To make things easier, set up a little breastfeeding station around your favourite comfy chair or bed. Have everything you need next you on a little table or stool. Have a glass of water, chuck towel, remote control and everything else you need so you don’t have to worry about moving. Then you can relax as much as possible.

Tip 16 - Dealing with a fast let down

In the early days of feeding you can have quite a lot of milk and fast let down. To stop your baby gulping down the milk and having trouble latching on, express milk before a feed to take away the first rush of milk. It helps the baby to latch on and slow the flow a bit.

If you have any trouble with the let down, I always found a hot pack or a warm towel really helped. That or a shower - I couldn’t stop it flowing the second I stepped in!

Get comfy bras! You’ll be living in them 24/7 so you make sure you get one that fits properly and doesn’t dig in. Crop tops can also be comfy to wear at night when you don’t feel like wearing a bra and can be inexpensive to buy. I found Bonds ones really good.

But here is tip 11… if for some reason (premmie baby or otherwise) you are expressing and freezing your breastmilk, freeze it in small portions so you don’t waste this precious liquid, cause once you have defrosted it you can’t refreeze what you don’t use!

My first two babies were born with cleft palettes, therefore they
couldn’t be breastfed. I was devastated by what we were missing out on together. But I did what I could and expressed breast milk for them for about 2-3 months supplementing with formula when needed. It wasn’t that easy but I wanted to do it.
They’re both now healthy, fantastic boys in their twenties.
So do what you can and don’ beat yourself up about what you can’t do, your love is what counts.
By the way I had two more babies and breast fed them both as long as I could.

Despite what everyone said I still had sore nipples in the early days with boy my boys. This was despite attachment looking good. Something to do with sensitive skin! Ouch! Anyway Lansinoh was my saviour and a little air and lansinoh after every feed kept me going. I don’t know if I would have survived without it!

It’s really important to eat well and drink plenty of fluids while breastfeeding. Don’t even think about dieting while feeding - often you will find you’ll lose weight just by breastfeeding. If you don’t look after yourself you can become run down which can lead to problems such as mastitis. Ouch! I’ve been there done that and it isn’t fun!

Keep the tips coming…