to those of you that breastfeed-I am 17 weeks pregnant and I am going to?

Question

try to breastfeed my baby. I need to know what all do I need to buy for my breasts(soreness ect.) because I heard that it can be very uncomfortable and there are some lotions ect. out there to help you. thanks

Answer 1

You may have some discomfort early on, like your body getting used to a new task.....like starting a new exercise routine.....but you should NOT have true pain. If you experience pain, call a Lactation Consultant or La Leche League Leader for help! (LLL will help for FREE!)

You will want a couple of nursing bras. Get fitted for those in your 3rd trimester.

You'll need nursing pads to wear in your bra in case you leak.

You may want some Lansinoh cream for your nipples. This will help prevent getting dry, cracked nipples. You don't need to wash it off to nurse as it's safe for baby.

Get a good book such as "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" and visit http://www.lalecheleague.org and http://www.kellymom.com for lots of good info on breastfeeding.

Find out about your local LLL and try to get to a meeting. You'll learn a lot, develop a support system and get to know other moms. You'll feel more comfortable calling the Leader for help after your baby is here if you meet her ahead of time.

Answer 2

First of all.
Vaseline, sheeps fat (lanolin is purified sheep fat), and scented lotions can affect newborns. All of those chioces are secondary. Your own milk is a salve! just squeeze a little out and rub it in...you will be surprised, the effect keeps your nipples in perfect health. All the lotions in the world can cause allergic reactions in tiny little brand new exposed kiddies, and you can get breast infections from blocking your milk ducts with heavy lotions (your own milk may form a layer or gooey edge sometimes but it is normal and meant to block for leakage and if you rub your own milk in then the layer hardly ever happens. no blockage, no goo.). All of europrean doctors (most study medicine in the states, learn four languages and then study in a hospital under another doctor before they can work on thier own! more time on the gorund then ours) have said this method is healthy and only cases which involve lots of medication or steriods will need a mild salve.

I had a C section, and pain killers and could nurse, and I got an infection from blocked ducts, you can still nurse through it (guess who used sheeps fat and never knew until after?) and it hurts like a mother...so you nurse to clear the blockage and after a day or so it's gone. It does hurt, she was latched properly, she could get enough, often enough is not standard five onces or whatever it is, we make it custom grade so doctors get nervous about the amounts and want to see about a pound of gain the first week is all. I found it was not so very painful as it was ...kinda like being tickled too long, after a bit it was fun, but the first two weeks were not and then I lost some of the senstivity and nurseing was a breeze. I've gained alot of the sensitivity back too, since I weaned it's been growing back so that can does get better.

Answer 3

Breastfeeding isn't the easiest thing to do in the beginning, but it totally pays off!! I bought a few good nursing bras and some of the camisols with the built-in bra. I have found that I can't sleep without a bra or cami on because I will leak milk all over my shirt! Buy a nice, big box of breast pads - get a GOOD BRAND (like medela or lansinoh) it does make a difference. Buy disposable ones rather than cloth ones (it's just easier). Get yourself a couple of tubes of lanolin - you can usually find it around the breastfeeding supplies at babies r us. Lanolin is natural and you don't have to wash it off for the baby to nurse. It makes you feel so much better when you put a little dab of that on your nipples and then the breast pad.

During the first couple of weeks I also used chilled cabbage leaves on my breasts to ease the discomfort - I don't actually know why it works, but it does. And I bought the breast compresses that you can cool in the fridge - put those on after a feeding and it will make you feel much better too. There is alot of soreness involved at first, but if you work through it for your baby, it will all be worth it in the end. Stick to a good feeding schedule and your body will get used to that schedule and you will make lots of milk! I also got a pump and that works great too. oh yeah, get a nice big bottle of tylenol - that will take the edge off the discomfort and won't hurt the baby.

I could ramble forever about this... good luck!

Answer 4

All you really need is a tube of lansinoh cream. It has lanolin in it. It will hurt for a while, but your body will quickly adjust. If your nipples get really cracked, the baby is probably not latching on properly, so make sure the baby is getting the entire thing in his/her mouth, not just the tip.

You may also want to get a breast pump, bottles, different nipples, and breastmilk storage bags to freeze any extra milk.

Remember that if you have a lot of trouble after the baby is born, you can always have a lactation consultant come to your house and help you. This was the best decision I ever made, and I could cry for joy because of how wonderful this woman was. Breastfeeding can be really hard and very frustrating and you're scared because you think your baby is going to starve, or you're upset because you think you're a failure as a mom. Don't worry! Just keep trying. It took me 6 weeks before my baby could nurse well (she was a preemie).

Don't give up. Just keep trying. Hopefully it will be easy for you!

Answer 5

Lets see I like the Lanosil breastcream it comes in a purple tube and is thick and nasty smelling but it really seems to help, plus you don't have to wash it off before feeding the baby. Also breastpads. You'll want to get some disposable ones, I went right through the cloth ones and soaked the front of my shirt. I liked the Johnsons's breastpads they were really thick and soft. The other ones were either too thin or scratchy on my sensitive nipples.

Oh and a tip my doctor told me. Everytime you get out of the shower/bath rub your nipples harder than you normally would. That will toughen them up so that when the baby is born they're not as sensitive. I think it worked with me I didn't have any discomfert while breastfeeding, until my son got teeth but thats a whole different can of worms.

Answer 6

Breastfeeding takes a lot of committment and is very demanding (especially if you choose to do it full time), but can be the most rewarding experience of early motherhood, too! At times it will be extremely painful to the point where you will want to cry, but once you overcome this threshold it gets better. There are creams available over the counter and I'm sure any would work to help alleviate some of the pain. I've bought both name-brand and generic creams and really found no difference in how effective they were. I am sure your doctor or hospital can reccommend a brand if you need.

Answer 7

Lansinoh, the absolute best thing ever!

My 1st child and I did not do well in the beginning, she actually took off several layers in one chunk. Lansinoh had it healed, and pain free in a day or so. It kept me going.
I almost gave up!

I ended up nursing 2 kids for a total of 25 months combined.
It's a great experience, don't give up on it even when it does hurt.

Good luck, and congratulations!

Answer 8

Yeah I don't know what hospital the above "nurse" works for but many hospitals don't give you ANYTHING. They begrudgingly might give you a spare menstrual pad if you need it, but you have to BEG.

Lanolin is generally used for soreness, olive oil works fine. Some people use vaseline.

You will also need some breast pads, not for right away. But once you start going out you will probably want something.

Honestly though if it hurts you are doing something wrong and should get help. It shouldn't hurt.

Answer 9

yes, the hospital should provide you with the cream, if not, just ask the drugstore. You can buy breast pads for when you leak in your bra, (oh yes, just wait until the baby cries, then you will really leak!) there are disposable ones but I really liked the washable reusable ones, good for the environment too and your childs future world!!

Answer 10

Thats what I heard aswell but all you have to do is latch the baby on to your nipple & you & the baby will be fine. There is "speciel" cream you can apply if the nipples become sore but vaseline works just as well!!
Good luck with everything