Hellobee Boards

No advice, but best wishes for you. I've found that so far, my supply for #2 has been a lot better than it was for #1, so I'm hoping the same will be true for you.

Almost everyone I know IRL says they have better supply, and easier nursing in general with #2 also! Good luck!

A lot of my friends say it goes better the second time. I hope so, too. If not, well, lord knows the first kid did fine on formula, so I hope, if anything, that i don't beat myself up as much

@Mrs. Lovejoy: Yes! I actually remember seeing those but not until my LO was older. I think something like that would be perfect for the hospital and at home.

ETA: And FWIW I didn't pump at all until LO was 6-8 weeks old. I pretty much relied on skin to skin and trying to BF as much as I could so that her suckling would signal my body to make milk. I bet just having done it before and knowing what to expect will help you immensely.

@Mrs. Lovejoy: I hope so, too! my main goal is just to chill the fuck out on myself, heh

@Mrs. Lovejoy: are you able to meet with an ibclc in the next few weeks to troubleshoot your first breastfeeding journey? I didn't suffer from low supply but i had plenty of other issues (ties, bad latch, took awhile to get my milk in) so i met with an ibclc at 34 weeks to make a plan for my when my wee dude arrived (i also had gd). I felt so much more confident knowing i was supported and had a plan to deal with any problems!

I don't have any specific advice but wanted to tell you that it could work out the 2nd time around without any additional effort on your part!

My first son didn't want to nurse almost at all. I ended up pumping from 4-9 months and then switching to full formula from 9-12 months. It was a constant struggle with what I thought was low supply. I was taking everything I could think of (Blessed Thistle, lactation cookies, oatmeal bfasts, mother's milk tea, extra water throughout the day) but would never pump enough for full feedings throughout the day. It was heartbreaking and stressful.

My second son was a PRO at birth. It was like night and day and it wasn't until my 2nd son that I realized that perhaps it wasn't anything I could have done the first time around. DS2 nursing and would refuse bottles! He nursed until 19 months at which point I was ready to wean.

Honestly, i didn't do anything extra, different, or special. DS1 was on the smaller side of babies. DS2 drank and drank and drank and ate and ate and ate...he was a bigger baby. I would just say to do what you can do in nursing your babies (drinking water, nursing on demand, etc). And enjoy...that was the biggest mistake I made with my first....stressing out and not enjoying the moments as much as I could have.

@Mrs. Lovejoy: @blackbird: @jetsa: word. My supply sucked so bad last time that this time I just need to chill out.

I had a hell of a time with DD, and finally gave up and formula fed her. I was on the fence with even attempting BFing little brother. I decided to go for it- and 3 weeks in and zero issues. It's seriously so easy. I had one flat and one inverted nipple, so I wore breast shells starting at about 36 weeks. That's about all I did to "prepare" for BFing this time around.