Breast pump, breast feeding, baby bottles

If you want to go out here and there and don't want to give formula, then yes, get a breast pump. If you're not going to pump much, then portable ones are good. I have the momcozy m9 and they're great pumps.

Bottle- wise, get something that passes the triangle test, so it doesn't cause issues with the breastfeeding and make sure to pace feed.

I think pumping is completely up to you when I breastfed with my first I did pump but I was having too much milk so I stopped, with my second I didn’t bother pumping I just used breast but I moved over to formula after 3 months so I think if you’re going all the way to 1 year+ breastfeeding I would use the pump as they get older as it can be uncomfortable. I found Momcozy s12 are cheap and good breast pumps. We also use tomme tippee bottles as they are quick and easy the mama bottles have so many bits to it

In short no, you don't need pumps if you plan to breastfeed. I didn't buy a pump until after baby was born (we had feeding issues so I was pumping to increase supply), you want to focus on establishing good latch and positioning for feeding first and foremost. Pumping is great because it gives you some flexibility in terms of someone else feeding your baby, but it is not essential to breastfeeding and it's important to note some babies don't take a bottle.

Look up hospital grade pumps first rather than wearables.

I rented a proper hospital grade pump. Regular pumps were a nightmare to wash and sanitise and they didn’t work for me. My pores in my nipple are very small so I never leaked for instance. I even thought I didn’t have milk so at the beginning I also added some kendamil goat formula and used Avent bottles and then NUK anti colic. Easy to clean bottles. Also rapid cool from Tommy tippee is a must if u use formula! I have been now breastfeeding for 15 months and I stopped formula and pumping when my baby turned 4 months. I started believing in my body.

I planned on exclusive nursing my baby, so I didn’t get a pump or look into different bottle types when pregnant. However, due to multiple factors, I’m now exclusively pumping and combi feeding. When I bought my pump and I just bought the best I could find on Amazon as we needed it for as soon we left hospital and didn’t research the best bottles for breastfed babies because at the time I was still trying to get her to latch. So I regret not researching and buying a pump before hand!

But you shouldn’t need a breast pump to increase your supply! Baby will cluster feed to help build your supply so trust your body!

If you do get a pump, it’s better to get a hospital grade pump as opposed to a wearable. Yes wearables are convenient but they won’t empty you as effectively. Lots of people recommend the spectra. I currently use the lansinoh 2in1 plug in. I also have the eufy s1 as my wearable for out and about.

I recommend spectra s2 electric breast pump, that’s the one I’ve heard great things about and also my doula recommended it as well. Also not sure if you’ve been told about this website, but you can actually get a free breast pump through insurance on here which is where I got by pump and they will ship it to you. 🙂

https://aeroflowbreastpumps.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoqzeosfCkmQrXRl36Ig0IA50ikQzubsar4xe_P8YfEzkI6XVCLf

Never go wrong with the spectra s1 rechargeable you can move its just kinda big but it will "empty" you if you have a vacation or go out for multiple days its better to have a primary pump then a portable one

And for bottles "nuk perfect match" works great with my baby, he switches between brest and bottle

After having a particularly difficult labour I really struggled to breastfeed and was extremely sleep deprived. I wished in that moment I had made a note in my phone throughout my pregnancy of my ‘back up’ options if breastfeeding doesn’t work out because then I wouldn’t have made rash decisions.

So my advice would be. Don’t buy anything for now. Plan to BF exclusively but have a plan ready to go with which pump you’re going to buy, a schedule to follow, bottles you’ll use and a sterilisation method. And also come up with a formula plan.

You might never have to use those plans but I found it extremely difficult to make any decisions when I was soo lacking in sleep and also really struggled to follow any instructions when setting anything up x

My boy is EBF and just pump enough for 1 bottle a day. I’ve only used the Medela manual pump and we started off with tommee tippee natural start bottles but then switched to Mam easy start anti colic bottles shortly after and much prefer them and so does he.

- also the teats go up in size as the baby gets older for flow rate 😅

Check to see if you have any local infant feeding groups.
Our local one is amazing and pregnant ladies are encouraged to attend - Our also loan pumps out which can be a great help.

We have an 5 1/2 month year old now who is currently refusing the bottle. Wishing I'd have introduced a bottle of express milk from 6 weeks to make things easier.

Good luck and congratulations

I breastfed and honestly pumping just made me stressed when I tried. I could only get small amounts, it was no reflection of my supply as my child was fully breastfed, happy and growing well so I hardly used the pump. I found collections cups better for the early days. I kept 2 emergency bottles, just in case but probably only used a handful of times. You can buy things as you feel you need them. The only breast pump I managed to get something out of was the pipetta

I’m breastfeeding, lo is 15 months and I’m still going strong.
I never pumped or used formula.

But some people want the freedom of letting someone else feed, totally valid!
And not everyone has enough milk etc.

I never felt feeding was a chore, except for the first week when the latch wasn’t great.