Hello
Congrats to you/family on your upcoming new family member. I BF for one year. I used a dual breast pump that was electrical. I couldn't imagine using a manual one - my hands would tire easily. I also used breast pads for inside my bra to save the leaks, in case for those 'accident' moments if you're out in public and your breasts decide to 'let down'. Make sure you get some nipple gel/cream for the cracked nipples. I liked most of the brands - I think I used Medela and a few other brands. I don't think there's one I particularly didn't like, but it's trial/error. If you take your pump on vaca or are going back to work and you'll still be BF or if you don't feel like washing your pump parts, Medela makes microwave steam cleaning bags for the pump parts and you get like 20 uses from one bag. It's found in the same aisle as the BF equip.
Good luck
PJ
I agree with a lot of the suggestions that have already been made. The Boppy is so great. Breakoutbras.com and Birthandbaby.com are great places to order nursing bras online if you have trouble (like me) finding your size in stores.
I would say, don't get discouraged! It took really at least a month for me and my son to figure out breastfeeding and get to where it was easy and comfortable all the time. So if you feel like it's "not working" for some reason, just know that's NORMAL and you should just stick with it and it will get better. I think a lot of moms switch to formula because nursing seems too difficult, but this is because they just haven't gotten it down yet. It takes a while to learn anything new and breastfeeding is no different. Soon you'll be able to nurse without even thinking about it!
Good luck and congrats! :)
Here are the essential items you need to successfully breastfeed: your breasts and a baby. :-)
While it's good to get a lot of advice, and I'm sure there is some in the answers before and after mine (although I haven't read any, so, please, nobody take offense!), the best thing you can have is confidence in your own ability, a desire to breastfeed (which you already have), and mental images of the right way to put the baby to the breast.
Often in our society, women rarely see other women nurse -- any baby-feeding in public is done with bottles. Breastfeeding is different from bottle-feeding, and not just in the type of food (real baby milk vs. artificial denatured processed cow's milk) nor in the type of packaging (bottles vs. breasts), but in the way you hold your baby at the breast. Bottle-fed babies are typically held facing nearly straight-up or facing outward; breasts aren't designed to turn that way -- babies are supposed to be snuggled into the breast. Also, take off your shirt and bra, and go look in the mirror; notice that your nipples are not "front and center" but actually angle off toward the side -- toward your arms. This is the right way for them to point; but often breastfeeding women tend to twist and turn their breasts trying to feed their babies as if they were bottle-feeding, with the nipples turned more toward the front or the center of their bodies.
My best advice: if you haven't seen many women breastfeed, take the time to seek out breastfeeding women (your local La Leche League meeting should be a good place to start) and watch them nurse. If you can't, or it makes you feel uncomfortable watching another woman's breast as she latches on her baby, then get the book Breastfeeding with Comfort and Joy (http://www.BreastfeedingWithComfortandJoy.com) and immerse yourself in these beautiful and positive breastfeeding images, to get yourself on the best start.
Second, if at all possible when your baby is born, have all newborn procedures delayed for at least the first hour, and just hold your baby skin-to-skin. This is normal in birth, and what typically happens in home-births and in birth-center births; it is not what typically happens in hospitals, so you will have to be proactive. This week go to the hospital where you are planning on giving birth (or the next regularly scheduled L&D tour), and ask them about their postpartum practices. Many hospitals will have the following routine: after the baby is born, she will be briefly placed on or shown to you, and then taken across the room for the newborn assessment (weighing, measuring, eye goop, Hepatitis B shot [why they give a shot against a sexually transmitted disease to a newborn is beyond me!], etc.); then she will be returned for you, firmly swaddled like a baby burrito, for you to hold for a few minutes. Then, you will be likely taken to another room for recovery, and your baby will be taken to the nursery for her first bath, and then placed under a warmer (I always think of the heat lamps that keep french fries warm in a fast food joint) for a few hours, then finally returned to you, just in time for her to fall asleep.
It doesn't have to be that way. In fact, the above typical procedures undermine successful breastfeeding. When a baby is born, she has your smell from the amniotic fluid, and wants that smell; she has the ability, if placed naked on your stomach, to get herself to the breast and latch on, although mothers usually grab their babies and snuggle them as soon as they're born, unless they're prevented from doing so. If you were allowed to hold your baby skin-to-skin (with a blanket over you both, to prevent either of you from getting too cold), the baby will nuzzle your breast and self-attach within the first hour [although if you have an epidural, the baby may not have the same motor skills as an undrugged baby]. This will get breastfeeding off on the right foot.
It is certainly possible for you to have success in breastfeeding even if you don't get a great start; but this will be a great leap forward, if you can get this. But since you never know how labor and birth are going to proceed, and you don't know for sure how the postpartum time will be, get the book Breastfeeding with Comfort and Joy, so you can get the best help, even if breastfeeding gets off to a rocky start.
Oh, and I never needed any breastfeeding paraphernalia, but everybody's different.
I found that nipple shields (only a few dollars at Target) were very helpful after a couple of days of painful blisters and failed attempts. I personally have very flat nipples and my son couldn't latch, so after a few days these really helped him latch and me to stick with it. I know some people are opposed, but if it meant sticking with it, I think they were worth it. He was able to latch w/o the shields after a couple of weeks, btw.
