After two weeks of BF (which, honestly, has been the hardest thing I've done in my life thus far), there are a few things I wish I had known before hand and thought I'd share with anyone who's interested.
1. If you feel like your LO isn't latched on well, listen to your instincts and not the hospital nurses/LC that tell you LO does have a good latch. I was told the DD did but it still hurt to the point of tears and my nipples were not healing despite any all recommended remedies. It took a bit of an emotional breakdown last Thursday for DH to call off work and take me to see another LC where I found out DD really didn't have a good latch like I suspected. We learned how to get a proper one and within the day it was no longer hurting and within 2 days, my nips were healed. I should have listened to my instincts from the beginning when I wasn't sure she had a great latch to begin with.
2. Spend some time lurking the breastfeeding board while you still have the time. I've had so many questions and uncertainties that I wished could be put to rest by the BF board but have had zero time to read or write any posts.
3. If you haven't bought a nursing bra yet, do so before LO arrives. Even just one. I was unprepared and had to wear my pre-preg bras for a week and half and was so uncomfortable. Not to mention the fact that it's really inconvenient to not be able to just unsnap a little panel and be ready for feeding. You'll appreciate the extra support and convenience of a nursing bra.
Good luck and remember, when the times comes, the really hard time does go pretty quickly. Lots of people and other resources say the first few weeks are the hardest and when you're on day 5, that seems like forever. But it really does go by fast.
Re: If you're going to BF and want some tips...
Definitely larger. The difficult part is that it doesn't have a band and cup size, just S, M, L, XL...Pre-preg I was 38C and on the size chart for the nursing bra, 38C would be M but that was too small and I ended up with a L in this bra, which I've really liked. Most none-wire bras, I think, can make your breasts look strange and this one doesn't plus it's very comfortable to sleep in.
Thanks for all of the recommendations. Although I am not BF yet since LO isn't here, I wanted to second how great this bra is. I bought it on my cousin's recommendation and will probably end up with 1-2 more in the near future. FYI, it's about $5 less on Amazon. I fell between M and L on the size chart but the L fits well and has room to grow.