Breastpump / Bottles

E

elodienyc

Registered User
Hello,
I'm 35 weeks pregnant and I'm wondering if I need to buy a breastpump and feeding bottles before our baby arrives. I am planning on breastfeeding so I thought I could wait and see how it goes before buying all the stuff, but some people have told me otherwise.
Any advice?
Also, do you recommend any brand/model to start with?
Thanks!!!
 
I think it's up to you if you want to buy it before or after really.

I started giving my baby a bottle of EBM at 6 weeks - so I didn't need the pump before that, but I had bought it before his arrival as I had the time before baby arrived to research which one I wanted and buy the supplies.

I have the Medela Swing pump and I've been very happy with it.

Best wishes for your upcoming delivery.

Belinda
 
I would recommend buying them before you have the baby. Maybe just a couple bottles, just in case. I did and I am glad that I did because I had the baby early and was having problems breast feeding so both the pump and bottles were needed. I guess it's just a chance you take as you may not need them if everything goes well.
 
I'm 32 weeks and I just bought a cheap battery operated pump (actually, I think it plugs in too, but it was just a cheapish one) and a few bottles because I figured that IF I needed them, I'd want to at least have SOMETHING to be able to use - even if I have to upgrade later on...
 
I am still nursing my 10 month old and I felt like it was a waste to have all the bottles and sterlizer, even if they were all given to us as gifts. We never used any of the bottles, the sterlizer, nor the bottle warmer. My daughter has never had a bottle because I have always nursed her directly on the breast (but I am lucky enough to be a stay at home mom and I just really really dislike pumping). I think it's just the piece of mind that you want to have SOMETHING on hand JUST IN CASE, if you are unsure about it. So perhaps you could just buy a few bottles and a pump, because you could always have someone run out to buy you everything else should you decide later that you really need it. It's easy in Hong Kong with all the baby stores around. Just pick out what you want ahead of time for whoever will do the shopping for you.

You can always use the pump later to express milk to mix in with your baby's cereal at 6 months. So it's not like the pump will go to waste.

Directly nursing on the breast is still the best way to stimulate milk production and you don't need any equipment to do that. And to establish breastfeeding, you want to continue nursing for 4-6 weeks without pumping if possible.

I would highly recommend attending one of the local La Leche League meetings for more information, and to meet all the other BF moms. The local website for the Hong Kong groups is www.lllhk.org.
 
dunno whether you would want daddy to have some bonding too and have him feed a bottle or 2 of formula/EBM. If so, think you would need the pump and bottles beforehand
 
I had a baby 6 weeks ago.
I originally thought about buying a pump etc. prior to birth, then decided not to, assuming I would have no trouble breastfeeding, and hoping to avoid any uneccessary expense.

I ended up with a c-section 2 weeks early, a bad reaction to morphine and thus a long delay with milk coming in (and no colostrum at the start either).

I had to send my husband out the day I got home from hospital, thankfully I had looked at pumps/bottles/formulas/sterilizers and could tell him what to get. It was a VERY stressful time, recovering from surgery, raging hormones and having a very hungry baby and no milk!

I also got the Medela Swing, which I have found to be good. I have had problems with milk supply, so I am also having to supplement with formula. I am using the Medela breastmilk bottles for this (as well as for expressed milk) and my little one has had no problem taking breast or bottle since about the 3rd week.

If you don't want to buy everything prior, my advice is to at least know your options so you can send someone to get what you need. I took photos of items on my mobile so my husband could avoid any confusion at the shop.

Good luck!
 
If you are lucky, you may not need them, but it can be very reasurring to have them on standby, just in case.

With my first, he would not latch on, no matter what tricks the lactation consultant tried. So I ended up pumping full time for him for 3 months.
It was great to have the pump beforehand ready to go so my milk supply wasn't affected.
I started off boiling everything, and bought a microwave sterilizer after about a week when I was sure it would be worth it.

My second is a super breastfeeder, and latched on immediatley after birth, and pretty much didn't want to get off for 4 weeks.
The pump saved my poor nipples, so that I could give them a break from him every now and then!
Also, was great to be able to let my hubby do the 10.30 feed so I could go to bed early.
He is now 11 weeks, and i just use it every few days to keep a stock of breastmilk in the freezer.

I use the Avent ISIS which I've found works great for me.
 
Hi all,
Thanks a lot for all the advice!
I'll try to get equipped before the little one arrives!

If any of you is selling a breastpump, please PM me!!!

Thanks!
 
You can always rent an electric breastpump... much faster than a battery-operated one. Call Celki Medical on 2522 6811 for details, think they are in Melbourne Plaza. Good luck with your arrival xxx
 
I didn't and wouldn't buy one before hand. After, I bought a medela hand pump for occasional use, The baby wouldn't take the bottle and honestly, pumping was such a lot of work for little result, I gave it up, it was alot easier to just nurse. If I had spent a lot of money on a big electirc pump I would have been wasting my money. You don't know yet what type of pump you may need. Occasional pumping a hand pump will suffice, if you end up with a premie or needing to pump long term, you are better off with a hospital grade electric pump, if you pump for work but still BF at home, you may want a medela pump instyle, or similar (a step down from hospital grade pumps).

I wouldn't invest a lot of money untill you really know what you want, you can always figure which now, and send someone to buy it after if needed in a pinch. Medela is a good brand and have a huge range of options
 
One thing to think about....my daughter was picky in the type of bottle nipple she would take. I never dreamed this would happen as my son took whatever went in his mouth, so I assumed that my daughter would do the same. Instead, she chose to starve herself until my return and I'm a working mom. So, if you do choose to purchase bottles in advance, I would recommend only a few...just in case!
 
Hi elodienyc,
I have a Medela Pump-in-Style in it's original packaging for sale. I've sent you a PM.
Sage.
 
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