[M!che!!e]

i have yet to buy my breast pump due to money issues with df. i think i am going to have lily within the next two weeks at least that is what everyone keeps telling me .

was just curious if i could get away without the pump when she comes or would it make things easier. i dont plan on pumping and bottle feeding her til i go back to work in march/ april. i was wondering if i can hold out til after christmas.

also, i bough lansinoh when i bough all the last minuted baby and me stuff to pack in my hospital bag. should i rub some on my nipples to condition them or should i just keep on conditioning my nipples with my ever coming supply of colostrum? plus the lansinoh is expensive and i really dont want to go through the tube before i really need it.

[Admin-Rachel]

I wouldn't think you'd need a pump right away. And the lactation consultant gave me a small tube of lansinoh at the hospital. I agree, that stuff is expensive.

[glasscandie]

The hospital gave me like, 3 or 4 small tubes. And it lasts a long time, you really don't need to use all that much.

Maybe you can get an inexpensive pump, if you really feel like you'll need one, and then invest in a more expensive one after Christmas? If everything goes OK tho, then you really shouldn't need one. Plus they can mess with your supply, they dont suck as well as a baby does.

[M!che!!e]

i was planning on starting off with an isis and then maybe stepping up to a medela pump in style when i go back to work. i am set on breast feeding til she wants to self wean.

if need be ill purchase one right after she is born, or have df do it.

[Anne07Nov05]

I don't think you need to use the lansinoh before your baby comes. Save it for later! B/c you're right, it is expensive. Definitely make sure to ask the hospital for some. Get all the freebies you can!

My little boy is 14 days old, and we're exclusively BFing. I have a pump, but haven't even taken it out of the box yet. So, you can probably hold off on buying yours for now. Some people end up needing to pump right away, and if that's the case, you can always run out and get one. But, I wouldn't worry about it too much. You likely won't need it for awhile.

The only other things that I would recommend getting in advance are nursing bras and those cotton bra pad things (that will absorb leaks).

Good luck to you! I wish you a safe and easy labor/delivery, and a good BFing experience!

[Ruby Tuesday]

It's definitely hard to say for sure.... I went back and forth on getting a pump before the baby came just in case I had some sort of issues which prevented me from bfing. But then I went to epinions.com and found a good deal on the Medela PIS Advanced and decided to go for it. I brought it to the hospital and the LC there saw it and offered to show me how to use it. I was really grateful for that. Although it's not difficult, I know the last thing I would have wanted to do after having a baby is read directions for a new piece of eqipment! I also think having the pump motivated me to stick with bfing since they aren't cheap and I didn't want to feel that I wasted my $$!

It turned out that I had a lot of problems initially with my dd's latch. I had a terrible crack on one nipple which then became infected with yeast. While trying to heal it, I pumped on that side so that my dd would make it worse. I also had an overactive letdown so it made it very difficult for my dd to latch properly - my milk would literally come shooting out to fast for my baby! So, on the advice of my LC, I pumped for about 2 minutes before bfing, just to relieve the pressure of my letdown.

For me, having the pump before the baby was a lifesaver. However, a lot of women have no need for a pump in the beginning. When my friend had her baby, the LC told her that she didn't need a pump because the baby was her pump. You can always buy a pump after the baby arrives but depending on how fast you need it, you may or may not have time to look around for the best deal (if that makes a difference with your df ) Another option is to rent a pump from the hospital if you really need it but that can be a bit pricey - I think it was around $50/ month at my hospital. Maybe you can research now and wait until after your baby is here to actually make the purchase. With the exception of having the LC show me how to use the pump, I don't think I really used the pump for about 2 weeks when my problems started showing up.

And definitely save that Lansinoh until after the baby is here. I had a small tube, though, and only used about half of it even though I used it all the time.

[M!che!!e]

ok thanks for the advice.

im afraid i might have an overactive let down, because my leakage is really bad! but have mastered hand expression, sometimes i express colostrum from my nipples so i wont leak all over my shirts! so if need be i can always hand express.

i have bought breast pads, just need the nursing bras. and if need be we will get the pump after she is born, i plan on exlusively breast feeding til im about to go back to work, around march/april.

[glasscandie]

Originally posted by mshane13@Nov 28 2005, 12:19 PM
im afraid i might have an overactive let down, because my leakage is really bad!* but have mastered hand expression, sometimes i express colostrum from my nipples so i wont leak all over my shirts!* so if need be i can always hand express.

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I'm not 100% sure, but expressing colostrum might trigger labor.

But I'm not sure.

[Ruby Tuesday]

Nipple stimulation can trigger labor! Looks like your are full term though.

I had no leakage whatsoever before my dd was born yet I had this crazy overactive letdown. Hand expression sounds like the way to go if you do wind up with an overactive letdown.