What do I need to bf? Totally confused!

mrsfirefly

I am planning on breastfeeding and will definitely be home full time with LO for first 12 weeks and possibly longer.  I have registered for a Medela manual pump (I've heard to wait on the electric 'til I see how bf is going for me).  What else do I need?  When I am home with LO full time will I also need to pump, or is pumping just for when I go out for an evening or go back to work?  I registered for two Medela 5 oz bottles and a three pack of 8 oz bottles.  I think they hook right up to the pump.  Will this be enough?  I also registered for the dishwasher basket.  Do you wash the bottles in the dishwasher and then sterilize them, or do you just sterilize if you wash by hand?  Finally, which nipple cream do you recommend?  And is there anything else I should purchase regarding bf that I haven't already mentioned? 

 Thanks so much!  I am totally confused by all of the products out there!

 If anyone happens to have the Medela and could give an opinion on the sterilizer bags they also sell, I'd appreciate it.  I'm assuming you use these instead of those big plastic microwave sterilizers.

kittylove

There is a ton of BFing supplies out there but really all you need is a baby and your boobs. I personally love my electric pump and could never get a good let down with a manual. But my advice is to wait to make sure you are going to stick with BFing before buying a pump. If you need a pump to help your milk come in you can rent one from a local hospital when/before you come home.

I had very little bfing and pump supplies prior to birth, but in the first week bought: nipple pads for when I leaked, a sleeping bra, and those little ice packs. I got a ton of nipple cream from the hospital. Each shift change I just asked the nurse for two trial sizes, and put them into my bag. I did try a few kinds and like the Medela the best. It is the most $ and it stains white bras but it is creamy when cold, unlike the others that get hard in the cold.

I do recommend one pack of sterilizing bags. They make it easier and fast to clean parts. And those first few weeks you have enough to do. I used them when I hand washed/rinsed my parts. If I put them through the dishwasher I used the sterilize setting.

Good luck! Bfing can be challenging but it is also highly rewarding. And remember those first 6 weeks are tough but it does get better!

thehimwithher

well i don't know if you really NEED anything besides your boob and bfing info

but there are a ton of products out there!  let me see if i can remember what i used alot early on.

boppy (or another bfing pillow), glider with stool, soothie gel pads, sleep bra and nursing tanks, lanolin and pads for leaking.

i think having atleast a manual pump is a good idea and you should be fine with just a few bottles at first.  i believe you sterilie everything by boiling it the first time.  you can run bottles though dishwasher and only need to occasionally sterilize your pump.  microwave steam bags are great for that!

PAmiler82

I'll try to help!

Breastfeeding supplies I use: boppy pillow, breast pads (for leaking), and at the beginning I used the Lansinoh nipple cream that the hospital gave me.  That's it!  One of the beauties of breastfeeding is that, after you get the hang of it, it's fairly low maintenance! 

Pumping is when you start needing more stuff.  I use a pump (Medela pump in style double electric), bottles/nipples (Medela), and freezer storage bags (I've used both Medela and Lansinoh).  I started pumping and giving Drew bottles of expressed milk around 6 weeks.  I SAH but I pump so DH (or others) can feed.  We do at least one bottle a day and I have a small "freezer stash."   You can pump as much as you'd like or as often as you want to give LO bottles. I don't need a lot of bottles (think I have six 5 oz bottles because I'm not giving that many bottles to Drew and I don't mind washing them daily.

I just wash bottles and and pump parts in hot soapy water after each use and sterelize once a week or so in boiling water so I can't tell you about the special bags you mentioned. 

hope that helps a bit.  Good luck!  Breastfeeding can be really hard at the beginning but I'm so glad I stuck with it!  Feel free to PM me if you want more detail.

JoshnEllen

Check to see if your medical insurance will cover a breast pump.  Mine paid for my PISA....all I needed was an RX from doc and took it to the local medical supply.

I bf and pumped (back to work FT at 8 weeks) until DD was 13.5 months.  I had 6 valves/horns and bottles.  I washed everything everyday in HOT soapy water.  Boiled to sterilize weekly.

I had two boppies (2 story house), lansinoh nipple cream, 2 sleep bras, bought nursing bras about 4 weeks PP, pads for leakage ( I only leaked for about 2 weeks) but also protected sore nips in the beginning.

That is about it!

souledoutgirl

I don't know if anyone said it but the cooling gel pads are awesome in the first few weeks. Medela makes some.

BF is hard work in the beginning, but it is very rewarding! Hang in there if it's hard - you'll be a pro by 6 weeks PP.

deltagirl79

You've gotten a lot of good advice so far. I have a PISA and a Harmony from Medela. I like that the valves/membranes and bottles all fit on both. The Harmony is fine if you aren't doing much pumping while you are at home but I love my PISA for my everyday pumping.

I would also wait until you've given LO a bottle before opening and sterlizing all of them. My Harmony (manual pump) came with two collection/feeding bottles and a nipple. You can try that out and see how it goes, there are ladies on here who's LO will take the Medela bottles and that makes it much easier. DS hates them though so we use Avent to feed. Every baby is different though so just wait to open them. I sterilized them in boiling water when I bought them but now I just run them through the dishwasher. As far as the sterilizer bags, I love them but I didn't start using them until I went back to work and was pumping more often, I only use them for my pump parts not my bottles. 

One other thing to have handy for when you start BFing is a safety pin, a friend moved it from one side to the other to help her remember which side to start on. I bought the bracelet but the pin works just as well.