Alabama Babies
uagirl
member
S/O Breastfeeding/Formula
uagirl
member
Did you have a pump before LO arrived? I know I want to try BF, and once I go back to work I will have no choice but to pump.
I'm trying to decide if I should buy a pump now or wait until she is here and see if BFing is going to work out for us.
Also, did you do any research on formulas before hand, just in case? DH is worried about being unprepared and wants us to research formula, but I honestly don't have a clue where to start.
m/c 05/2009
DD born 8/9/10
TTC #2 since 8/2012
CP 12/2012
dx MFI 10/2013
Surprise BFP 11/6/2013 EDD 7/19/2014
Beta #1 15 dpo HCG 355 Prog 30.9
Beta #2 22 dpo HCG 8147 Prog 18.8
Beta #3 29 dpo HCG 44580 Prog 29.8
This discussion has been closed.
Re: S/O Breastfeeding/Formula
I can't help you out on the BF part since I FF but the formulas that most babies start out on is either Similac or Enfamil...we did Enfamil Premium which worked out for us until she hit 2 months old and was spitting up constantly so we had to switch to the Enfamil A.R. I waited until she was 4 months old before I switched to the generic form (we now use UP and UP).
I hope BF works out for you though since that is what you want to do
Good luck!
no i didn't pump before his arrival. i did start pumping when my milk came in to get my supply up and help with engorgement since i will also be pumping when i go back to work.
i did not look into formula at all since i was determined to EBF. but i did take a breastfeeding class and did some research on BF to help educate myself on what to expect.
I recommend not buying (or at least not opening) a breast pump until you're absolutely sure you're going to keep going. You can rent from the hospital for a couple months. It was $2/day at St. Vincents for the first 2 months and $1/day there after.
As far as formula, I don't think you have to research much. Most people start with Enfamil or Similac (or their generic versions), but for the most part it's all the same. If your little one has issues with like reflux or lactose intolerance then you would look into the speciality versions based on your pedi's recommendations.
That's just my 2 cents though!
I wouldn't buy a pump until you are sure that it works for you. I would rent one to try it and then go from there.
As far as formula, many just start out w/ whatever their pedis rec or whatever the hospital has a supply of and starts you out on.
For me, personally, I can't see spending that much on a pump before I even know if I can use it. I saw this asked on 3rd tri or BF and a lot of girls mentioned that some places only have a 45 day return policy, therefore buying a breast pump would have to be one of the last purchases I would make considering the possibility of not being able to return it. I think I'm going to rent one from the hospital and go from there. If I really enjoy pumping and the baby seems to be able to bottle feed and no major issues arise, I'll probably purchase one.
If you buy one I'd get a cheap manual one - even if you end up using a big expensive pump, the handheld one may come in handy for you. I used it most when traveling.
Here's a quick story for you...I didn't buy one before I had LO, and after my milk came in I desperately needed one. I thought, "I'll just run by Wal-Mart and buy the manual one." Umm, yeah, you don't "run by" WM in the middle of a June day at the beach. Needless to say, I got behind every imaginable inconvenience in the self-checkout line. 1) an underage kid trying to self-check beer; 2) a couple trying to activate gift cards themselves; 3) an old man who couldn't lift his case of ginger ale. I wanted to scream, "MY BOOBS ARE GOING TO EXPLODE!!!" LOL...it was haaaarrrible!!!
I can so relate to this story, but it made me LOL!
I had a pump already and brought it to the hospital with me when I gave birth. I know that I could have rented a pump from the hospital, but I honestly didn't question whether or not I was going to stick with it before K was born.
Also, I got my Medela PIS on craig's list and then bought all new attachments and tubing. I know it's controversial to buy a used breastpump. But, it worked for us, it only cost $100 and I used it for 9 months. If something had happened and I didn't end up sticking with BF, it wouldn't have been that much of a loss, say, if I hadn't stuck with it. If you are comfortable going this route, I'd ask around (maybe even fellow bumpies) to see if anyone is selling theirs.
I'd say that if you aren't sure if you will need one, just rent the hospital pump for a while instead.
As far as formula, we did no research because we did not plan on supplementing. But, when we had to due to DD's jaundice and my milk coming in, the LC's gave us a ton of Enfamil Lipil Premium.
natural m/c and d&c at 10 weeks - 1/24/2014
DX w/ hetero C677t and A1298C MTHFR - 3/4/2014