Medela Swing or Ameda Lactaline

Thank you for that kiwisipiers. I'll try to hold giving him a bottle until 6 weeks. I'm very new to motherhood esp breastfeeding so I really appreciate all the input. At the end of the day it's what's best for baby that really matters. I still can't wait for my Ameda Lactaline to come though. I'm always engorged and leaking, I feel like the milk is going to waste. So now I'm just planning to pump and store until 6 weeks. Fabulous idea. Get your freezer supply up if you can. It takes an enormous amount of pressure off is you have some stock ready to go. And can I please reiterate DO NOT judge the amount of milk you are producing by the amount you are pumping. Babies are MUCH more effective at getting milk out than any pump!

I was given a lot of advices regarding breastfeeding, formula, bottles and so on. Phrase "nipple confusion" scared me. But breastfeeding didn't work well for two of us in the start, but I was determine to latch my little one on, and to provide her breast milk. If was a battle from day one. I pumped breast milk to feed her and she was initially getting it from the cup, but we dropped it within a day upon coming home. It just didn't work for us. Than I gave her expressed milk in the bottle and decided that its too easy for her. The next step was Medela Calma nipple. She was 8 days old when she finally latched on and started to feed directly from the breast. We continued with occasional bottles, if we needed to go somewhere and its easier and faster to feed her, or if I left her with my mum. 6 months down the road, we are still exclusively breast feeding, I returned to work when she was 4 months old. When I am away, she gets expressed breast milk, when we are together no bottles. For us, nipple confusion didn't exist, giving her bottle with very difficult nipple helped us to establish breastfeeding relationship. Even though all the advices are against bottles in the first 6 weeks, you do what works best for you and your baby.

Its really normal to be engorged at the start, dont worry it doesnt stay that way, in fact at around 3-4 months many mothers freak out because their breasts are NEVER "full" anymore and they panic that they don't have enough milk and top up, when in fact its just that their body is finally making the perfect amount. You will be able to sleep on your stomach again I promise! I have actually found with my second baby I was only really engorged for the first few weeks, not sure if that is common second time around (I still have plenty of milk) or if its because I didn't even try a feeding schedule and just feed my wee girl all the time rather than being sucked into the idea of a feeding schedule with 3 hour gaps like I was with my first (just resulted in him over eating, overloading his tiny wee tummy and puking half of it back up). Although don't panic if your LO prefers 3 hourly feeding, they are all different. Just one thought re pumping the extra, supply works very much on a "milk out equals milk made" type system. Basically your breasts will track however much you remove (via baby or pump) each day and attempt to make the same amount the next day. So if you give formula, your baby will remove less and your supply can drop and likewise if you feed your baby AND pump, you will continue to make extra milk a your breasts will assume your baby needs that much. So you may find you are engorged for longer if you are pumping and storing. Cold lettuce leaves inside your bra (around the house) are a great relief for engorgement and you will probably find from around the two week mark your baby is less sleepy and feeds more frequently, so you don't get so engorged. There is a great facebook group called "breastfeeding Q&A, dubai and UAE" which is an amazing source of breastfeeding info. The baby sleep books tend to have terrible breastfeeding advice (generally they are written by nannies who favour formula) and pediatricians usually are pretty clueless too so its good to have the right info to make your breastfeeding experience as positive as possible. also www.kellymom.com is pretty much the best website imaginable for any breastfeeding question you could ever think of, an amazing resource that every breastfeeding mother should have bookmarked. welcome to motherhood, hope you enjoyed your first mother's day yesterday (depending where you are from). Its a bumpy ride at times but the best adventure ever!! :) And you have bought a really good pump, I wasn't knocking your purchase, just maybe hold off a bit on using it!

I have to say I'm with meagle on this, does your husband want to do what is best for your baby or does he just think feeding sounds like fun? Suggesting formula just so he can give a bottle is incredibly selfish. If your husband wants to be helpful then in the time that you are feeding he can do a load of washing, cook a meal, tidy the lounge, make you a snack..... At two weeks old your baby is still learning to breastfeed effectively and building your supply. I really wouldn't risk stuffing that up right now. In a few weeks if breastfeeding is going well you could pump a bottle a week just to get your baby used to it but most lactation experts suggest you don't give any bottles in the first 6-8 weeks. I'm sure your husband is trying to help but I think you might need to educate him a bit about breastfeeding. Men don't need to feed the baby to bond and without being sexist, in the first 6 weeks you are more important to you baby than he is, your DH needs to suck it up and do the right thing! It is handy to have a pump. But do be aware of the risks you are taking by giving bottles this early and make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. <em>edited by kiwispiers on 13/05/2013</em>

If you are going to pump often, go for the double pump. I have Medela Freestyle, and I pump often (4-5xday) and it's a hard work. I could;t imagine pumping with single pump (I am back to work and still exclusively breastfeeding).

I've used them both. I'd definately go for the Ameda. It's a closed system pump, so more hygenic and obviously a double pump as well. Honestly, if you do any significant amount of pumping you'll regret buying a single pump.

I have an Ameda Lactaline. Great pump. My dd is 14 mths old and I've just finished expressing in work. She is still breastfed, though only when I'm home from work now. Nothing negative to say about pump at all! X

If you're going to pump more than once a week or so, get the double. You will honestly both find, though, that you pumping just so he can bottle feed makes more work for everyone--you especially. If he feels left out, ask him to do baths and some playtime! I know very few people who willingly pump. It is by far the worst part about nursing in my opinion and I've nursed 2 kids well into their 2nd year of life and worked full time for a good chunk of that time, as well. It's a necessary evil, but doing it daily just so dad can give a bottle (which I know some people do) is just making your life harder, IMO.