Breast Feeding discussion

finc

black-saturn wrote:

I remember walking around the house with my top parmanently undone. When I was in on my own I never bothered to do it up again

That's what I did but ended up giving all the salesmen that seem to come during the day a big surprise

Dormouse

Until I had my little one, I didn't buy anything apart from bras and breast pads (and boy, did I need those! Only the expensive Lansinoh ones did the trick, and the washable ones were soaked in about a millisecond!:o :eek: )

A few weeks after I had him, I bought the pump (Avent) and steriliser (the microwave one). Didn't really use them very much, though.

So to sum up, I'd say wait until after birth to see how it all goes and what you feel like. Chances are you won't be up to expressing in the first few weeks (and it's not recommended anyway), so there should be plenty of time to buy that sort of stuff later.

And as you can see from the replies, everyone is different, and there's no way of knowing now how things will work out. You might leak, you might not; you might be sore, you might not; you might love expressing, you might hate it, etc, etc...

Good luck I'm getting all broody now!

beautifulgorgeous_2

Kamillosan used to come on prescription from the GP, don`t know if it still does. I used silicon nipple shields with my second baby and would have given up wihout them.(BF until he was 14 mths). My daughter took to a dummy but he prefered the real thing.

elisebutt65

Another vote for the silicon nipple shields here - meant i didn't have to use Kamillosan or any other creams and then just left to airdry - lol.

Did you ever have the painful letdown in public if you ever heard a baby cry? I did and promptly soaked the front of a lovely clean 'white' blouse , went right through the breast pads.- eeeek :eek:

I did use an Avent hand pump and a couple of bottles when I went back to work after 2 months for the childmnder but apart from that, breastpads and bras - that was it. I never got a steriliser - just chucked the bottles in a saucepan of boiling water as Milton gives me exzema on my hands - ow!!

And you don't need special blouses, T-Shirt or nighties - just lift up as necessary - you don't have to worry about leaving them hanging out then - lol.

bobsa1

I breastfed youngest DD for 18months and just used a cheap hand pump now and again. I would get washable breast pads, really comfy and can be used again and again.

I bought steriliser, bottles etc. (in a sale) and only used them a couple of times, however did struggle to get DD to take a bottle so would probably introduce a bottle for one feed now and then at about 8 weeks.

Savvy_Sue

I agree you don't need all that lot! And I wouldn't buy anything until you've really worked out what you want to do. I think I started out with a couple of tiny bottles so I could (in theory) express and leave a bottle, but DS1 NEVER took anything except me until he went onto a cup. I was one of those mums who swore she'd never use a dummy: within 3 weeks I'd bought one, but he just spat it out!

If you're a leaker, then the breast shells mentioned by a few people are definitely worth investing in. You can freeze the milk: I bought a little system where you put the milk in bags, put the bag in a holder, and screwed the teat on. Can't remember what it was called though. My son didn't appreciate it however: would never take a teat!

My best friend was ill and on antibiotics and her milk was drying up, so I was collecting in shells for her son, and then started expressing for him as well, and running it up to the hospital. But not everyone floods like that.

I would definitely see if you can borrow a breast pump before you buy one. Not everyone gets on with them. And if you don't need it, then you've saved money by not buying it.

Poppy9

Savvy_Sue wrote:

I was one of those mums who swore she'd never use a dummy: within 3 weeks I'd bought one, but he just spat it out!

I also swore I would never buy dummies. On the night my DD was born midwife asked me if I had a dummy for her as she was constantly num numming (thats a good phrase for chomping). I piously said no I didn't believe in them. After 3 weeks of no sleep I bought one. First night she slept for 5 hours before waking for a feed. Never looked back. I was strict with dummy though only for sleep times. Never allowed to crawl/walk around house with in, never pinned to clothes etc. Only had 2 one in cot and one in car seat. She gave it up just before her 3rd birthday and promptly started to suck her thumb:eek: another 2 years before this stopped. I did enlist the help of Santa, Easter Bunny & Dentist in tell her to stop thumb sucking and it worked. Her teeth are lovely with no after effects.

flea72

Karnam wrote:

i think its just a testimony to differences between women that i used NONE of these things, and am still BF quite happily at 12wks old. i personally couldnt do without my breast pump (avent) and then my beautiful electric one (also avent.... they have like 49% of the market share!)

i am just wondering why, if you are BF, then why cant you live without a pump? Are you replacing most of your BFs with expressed bottle feeds, or are you increasing your milk production by double feeding? I dont really see the need for a pump, if you can achieve the same affect, through using breast shields and just BFing your baby.

Expressing only really serves a purpose, if for some reason you are unable to feed your baby when you body feels ready to produce milk, so you are stopping the chances of engorement and discomfort. but then again i wouldnt try and express a full feed, just enough milk to release pressure, as feeding and expressing increases you milk supply and can lead to further problems and discomfort, espec when weaning. It can turn into a bit of a viscous cycle whereby you are engorged, so you express to relieve tha pain, but expressing increases your supply, so you then express again, iyswim

Flea

donna-j_2

Lansinoh was my one must-have. I'm not sure why anyone says it's so expensive. It's only approx £10 for a tube and will do you for at least six babies! I used it loads in the first few weeks and have hardly even dented the tube.

Didn't leak much so no need for pads or shells. Had a pair of the shields but they were massive! Poor blighter couldn't get near my nipple for the mass of silicone.

Used my pump about twice. Have always had to top-up with formula so never bothered with expressing.

Oh, just remembered. My other must-have is Sweetheart Stout.It's just fab for increasing milk production. My HV said they used to go round at night in the hospital with a tray of it for the bf-ing mothers. I think it's hard to get outside Scotland though.

aurorahelios

I breastfed for 13 Months and the only things I needed were breast pads and lansinoh cream.

I did buy a breast pump but only used it about twice because i just couldn't get on with it.

Because I exclusively breastfeed didn't express and didn't use a dummy, I had no need for a steriliser until DD went onto solids and started sucking on teething rings. Then I used sterilising fluid and cold water in a suitably large container. Midwife suggested a large ice cream container which did the job just fine.