Having a c section tomorrow

personally I would because you don't know how long you might have to stay. Also, some unsolicited advice here. Since you want to breastfeed I really recommend expressing some colostrum tonight and in the morning and taking that with you as plan b and formula can be plan c. But you absolutely don't have to do this if you don't want too! Good luck tomorrow, i hope it all goes well xx

I don’t think you’d need your pump and if you did end up needing it is anyone able to get it for you from home so you don’t have to pack an extra thing or just keep it in the car? My LG had to have a little formula because she wouldn’t latch as she hadn’t had anything for 12 hours whilst I was in labour the midwives said. They gave her some of the formula they had in the hospital from a small cup just to curb the extreme hunger then stayed with me all thru the night to help get her to latch. Hopefully your hospital is the same if there was to be any problems and can accommodate. Good luck! Xx

@Laci I’ve tried to get colostrum but nothing is coming out 😭😭 I’ve been trying for the past week. I manage to get a bit out with my pump but not enough to syringe. I really did want to take some colostrum in with me 😭😭 xx

My hospital provided a pump to use while in there. It may be a good idea to call and ask if they have one for you to use or not. I also heard of many hospitals giving you a manual pump to take home, you just gotta ask. Good luck!!

I had an emergency csection so i didnt think to bring a pump. However, i did bring plenty of expressed colostrum which was a lifesaver. I was not in my right mind after surgery so my husband had to syringe feed our son the first few hours until i felt more normal

Milk doesn’t come in for about 3-4 days so I wouldn’t take the pump, and as mentioned above if you do end up staying in and you need it I’m sure someone will be able to go and get it for you. As for sterile bottles, check your hospital have sterilising facilities, lots don’t so you need to take the pre-made bottles with teats instead.

@N 💞 ah I didn’t realise you put the teat on the pre made bottle, I thought you poured it into a sterilised bottle 😆 thank you!!

@Zara yea you have to get ones that come with teats, just incase the hospital doesn’t have sterilising facilities

The hospital do have pumps, I had to use one after my first as he wouldn't latch and the hospital provided me with it. But if there were issues at first it would be advised to hand express as baby only needs small amounts and they should be able to provide syringes to feed with too. This being said this is only if there were issues, best thing is to get baby to breast and latch as much as baby needs and also skin to skin. I had a vaginal birth with my first and elective C-section with my second and actually found breastfeeding easier with my second, my milk wasn't delayed coming in (came in on day 3). If you are having issues ask if you can see the infant feeding team for support.

If the plan is to exclusively breastfed the guidance is not to pump for that first 6 weeks as that's how long it takes baby to regulate your supply. Pumping prior to that can cause engorgement and oversupply issues.

I had an emergency c-section at 36 weeks so hadn’t harvested any colostrum or anything. The hospital provided me with a pump and the Midwives’s showed me how to hand express my colostrum into syringes to feed him until my proper milk came in which was pretty quick!

Take your pump! I wish I had. My daughter wouldn't latch and I ended up being forced to use formula. She missed out on soo much colostrum

Definitely take your pump! Again, you don’t know how long you’ll be staying. Also, I didn’t produce colostrum throughout my whole pregnancy even when I tried to express at 37+ weeks. My body didn’t produce colostrum until after I gave birth. So don’t stress! Every woman’s body works differently. Once you start expressing colostrum, your breastmilk will arrive in no time! Breastmilk doesn’t come in for about 3-4 days after you give birth anyways so up until then your body will produce colostrum for you to express and syringe ☺️ As for sterilised bottles, I personally didn’t take any. While you’re recovering you don’t want to constantly wash/sterilise bottles. I recommend you make use of the hospitals facilities if they have any ☺️