Breastfeeding

I was given a hospital,grade pump while in hospital. Then were told to feed one then pump on the other. Which I know lots of people said it meant to overproduce. I luckily had no problem. Stopped pumping soon and just exclusively breastfed.
Having breastfeeding tops helped me lots on the go. X

I breastfed for nearly two years! And plan to with this baby as well.
Honestly the biggest pieces of advice I can give is - don’t get too caught up on a “textbook latch”. My baby had a very shallow latch and I got soooo in my head about it for ages.
It can and probably will hurt the first few weeks. People will tell you “breastfeeding shouldn’t hurt” - they lie. It will get better. It will become so natural (if it’s not in the first place)
You may have to persevere with breastfeeding if it’s difficult in the beginning.
For some women it’s very quick and easy, for some women it’s a bit of work. For me, it was a lot of work. A lot of tears. Find yourself a good support network and a lactation group if you can!
A Hakka is brilliant for relieving engorgement. I highly recommend one!
Another thing to make it easier is honestly not to listen to ANY negative comments from anybody you talk to. Whether it be family, friends, even strangers. Do not listen unless you want their opinion!

First off.. the first few weeks are painful and hard work. If you can persevere through that then I promise you things will get easier and more comfortable. I didn't want any formula as a "just in case" in the house because I knew it would've been too easy for me to have given up. Any time anyone mentioned formula I shut it down immediately before I even had the chance to consider it. I'm so thankful to my past self for doing this! (No hate on those who choose to formula feed, I was just determined to BF).

I'd also recommend finding a breastfeeding support group nearby to you. I think most of them will let you go along while pregnant too. Go along to the group in the early days postpartum too. There's also some great groups on Facebook that I gained a lot of info and knowledge from (I'm sure there's some on here too).

Good luck and if you ever need any help/support/encouragement then I'm happy for you to message me! Breastfeeding is a beautiful experience and one of the achievements I am most proud of Xx