Also, I will say that I had to do a combo of formula/bf from the beginning, and I was at first devastated b/c I was planning on solely bf. Please don't get discouraged if your plans have to shift for whatever reason. Not to say give up easily, but it helped me when I realized I had to do what was best for my kiddo and not to get hung up on my plans, as those can change quickly, and my son is incredibly healthy. I'm pg with my second and plan on doing it all again. Sorry for the extra unsolicited advice...only things I wish I had known beforehand.
Good luck & many congratulations!
Congratulations on your choice to breastfeed. It is the absolute best thing you can do for your daughter. I breastfed my son for the first year reccommended by the american academy of pediatrics and it was a wonderful experience. To start out well try to avoid a c-section if possible it can make breastfeeding difficult and sometimes impossible. If you can start within one hour of giving birth it gives you the best chance to have a good experience. I will tell you from personal experience that the first 2 weeks are hard and painful. You will feel like your nipples have been rubbed with sandpaper. That said it was still the most rewarding thing I have ever done.
I loved the gel pads that can be refrigerated. They come in a sealed pack and you can use one set for 6 days so buy two sets to have for the first couple weeks.
Also lanolin cream is so helpful.
The best nursing bra is the bravado brand but any good department store will have nursing bras that work.
I also purchased a Medela brand pump. They are highly rated and will last for multiple babies if properly cared for.
I highly reccommend going to a la leche league meeting. They have wonderful resources and can give personal advice if you start to have trouble. You can go while you are still pregnant if you like.
One other point. Breastfeeding is supply and demand and the first 2 weeks are so important for your body. Those weeks "set" your bodies milk output so you really don't want to give bottles then or you will "set" your supply low and will always have to give bottles. Let your baby nurse when she wants to. It may be as often as every hour sometimes. This is normal and does not mean that you are not making enough milk. Actually the more she nurses the more milk you will make so let her go at it. Good luck. Try for a year if you can.
I did not read the other posts, but I breastfed both of my kids for the first year. I had c-sections with both children and was very successful with breastfeeding. I did not give either of mine a pacifier (but that was personal choice, everything I read said that it was better to not give one in the beginning while learning how to latch on). Here is what I needed. I had inverted nipples so the hospital had to give me nipple shields to help Isaiah my first pull my nipple out. This was painful, but I was not giving up. I tell you this because breastfeeding is painful at first you are both learning and if the baby latches on wrong- it hurts. Keeping the shield clean was an absolute must or it can cause you and your child infections. It can also cause more damage to your breasts (ie more cracking although it may feel better in the beginning- because it actually causes the milk to set on your breasts and they need to be dry).
2. Good Nursing Bras- brand really doesn't matter as long as you like them and they are easy to attach and unattach. SUPPORT is a must.
3. Nursing Pads- I liked the gerber pads, they were thin and really absorbent.
4. A good pump if you are going to pump- I only used mine a couple of times for me expressing the milk was easier and I never went anywhere that I did not feel comfortable throwing a blanket over me and feeding.
5. A really large blanket to throw over you and baby to feed- must be light weight- my son used to like to tug on it which is why I say large.
6. I used large t-shirts or nice shirts(when we went some where) that were easy to pull up in order to feed. I did not ever buy the nursing shirts- we did not have the money.
Hope this helps:)
GOD BLESS
Brandy
www.StayHomeForKids.com
Congratulations on the baby and on choosing the healthiest start to her life! Breastfeeding is really easy and inexpensive. All you really need to buy is a good nursing bra and nursing pads for leakage. It's been so long since I nursed my babies, but get the cottony soft ones because they'll be up against your nipples. Also, you may want to get a small tube of Lanolin because you'll be a little sore when you begin breastfeeding. After a while you won't need it as your nipples will get accustomed to the feedings.
Once you know you've used and like the nursing bra, buy 2 more. Babies tend to dribble and dirty them, so you'll want to have stand-bys ready.
Stephanie, I encourage you to breastfeed as long as possible. Experts say a minimum of 3 months, but you can go on upwards of a year or more. I nursed both of my kids for a year each and they have no health issues, no food allergies, are smarter than a lot of kids in their classes and rarely get sick. This is all due to their first year of getting the best nutrition made for them, mom's milk! God bless your family!
I don't understand the question. If you are going to be exclusively breatfeeding, all you need is a breast! No equipment needed! I nursed my 7 kids for three yrs each, and never bought any "equipment". No formula, no bottles, nothing!
I would say the only thing you will need is a couple bras that have the flap on them to breastfeed easily. You may want a pair of pajamas that have the flap but you could just pull the shirt or gown up when at home. The other thing you might need but may want to wait until she is born to see if you need it is Lansinoh. It is a gel for your nipples if breastfeeding hurts. Mine really hurt with my first child for the first 2-3 weeks. I put that cream on and it really helped. It will hurt but you just make sure that she is latched on correctly and stick with it, it WILL get better. You will get used to it. It is so worth it and easy once you get used to it. You may also want to buy those bags to store extra that you pump in the freezer. You can later mix that in her cereal instead of water, formula, or milk. You can also pump and have extra for your husband to be able to feed her from a bottle. I would buy a pump for sure. If she does not eat enough in the beginning you can get engorged/full and it hurts. The more she eats and the more you pump, the more milk you make. So a pump, bras, and the Lansinoh should be good at first. Congrats!
Thanks everyone for all of the great advice. I’m so excited about the baby being here soon, and just want to be as prepared as possible.