I am hoping to bf my second baby,did try with my first but couldnt due to medical reasons.
I am now getting quite a few comments from family members-all negitive really and just wondered if you have had to contend with this and how you dealt with it.
My mum isnt being unsupportive but i feel like she is underminding me by saying i should stock up on formula etc which i havent as i really want to give it a good go but other family members seem to assumer because my first had to be formula fed my second will too and i am finding it a bit annoying,
So any tips would be greatfully recieved.x

I would just simply say "oh i won't need any formula or bottles as i'm going to breast feed!" then leave it at that.If that ask why? or but what if?etc just tell them it is what you have decided and you are going to give it a try!! The End.
Then get some bottles (& breast pump) for EBM and hide them so they don't get the idea you might bottle feed and put pressure on.

Its your baby if you want to give breastfeeding a go then please do. Try to find out if there is a bfing support group near you were you can get the encouragement and support you need.

At the end of the day if you try it and find it is not for you its not a problem to pop to the shop and get some formula when (or if) you need it
xx

I have a bf work shop in about 4 weeks time as i didnt get to go last time due to being in hospital so hoping that will help.
I was going to get a pump after baby is born because i dont want to express at first because i think this can effect milk cant it?x

I had endless comments about my lo not taking a bottle,he just couldn't do it and i wasn't prepared to force the issue.i got very upset at times but learnt that the only way to deal with people is to rise above it-calmly and politely take their 'advice'and then ignore it-you'll soon prove them all wrong.my lo has never taken a bottle,I've succesfully fed him all by myself and now at 7months he has water in his beaker and I'll continue to feed him until either of us has had enough xx

When people used to say how i should stock up on formula i used to remind them that tesco is open 24 hour so if i need it i'll get it then, in fact tesco 24 hour came in useful when lo couldn't latch on due to my rock hard engorged breasts on day five and after 7 hours of crying hubby went to tesco and got a breast pump for me. so i would say defintely get one of those in.

I have a hand one but am hoping if i am successful to invest in a electri one-last time i had both but because i had to stop i gave the electric one away.xxx

i faced a lot of negative comments too as no one in my family bf. they kept saying he's sleep more etc if he was bottle fed (i'd like to point out that when he had EBM he slept no more than when bf, and just before we introduced a ff at 14 weeks he slept longer on bf than when we did introduce a ff....so it made no difference!)
i did have a tub of formula in the house "just in case" as i wasn't sure how i'd get on first, and that relaxed me knowing i could fall back on it if i had to, but i held out until 14 weeks. i started to express when he was a few days old and i've still got a freezer full of milk (he's 5.5months old now) so i can carry on mixed feeding him for another month or so.
i kept stressing the benefits to my family, plus saying how handy it was not having to bother with bottles, just get my breast out if he was hungry!
i kept showing how he was putting on weight etc.

good luck and stick to what you want to do xxx

hi , just wanted to say that if anyone tries to pressure u one way or another just tell them u'll feed baby how u see fit, and if it do decide to ff tesco is 24hr, and at the mo there is no reason why u shldn't be able to and thats that. but out! end of!

re expressing, u can express anytime after ur milk comes in (day3/4ish) the not expressing til 6 weeks things is actually a confusion, what they mean is its best not to feed the EBM until 4-6weeks by bottle as this can cause 'nipple confusion' (altho i mix fed ds from 3 weeks til 7.5months and never did he get confused lol) but expressing itself doesn't do any harm, all it can do is increase ur milk supply which if ur planning to bf for a a good while is only a good thing but ur bmilk does change its make up at around 2 weeks, so anything u express before then doesn't have the same nutrional value as that after the 2 weeks.

xxx

[Modified by: siany on November 08, 2009 08:54 PM]

i have expressed and given a bottle to each of my los all within the first couple of weeks (with my first on day 3 as she would not latch on and was fading - she went on to successfully bf for 10 months!)
i know a lot of people have trouble introducing a bottle if they leave it.
xx

Ah i see,
With my first i express fed from quite early a few days and had loads of milk but it dried up suddenly at 6weeks-she was very sick on breast milk and has soya milk.
I always have soya milk in so i really do not need to stock up on it,i just find the comments a little unhelpful.
I was lucky with my dd she slept through from birth BUT i do not expect this little one to be anything similar.
i am looking into bf but lactose free as almost every baby in my family has been lactose intolerant and ff, i really want to bf even if its for a few months so wondered if maybe going lactose free was the way to go or should i wait and see if he shows any signs?x

hi again, my ds is lactose intolerant, it is possible to bfeed witha Lactose intolerant milki allergic baby. i switched all my 'dairy' to soya alternatives, and his bottle feeds were Wysoy. if ur bfeeding then there is no reason to wait for signs as u cld just switch ur dairy to alternatives anyway and cut out any chance of baby getting poorly from it, thats waht i'm gonna do next time, i don't wanna take the risk of a baby being in the pain ds was if i can prevent it, but if i was to ff then i wld probably wait for signs as it is recomended not to give soya milk to babies under 6 months as it can have side effects...altho we weren't told of these by the dietician til after the gp had prescribed him it at 4.5months (but these are cut out if ur having the soya and baby is getting it thru u, if that makes sense)hth xx