you switched to wholly formula milk.

welshmaiden

hi i have four children and breastfed all of them. all with a wide range of ages. my daughter is 20. i have a son who is 19 another son who is 11 and an 18 month old baby boy. with the first three i used a spray called rotasept and it was brilliant it really helped. when my baby was born feb last year i tried to get some and was quite upset to find it was no longer available. so had to use kamillosan (not sure if i spelt that right. ) i had very sore nipples and contacted my health visitor. she arranged an appointment with a breast feeding councillor and i learned that most breast feeding problems where a aresult of poor technique. if the baby doesnt latch on properly then this can cause problems. try looking for a website on breast feeding techniques or ask your heakth visitor if you have a breastfeeding councillor in your area. mine really helped me a lot and even gave me a good breast pump to help increase my flow. it was surpriseing how much i had forgotten after the long gaps between my children. it takes a lot of commitment to breast feed your baby but the rewards are fantastic and i commend any mum who does it as she is giving her baby the best start she can. even if you only breast feed for first few days then you are giving huge benefits for your baby. but if you do struggle and have to use a bottle then there is no need to feel guilty. with my first i felt really gutted that i had to stop after thirteen weeks i didnt realise at the time how incredibly well i had done
my second was for six weeks my third was for eight weeks and my fourth was for tenm weeks. with all mine i wanted to go on much longer but this wasnt possible as my milk supply couldnt keep up with demand and my babies where constantly hungry. but i know even if id only breast fed a few days that i gave them the best start i could have.

welshmaiden

another tip i would give you is if in the first few days your breast become heavy sore and engorged try haveing a nice warm bath and put a warm wet flannel on your breasts this helps the breast release any excess milk and can provide and incredible amount of relief but after a couple of weeks this wont be neccessary as your breasts will adjust and will start to provide just the right amount of milk that your baby requires. but dont do this too often as all that will happen is that your body will think you are feeding more than one baby and produce more milk just use it as a method to bring reief if you really need it

ALIBOBSY

Its lovely to hear so many mums breastfeeding, my health visitor always acts as though I am a super mum for feeding past the first few months so I always wonder how many of us are out there lol.

I have breastfed 3 babies and I believe it is by a clear mile the easiest way to feed baby. The first couple of weeks can be a little tough, but please please persevere it becomes so easy later on.

I fed DS for about a year, but when I went back to work when he was around 7 months my mum used to give him a bit of formula or expressed milk in a bottle to keep him going during the day. But by that stage being on solid food it wasn't his main food and he still had Bf at night and in the morning.
With DD1 was able to take a career break and Bf till around 2 ish. Currently feeding DD2 (9 months).

Whilst I wouldn't make anyone feel guilty for bottle feeding, I do think the midwives and the media make breastfeeding sound so scary and hard. It is miles easier on a cold morning at 3 am to put a crying baby straight to the breast, than get up go downstairs get a bottle and warm it up, whilst comforting an upset baby. Plus far less baby stuff to carry round with you. Nicer nappies to change, less chance of colic, less wind for baby, and all that extra immune protection. Plus makes your tummy go down quicker and burns around 500 cals a day at first lol.

I used lanisol cream a little in the first few weeks, but needed nothing later on, but it is great for cuts and grazes and brilliant for burns.

The latching is a case of getting baby to open wide (brush babys lips with your finger or a nipple) then cram as much breast in a possible. For first few times there is a slight nip as the milk starts (I just held my breath for a second as the baby latched on) then it settles.

Good luck

ali x