please help

[shonaya&connorsmummy]

hello i found out yesterday that i am expecting again, due very early december, i have had two previous bubs and both times i had trouble with brestfeeding, such as blocked ducts, mastitus, low supply and attachment issues. so i gave up breast feeding my son only after a week and my daughter after about two weeks. i really really want to breast feed this time round and would love any advice to help with the problems i previously faced! i am willing to try ANYTHING!!

[punkbaby]

Get in touch with the ABA and get yourself a lactation consultant build up a good support network around you before you have bubs then you have someone that you are comfortable to go too should you have problems again.

Good luck

[Hollywood]

Go to BFing classes run by your hospital if you can, and get yourself as educated as possible. I went to all the classes and did workshops, and contacted lactation consultants after DS was born if I had problems. I also attended a BFing day clinic at the hospital to sort out attachment issues and that really helped.

Also, remember that even if there are problems, it will take a while to sort out. You need to give it more than two weeks to find out if it will work out or not.

I had a really tough time at the start, with blistered nipples, oversupply on one side, the onset of mastitis and a blocked duct. It took about two months before it all sorted itself out, but I was determined that I was going to keep at it no matter what.

Now we're still going strong at 13.5 months and it's been so worth it.

Good luck!

[dragonflyblu]

Read up on cluster feeding. there are lots of threads on bubhub (including my own 14 months ago) with mums worried about cluster feeding. also, make sure your after birth support people(DH etc) understand that for hours on end you will be sitting there feeding, feeding feeding. make sure you have someone make you food. I was starving all the time! and drink lots of water. I make it sound like a marathon... in some ways it is!

more important than everything else.... trust that your body will make enough milk. as long as you don't have medical issues and you are demand feeding you will have enough milk. But realise that demand feeding means just that, no matter how often. For us this was every 15-30 minutes 3-4 hours a night for 2 months. But 15 months on we are still feeding.

and i can't recommend the ABA enough.

enjoy your pregnancy.

[bronny-jane]

not all babies are the same, this is my only successful bub

attachment.... watch dvds, anything that details proper attachment... get this right, your less likely to have the other problems....

i was so paranoid about mastitis this time, and constantly felt for lumps.. lol, but so far so good