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Heather ~ I had the same fears. I really wanted to be able to breastfeed until my child was 1 year... I was successful...but I want to be completely honest with you as I was so surprised at the difficulty at the beginning and NO ONE had told me this!! So here is my advice and experience and I hope it helps you out! BF is a learning experience for both you and your baby...so it WILL take some time to become pros at it and I assure you that you will The nurses will help you with latching your little one on and show you the proper techniques and positions and what to listen for to see if your little one is getting anything. It will hurt...no doubt about it. I got advice to start using the lasinoh cream before I had my baby and start tugging on my nipples too! So I did...IT DID NOT HELP! It was very painful...and mothers of 2,3,4,5 children will probably tell you that it hurts with every child in the beginning....but IT DOES GET EASIER and doesn't hurt after a couple of weeks or if your little one is a pro...much sooner! It can become very frustrating at first...just try to be patient. IT WILL GET BETTER!! I just want to stress that....I was ready to quit so many times (as I got an infection in my breast and bladder at different times at the beginning) So I know....but I stuck with it cause I knew that it would get better...and it did!! Plus, it's so easy to get up every couple of hours in the night to nurse then to make a bottle (but I did let dh do it for a couple of weeks ~ cause he wanted to!) On a different note...for different reasons you may have troubles with nursing that you cannot get past and you have to quit...just know you made a great effort. Please know that your child is getting nutrition from you from breastmilk either way!! My motto is "A happy mother = A happy baby!!" Good luck!! I hope I helped.... ;-)

thanks hon... I not so worried about it hurting lol, im expecting that. Im jst worried about not knowing what to do, but like you said there will be nurses and lactation consultants to help me out. its just that I know NOTHING about breast feeding as far as like engorgement,or let down, or infection or puerperal mastitis or ANYTHING.. other than I know the names lol. I dont know anything about pumping or storing milk and Im afraid it will all be over whelming. thanks for your help, and its nice to know that even f I cant do it for some reason it doesn't mean I have failed my baby.

Hi Heather... Lindz had a great answer... I totally agree that I was also surprised at how difficult it was - none of my friends had said anything about it, but I found out that it was hard for all of them. We had a lot of difficulties for a while... I'm sure that if I had been on the fence about nursing, I wouldn't have stuck with it. But Lindz is right, any amount of time that you can nurse is good for you and your baby. And it's all overwhelming at first, but just take things one at a time, and you'll be a pro in no time. Hopefully the lactation consultants and nurses at your hospital will be as helpful as the ones at ours... we could even go in after we left the hospital for follow-up weighing and help... the nurses were awesome. One funny story... early on I remember trying to pump both bbs at once, and couldn't figure out how to turn on the pump while holding the shields up to my bbs... it was probably pretty comical to watch me try to hold them up and reach for the on switch. Eventually I figured out that you just turn the pump on and then put the shields to your bbs... but I was totally a novice and had no idea! There are a million things to learn as a new mom, but you'll figure them out one at a time. :-) Best of luck to you!

thanks for the encouragement Val :) I hope it all just sort of comes to me lol... Im not completely opposed to bottle feeding but I definitely want to try breastfeeding first. speaking of which.. my hubby is currently in Iraq so when he gets back the baby will be about 3 months old. I want for him to be able to use feeding time as away to bond with her when he gets home.. do you guys have any advice on bottle feeding and breastfeeding at the same time... like when to try to introduce bottles and how to prevent her from getting confused about the bottle and the breast.. Im afraid she''ll reject one or the other or wont latch properly because of the bottle but I really want for DH to have that special time with her too..

I wanted to breastfeed because I knew it was best for my dd, but it completely freaked me out too. Honestly, the thought also grossed me out a little, and made me feel like a cow. I thought I would try to at least make it 3 months. We wound up going over a year. It was actually easier than I thought it would be except for the first few days. It is such a wonderful experience. I am really sad for those people that don't at least give it a try or a chance. They have no idea what they are missing. That beautiful baby completely counting on you and playing with your hair, and patting you, is the sweetest thing. You will figure it all out. I had no idea what I was doing either. If your hospital has a class, you should take it. That helped me. The nurses and lactation people at the hospital will probably also be a huge help. There are also books and websites like one called kellymom that can give you info and good advice. Pumping is annoying, but you get used to it. Also Val, I hated not having my hands free while I pumped so I figured out that problem really fast. If you have the nursing bra with the plastic clip, there is a trick you can do by looping two thin hair rubber bands and then attaching one end to the bra and the other around the pump. It holds them on so you don't need your hands. If you google hands free pumping and kelly mom the page that shows you how to do it, should be the first thing that comes up. I would have gone crazy without that trick!

Heather - once you have established a good routine with your dd and she is nursing well there is no reason you can't introduce the bottle to her as early at 3-4 weeks - both of my boys nursed until they were about 5 months (then I went back to work and got overwhelmed with pumping) but so my dh wouldn't feel left out and so I could catch some z's without interupption they each got the bottle at about 3-4 weeks old - there was no confusion and because they didn't get the bottle all the time they didn't get lazy and still liked nursing to be close to me - in my case with my 2 sons it was a win win - on nights I need to catch up on my sleep I would make a few 4 oz bottles a night - sometimes with breast milk sometimes with formula - they both adjusted well - my first bf experience was awesome and went so smoothlly so I was completely shocked when my second son and I had such trouble in the beginning I wanted to give up because he had learned to latch on wrong - I am a little anxious about my baby nursing I am due July 2nd - at least I will know what to look for as far as latching so I am feeling confident that it will go better this time but....that thought is always in the back of my mind.....the best advice I can give is relax - even when you are frustrated relax - if you have to nurse lying down or listening to soft music - everything else will work out - plus I had great support from the hospital through it's mommy and me clinic which was all about breastfeeding and had lactation consultants.....Good luck and I know I will be here for you on the breastfeeding thread after I have my little girl

aww thanks cors1wfe!! you rock... thnks for the advice and info. I tried looking up breastfeeding classes at the hospital but couldn't find anything anytime soon. Im due in 3 and a half weeks and all the classes before then are filled up so I'll just have to take a list of questions with me to ask the lactation consultant at the hospital when I have the baby, and not be shy about talking to them. thanks so much for being here for me! your due date is coming fast too! how exciting!

If you really wanna do it just do it, you might run into hard stuff or struggles but dont stop, and dont supplement formula or you will PROBABLY end up switching to formula... in my experience.

of course if the milk isn't coming in and the baby isn't getting enough food, formula needs to be supplemented to make sure the baby gets enough nutrition.

the nurses at the hospital here constantly checking up,teaching and made sure i was doing it right all the time. i was there a good 3-4 days! it actually got annoying,lol.But i am sure the nurses will try to do the same for you/

thanks guys! you have been a huge help :)