Going to Attempt to Breastfeed

I also love the Medela pump in style. I learned (after my first child refused all bottles) to introduce a pumped breastmilk bottle a little earlier this time...around 2 weeks old. I found the first years brand bottles called Breastflow bottles worked like magic this time...I highly recommend them, even if you breastfeed. It's nice to be able to pump and let the father or siblings get the chance to feed too. Take advantage of any breastfeeding support nurses. I think most or all hospitals have them and you can call them whenever you have questions. I'd recommend the breastfeeding class too. Have fun!

Hi L.,
Congratulations on your decision to breast feed! I just wanted to add one note to the already awesome advice you have received... Please consider what you are going to use the pump for. I've stayed at home so far with my 6 month old, and I don't really use the pump very much. I have a Medela Pump In Style, and like it a lot, but think in hindsight I probably could have gotten by with something smaller. On the other hand, if you are going back to work fairly quickly, or if your baby has difficulties latching, you may want to go ahead and invest in the double hands free version - I've heard it's great! Just consider what you are hoping to use this pump for, and for how long. Are you planning more babies in the future? My advice is don't over buy. I rented a pump from the hospital at first and that was great.. helped my milk come in a bit faster and taught me a few things before I made the INVESTMENT in a purchased pump.

Good Luck!
-H.

Hi! Congratulations!

It's definitely best to get one now. You'll be too busy later, anyway :)

I like the fairly basic one at Target, called the Comfort Select Dual by Evenflo. As long as you don't plan to pump a lot, it's just fine and costs about $30.

Some advice: most women who hope to breastfeed hear wrong advice from family, friends and, worst of all, doctors and nurses. I've heard bizarre things from pediatricians and doctors alike, such as "some babies just can't tolerate breastmilk" (maybe they can't tolerate the cauliflower or the dairy or the chocolate in the breastmilk, or they can't tolerate that Mom's got oversupply and the milk is too sugary, leading to gas and other tummy troubles. But babies are MADE to not only tolerate, but thrive, on breastmilk!). Or "your breasts will sag." They WON'T! Well, they might temporarily shortly after weaning, but they come right back. You just need to support them by using sensible bras.

Some people say that nursing hurts. Other than in the very beginning, for just a couple of seconds at the beginning of a session, it shouldn't hurt to nurse. Oh, since this is your second, it will cause more contractions, but this is a GOOD thing. It flattens your belly and helps you to heal much, much faster.

If it hurts, that just means that the baby's latch isn't right - usually, it means that the baby needs to have a great, big, open mouth, big as a yawn, before you gently but quickly latch baby on.

I could go on and on with tips and such. Basically, hold your newborn so his/her ear, shoulder and hip are aligned, make baby comfortable and offer your breast. You can squeeze it gently to flatten it (to make a "breast sandwich" parallel to your baby's mouth to help baby get a good mouthful), but, I say, other than that, let baby figure it out. When my daughter was born, the midwife essentially tried to force my breast into her mouth, and the poor thing found it very stressful. The midwife thought she wasn't opening her mouth wide enough. When I let my daughter just do what she wanted to do, she did it perfectly. You might find that your baby just takes in a little, but then from there opens wide and gets a good, large amount of breast, well beyond the nipple (which is what baby needs to nurse properly).

In other words, try not to micromanage your baby :) They're born to nurse. I DO highly recommend La Leche League's The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, but take their detailed advice on the mechanics of it as great tips for just in case your baby has difficulty.

Do not expect it to come naturally. It really doesn't! It can be very frustrating and difficult, so be prepared by learning all that you can NOW. Once you get it, it's great, and so convenient (not to mention the pounds will fly off of you, no matter what and how much you eat!). And you might be one of the few lucky ones that just put their babies in their arms and watch them latch right on.

But most mothers, I've found, don't prepare in advance, and in the postpartum period, especially if there have been any complications, a C-section, siblings, etc., are too overwhelmed to do the necessary research and resolve whatever is causing the problem.

About complications, C-sections and so on: you will best prevent complications and the technology-driven cycle that leads to "augmentation" meds and eventually a C-section by going to the hospital as late in your labor as you can possibly manage. Doctors want to intervene way too much, and this only causes problems. These problems ultimately make nursing more difficult.

