Flossy, as the others have said, the ABA are a fantastic source of information for pregnant mums wishing to bf. Many women struggle to bf their first baby but go on to bf successfully with subsequent babies. You can call the ABA helpline on 1800 mum2mum or check out the information on the website www.breastfeeding.asn.au. There you will find information, and a schedule for Breastfeeding Education Classes for pregnant mums in your state. These classes are really fantastic and give you a heap of information, as well as contacts in case you need some more information or support after the birth (as most of us do!).
It's so great that you are starting to think about this now and prepare. That will be a huge help when the baby arrives.
I had trouble bfing my first and was scared out of my wits about number 2. Thankfully number 2 was a completely different feeder and I ended up feeding her for the double the time I fed DD1. I will be having DD3 in July and this time around I have joined the ABA, I am going to start meetings and possilbly use a LC for support.
Definately check out the ABA and if you still decided to express feed exclusively I would get a LC to assist you.
def get an LC in if you can. I have already asked my hospital to arrange to have an LC come and see me after the birth, which i am really looking forward to. Also, my hospital, and perhaps others do it as well, run a short re-introduction to breastfeeding course just so people can touch up on their info, and ask questions etc, so, i will be doing that as well.
I think sometimes the biggest mistake we can make as first time mums, is to pretend we know everything, and dont ask for help soon enough. i wish i hadnt of made that mistake.
Flossy, I had a very sick DS who wasnt able to BF at all. So I expressed from the start. I expressed exclusively for 12 months. All DS got was my EBM down his nasogastric tube. It had to be mixed with a booster to give him more calories but made it to 12 months with no formula.
Because I knew before he was born that he was going to be so sick I went to our hospt and had lessons from the LC on how to use the breast pumps and got that all organized before he was born. I had to go on Maxalon to keep the supply up and I tried a few different pumps until I found the Avent Isis hand pump which was great.
I think getting a LC was really good for me as it helped me feel more in control of getting this expressing going. Also I tried BF with DS for months but he was just too sick. I had a private LC outside the hopst for that and she was very encouraging. The ABA wasnt much use to me unfortunately as my DS was very sick and so the normal BF support wasnt what we needed.
You can express full time for as long as you want. As someone else said the next baby might just be completely different and you may not have any issues. I am pg again and I really want to be able to BF this next one. Wont have the nasogastric tube this time but I am prepared to express and bottle feed. I know how to do it now!
Good luck and ask away if you want to know about expressing full time for a longer time.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks