tams, it's great that you are preparing early. I definitely agree that joining the ABA is money well spent. Also you get as much counselling as you need with the pump hire if you hire through ABA.

I tend to agree with Jennifer though that unless you really need to pump, it works best for most mums to avoid it for at least the first 6 weeks. It can be hard enough establishing feeding, and definitely time consuming and tiring enough with a newborn, especially with an older child also. Pumping is extra time and work - first you have to take the milk out, then you have to feed it to the baby, and also wash pump parts and bottles etc. It can also interfere with your supply settling down to the right level and with the baby attaching well. If you do decide to pump, feeding the expressed milk by cup or syringe is a better option than using a bottle. With my first DS I had to pump until he could attach after having a tongue-tie snipped at 3 weeks and I can tell you that just breastfeeding is a lot easier than pumping as well. If your partner wants to help, many dad like to do the bath and have cuddle and play time with bub while mum rests. A lot of Lactation Consultants have a saying that I really love and think is very true - "it's the dad's job to teach the baby that love can come without food".

All the best hun. I am sure this time things will go much better for you - experience is a big help and now you know where to get support as well.