Be aware that pain medication like epidurals can keep a newborn drugged for days, because a newborn's liver is so immature and can't process things like ours can. So this makes establishing nursing very difficult (though not by any means impossible). If you try to go natural and get to the point where you just don't feel like you can take it, that is the point when it's almost better. It's also usually the point where waiting for the anesthesiologist and for the epidural to get in and so on isn't even worth it - if you just get through that point, you'll be pushing soon and it'll be almost over. At that point, when the epidural finally hits, it just slows down your labor, when you otherwise would be almost done.

You can also try hypnosis. At 30 weeks, you're just in time. Go to natalhypnotherapy.com. I used their CDs and my labor was a dream. If it's not enough for you, you can always opt for an epidural. But going natural is a super great way to help establish nursing. It's also great because you won't have drugs in your body that interfere with the natural hormone rushes that aid bonding and healing.

Anyway, get in touch with your local La Leche League volunteer leaders now, participate in the next monthly meeting (lots of expectant mothers attend), and program their phone numbers on your cell phone. They're free help, so use them! If you're having any problem whatsoever, they'll come right to your house and help you fix it. They're pure gold :)

Have fun! And good luck on everything.

L.

in the hospital, they will lend you a machine if you want to try breastfeeding, they also have machines for rent that is easier to use than spending the money on one.

i used the medela pump in style....i bought plenty of the cheaper ones and they hurt bad....it is well worth the money.....and you can pump in between and stock up on some milk...

medela is the way to go...i got the double pump!

good luck

Now is better. I have breastfed all 3 of my babies and used several different breastpumps, the best ones I found are Avent manual and the Medela Pump In Style. If you want a Medela Pump In Style, but don't want to spend the $250 check your local craigslist.com or ebay.

My goal before my daughter was born was to breastfeed for a year. I wanted to buy a pump since I planed on using one for a while. But, my mom suggested I rent one first to see how it goes. Boy was that a good decision! I was only able to breastfeed for about 6 weeks. I rented a Medela, but not sure what model. We couldn't afford much so it wasn't too fancy. I do suggest getting a double pump though.

Good luck!!

I had to post a reply here. Not to scare or stress you out but just to give you some insight that there can be problems. For myself I was heartbroken with my first son because I was going to breast feed but he refused. Yep he refused to breast feed to the point that every time we tried he cried. The nurses kept telling me I was doing it wrong and that I had to force him to take it and then he would be fine. I finally had to have my dr talk to the nurses to leave me alone on that issue. I even tried several more times at home but he still refused.

Also a previous poster pointed out that all babies are meant to thrive on breast milk that isnt totally true. I have actually had a friend that her second child was allergic to her breast milk. It took them 8 months to figure out what was going on with him. He was tested for numerous things to find out why he wasnt thriving and to figure out the numerous issues he was having. Another friend suggested she switch to formula just for a couple of days. By the third day the issues disappeared. It wasn't the mother's diet either since her doctors had already tried that route and she had been on the blandest diet one could be on. It was one of the rare occasions that a baby was allergic to breast milk. It can and does happen just happens to be very rare.
I dont tell you that to scare you but just to let you know. I know I wish I had known that babies could and would refuse to breast feed. I'm sure my friend would have loved to know also. It would have saved her a lot of trouble and heartache.
It is a wonderful thing to do for your child and I wish you all the best.

You should talk to the lactation consultant at the hospital you plan to deliver at. She can help you get what you need. GL!

There are two options in my opinion. Either rent from the hospital or buy a Medela Pump in Style. I burned up 4 less expensive pumps in about four months before I got my Pump in Style and I have hopes that mine will last through my third child.

I also have to recommend the Medela Pump In Style. I originally bought an Evenflo single electric pump and it about dried up my supply, not to mention blowing a motor in the 3 weeks I had it. Please don't buy Evenflo! Medela was a lifesaver. I started back at work 3 weeks after my son was born and pumped at work for about 9 months (all with the Medela except for one week with the Evenflo) until I started the weaning process. It was nice to have it available and you can even buy a car charger for it if you travel a lot. As far as getting the machine before or after, I'd probably wait, just to make sure you are going to breastfeed and there aren't any problems that would stop the baby from breasfeeding. Good luck!

