Breast feeding advice

I bottle fed from day 1 before my milk came in. He had an expressed bottle at least once a day but otherwise was EBF. He had a dummy at 2 weeks and we managed 6 weeks with no issues. It was only due to a different complication and me not enjoying breastfeeding that caused us to stop. No confusion or anything

With my first he latched right away and then didn’t latch so I bottle fed him and pumped. Then when he was 2 weeks olds I tried breastfeeding again and he latched. I would breastfeed and pump/ give bottles and gave him a pacifier and had no issues. I stopped pumping at like 4 months because when I went back to work my supply disappeared. My second who is 7weeks now I breastfeed and pump/bottle feed. He doesn’t take a pacifier though. I am one of those people that is all with what works for you. With your milk supply the most major thing is pumping or breastfeeding every night. With my first he started sleeping thru the night and I didn’t wake myself to pump so my supply went away.

I have big boobs too and the hardest thing is finding a good position, rugby hold works well for us as baby can breathe and isn’t smothered by the boob. I’d say get all the help you can from midwives before you leave the hospital, don’t be afraid to ask questions etc. also the most useful advice I got from the midwives was that baby doesn’t actually need that much milk in the first 72 hours so don’t worry if they are not drinking much milk, if you want to breastfeed just keep trying to get them to latch in that time.

I’ve been exclusively breastfeeding for 8 months now and have big boobs too! It’s tough at the start as you’re so worried about what other people think - but you get over it quickly (or I did at least) you don’t need to worry about others because all you’re doing is feeding baby! We haven’t tried a dummy as didn’t want to but I know others who bf and use a dummy! Pumping I find hard, only get 1-2oz out after half an hour or longer! You can always combi feed though, top up with formula when you want to. Please feel free to message if you want to chat about it! I love bf and find it so convenient - you can’t leave your boobs behind and they don’t need sterilising! 😂😂

I pumped exclusively with my first from week one and now mainly pumping and bottle feeding with 2nd who is 6 weeks old

I did a breastfeeding course during pregnancy and was told that it’s not advised to pump within the first six weeks so that your milk supply can become established. It’s also not recommended to give a dummy within the first six weeks so that baby doesn’t confuse it for the nipple, however, I gave a dummy to my son at 3 days old because the midwife said he was a comfort sucker. We’ve been breastfeeding ever since. I have since weaned him off of the dummy completely at 19 months old. This is the free course I attended online, I also did the full version too and found it very useful. https://mybabyacademy.co.uk/free-class/free-breastfeeding-preparation-class/

@India thanks hun, what's EBF mean?

@Andie thanks lovely that's really helpful!! I know I need to keep my supply up especially through the night but if I can get away with bf and pumping I will 🥰 just was worried I'll only have to bf for the first xyz amount of weeks xx

@Alice thank you so much I might take you up on that! I'm finding it soo daunting! I'm unsure if I'll use a dummy or not but I feel like it's been explained tk me very regimented so it's scared me abit haha xx

@Amy amazing thank you! I'll look into that! All of the above is basically what my friends told me aswell, I don't know why it's made me nervous! But I'm sure it will all come together when she's here 🥰

Spectra S1, you can express and put it in a bottle but it is a lot of work. The first 6 weeks it should be breast only to help get your supply up and then introduce a bottle. The first 6-8 weeks will be brutal breastfeeding but once you pass that mark you will be living the dream. Both my children hated the dummy and both have refused a bottle. Keep that in mind if breastfeeding is something you want to do as it can be your reality.

You can pump and feed from day 1. They mainly say not to pump in the first 6-8 weeks alongside exclusive breastfeeding to make up a stash as you have an over supply in early days as your boobs make an abundance of milk to see what your babies needs are then adjusts about 6-8 weeks but obviously if you’re pumping for feeds and not breastfeeding that doesn’t matter you can pump from the start however colostrum you would hand express it’s sticky and thick and would get stuck in a pump and wasted

i’ll add what i mean by that is if you’re exclusively breastfeeding early days where you have that oversupply and then you pump on top of that for a stash in freezer you could make so much milk and cause yourself to get blocked ducts / mastitis but if you’re only pumping for feeds then that’s fine

I definitely recommend seeing a lactation consultant!! I wonder if your first baby didn't want to latch because they had trouble latching? Could be a tongue tie or tight jaw like my little girl had, but it could be other things too! You can even talk to a lactation consultant before you give birth, and most hospitals have them for help right after you give birth.

@Sam I'm deffo gonna look into that thank you!!! 🙏 I'll take any advice I can get deffo! And he quite possibly struggled with the latch! He was not interested at all! I'm worried this will happen with this baby. However, I wasn't that fussed in breast feeding my son but I tried it anyway, this time I do wanna try harder haha xxx