Hey L.! Congratulations on your second and I'm glad you are willing to try to breastfeed. It really is a wonderful gift you can give your child. I would say go ahead and buy the pump now, I use the Medela Pump In Style Advanced and loved it! I will be using it for my second child and I did use it for my first. They are pricey but are worth it, however if you do some searching you can find some that have been used. But my biggest suggestion is for you to not open it until you have the baby and have tried breastfeeding/pumping for a month or two. That's if you have the option to rent a pump at the hospital. My son would not latch on at the hospital, so to get my milk going, I pumped with a pump they provided me at the hospital. It was great! After that, they informed me I could rent the pump for about $15 a month. So instead of opening my $300+ pump, I rented the hospital pump for the first two months. I always told myself, especially because of the many disappointing or horror stories you can hear about breastfeeding, that I would give it my all for at least 2 months and if I didn't like it then I would stop. Some of us just have no control over how much milk you will produce etc, so I would hate for you to spend money on a pump and never use it. And if you break the seal on a new pump, you cannot return it. So if you have that option, I would rent the pump at the hospital first, try it, if you think you can cut it, then return the one to the hospital and open your new one and enjoy. Best Wishes and hope this helps!

I nursed all four of my kids. I never used bottles, but I did pump and use it for cereal and I also donated breastmilk to a place in Dallas called the Mother's Milk Bank. With my first baby in 1993, I used a little electric pump thing-terrible. By the time I had the fourth, I found the Ameda Purely Yours, and it was wonderful! I bought the machine before I had the baby, so I could figure it out before I needed it. Good luck and congrats for the new baby!

By the way, I had one c-section, two epidural babies, and one naturally. I was just hard headed and determined to nurse. With my first baby, I wasn't really encouraged in the deep south, but I read up on it and decided it was for the best of my baby and dived in head on. No problems with nursing with any of them. Buy a Boppy. They really help.

My favorite was actually a cheap little manual one - an Avent Isis. I couldnt have a let down without her feeding so its one-handed design was perfect. It was easy to clean and completely portable and discreet if I ever needed to pump away from home. I collected over a gallon in about 2 months! Happy babying! :]

I highly recommend the Medela Freestyle. It is one of the most expensive, but worth every penny. It comes with all of the attachments for completely hands free pumping. You can type, read, cook, eat, or do just about anything while you are pumping. And the pump is so small, lightweight works on a rechargeable battery. It is awesome. It is perfect for me, because I have gone back to work. I also have a Medela Pump N Style, which is also a fabulous pump. I use it at home. Unfortunately, it is not hands free and is kind of big and heavy, but works really well if you don't mind being tied down while you pump. It has to be plugged in while pumping, unless you want to use the 8 D batteries. I don't think it functions as well on battery power, but it is still really good. Best of luck with your new arrival.

Definately go ahead and get one. I own a medela pump in style but have been told by other mothers that the freestyle is great since it provides the ability to be hands free which we all know can be very important at times as a mother. Also my sister and I shared one for a while as well and all I did was purchase my own tubing and equipment that would be coming into contact with the milk and now they have great things out there so that you can sterilize the equipment before use.

I agree with renting one from the hospital, especially if you don't plan on having any more kids. They are the best pumps out there! When I rented one it was only $3 a day. To buy a good pump is between $250-300. If you decide to buy I would stick with a Medela pump. You can also ask a lactation consultant at the hospital or see what le leche league recommends. Congrats on your little one! Good luck with breastfeeding!

Medela Freestyle is worth every penny! I used it for 12 months. I'm having my second baby in December and plan to use it again. I regret not buying it sooner. It arrived 6 weeks after the baby was born and I missed out on a lot of stored milk.

After reading other comments: AGREE with buy Boppy, classes/research before baby gets here, only difficult and frustrating in the beginning, use lactation nurses.

rent it through the hospital. i was going to purchase one and am glad i didn't b/c i did not produce enough milk for my son!

By all means, get one now! I have a medela double electric and love it. I had mine given to me from a friend.. I know all the professionals will say don't use someone else's but the milk doesn't go in the pump and you can buy new tubing and you have to sterilize everything anyway! Definitely get an electric pump! I tried a manual one day at work because I had to go run buy one since I left mine at home...NO COMPARISON!!! Your milk supply will be tremendous right when it first comes in, so if you plan on nursing and pumping for a while, start banking your "liquid gold" early! I quit pumping when mine was 5 1/2 months, and now I can continue to feed on my milk stored until he's 8 months...we still do 2 nursings a day, but other than that he's weaned!