Please tell me I can do this!

[TB9]

So starting to freak out...I'm not even 20weeks along, and my bust is already an H cup!  I had so many problems breastfeeding DD and I really want to do better this time, but I feel like the world is against me with these gigantic knockers!

My major problems with DD were:
1.  I don't think cradle hold was right for me for breastfeeding.  Everyone told me that I needed to pull her in close, but that just put her at a huge angle to my nipple and caused some major latch problems...So I'm going to have to master some other types of holds I think...

2.  I had oversupply issues, and overactive letdown.  I was told to nurse every 2hrs at first to make sure my milk came in, but is it possible that may have caused the oversupply?  I didn't know how to fix the oversupply issue, I tried block nursing, I tried everything, and I felt like nothing worked

3.  I have very dense breast tissue, so I can't feel any blocked ducts or lumps until they get gigantic   I got a really bad case of mastitis in both breasts while breastfeeding DD and I don't want it to ever happen again...

I'm getting so stressed about this, I just want to cry    I guess what I'm looking for is support, I've already found some local resources to tap into once the baby is born.  But until then I think I need help coming up with a plan so I can stop freaking out And it would be nice if to hear from some other ladies who have BTDT with larger busts so I can have some reassurance that it is possible for me to do this

[Erin M]

(((hugs))), you CAN do it!  Well done on finding IRL support, that makes all the difference.  I know we have many large busted mommas around and will round up some if none pop on this thread. 

[Fiver]

My friend who is a BFC went up to an H cup when she was feeding.  Not sure that she did much different, but does show that it can be done and YOU CAN DO IT!  It does seem that a good nursing pillow (or just well shaped/stuffed cushions) tends to be popular so that you can have LO in close without them ending up dangling.

Some BF support groups are happy to see antenatal ladies as well and have samples of Lansinoh to give away or offer nursing bra fitting services so it might be worth popping along now to introduce yourself and see if they can give you some other tips and put your mind at rest.  Certainly the one I used to go to ran as a social group as much as a support group, so you might even get a biscuit, cup of tea and meet a new friend

[Khalam's Mama]

Yes I was thinking my local group encouraged antenatal visits as much as post.
I found a feeding pillow to be essential for decent positioning. Rugby ball hold or laying down made a big difference to latch.
I will also say I had tons of bf problems with ds1 and was dreading it with ds2. Even though I did not feed ds2 straight away because I was in theatre/itu immediately afterward and then I had to bottle feed 3days at 4wo while on antibiotics, I did not have any problems with latch at all with ds2. So I'm saying it may be completely different this time.
And we are always here too.

[eva026]

I'm an H cup and found a good nursing pillow made a ton of difference, that, and a good nursing chair.
Make sure it has good back support and quite high arm rests - the cheapest one from IKEA works pretty well, but it has to be the cheapest one because it has slightly higher arm rests than the more expensive ones and you sit lower down so you don't need a foot rest.
Looks something like this: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ldrhp4ilEM1qehao3.jpg
When I got the nursing pillow it was like a 'eureka' moment though:) Mine is pretty firm so that LO doesn't sink and mess up the latch.

You have to try all the holds to find one that suits you. For us cradle works best, rugby is ok, reclining is weird  but I  have never been able to get side laying because I have to make sure I'm holding my breast with one hand all the time and I need to be higher than DD is, otherwise my breast totally covers poor LOs nose and laying down it's just too tempting to fall asleep.
 I guess every one is different and you have to wiggle around a bit to find something comfortable, it took me about a month to feel semi-comfortable with one position.
Basically I have her on the pillow and the pillow pretty high up and close in so I have both hands free and can hold my breast with the one and control flying hands with the other;)
My friend has normal sized breasts and I was so jealous to see her BF while walking around because her LO just latched on, she held her with one arm and the other was free to cook! No way I could ever do that.

Make sure you also have a really good nursing bra, it has to have pretty thick material to give you enough support. The only 2 companies that I am happy with are Cake Lingerie and HotMilk. Unfortunately both are really expensive but the cheaper bras just have very thin material and were sooo uncomfortable because those breasts get HEAVY.

I also had massive oversupply till about 5mo! It go so bad that I couldn't leave the house because I was leaking constantly and crying in pain:/
How long did you block feed for? For me it took about 3-4 days of block feeding to see any kind of a difference (and I know that with other on the forum it took up to a week). Cold cabbage leaves in your bra are also fantastic, they take the pain away. I think I spent a week smelling of cabbage because I even slept in them and had a pair on the bed side table to change when I woke up at night.
I think after the first time my oversupply got out of hand I quickly learnt how to identify the symptoms and could nip it in the bud with block feeding and cabbage, before it got out of hand again.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that if you are prepared, then it can be done so don't panic:))

[TB9]

Thank you so much ladies!

eva - My aunt used to have a set of those chairs from IKEA!  I will have to ask her if she has them still, maybe I can borrow one   What nursing pillow do you have?  I think mine is pretty sturdy, so baby won't sink in too much.  Maybe I should test it out sitting in the rocker I do have that I was going to put in the baby's room.  And don't even get me started on nursing bras!  Ugh!  The one I bought with DD made my boobs look like bullets   I hated it, and I still do.  I have looked at the Cake line and will likely buy the contour cup bra they have...it's one of the only ones I've found that offers a contour cup bra in my size.  Do most of the Cake and HotMilk bras give you a good shape and support in your bust?  I hate looking like I'm wearing a bra from the 1950s!  I tried block nursing for quite a stretch of time, but I think it was the perfect storm of problems that I had going on...because of my breast tissue I couldn't tell that I had ducts that were blocking up that DD wasn't able to clear, and my overactive letdown made her latch really shallow so she wasn't emptying the breast well, even when I expressed some out before she latched

I think part of my problem too was that I felt that the recommendations for breastfeeding didn't really jive well with me.  One big one was the LC I saw told me to just keep my bra off and just let DD root around while I laid in bed...I wanted to tell her that there was no way I could just let them flop around unsupported for hours at a time.  And I totally get the skin to skin benefits, but I'm just not comfortable letting these babies free, they're just too big.  Moral of my story I felt like I had no support because I didn't really agree with what they were telling me I "had" to do.  Can I do skin to skin with just my bra on?

I also requested an appointment with the lactation consultant at the hospital and they made me leave the hospital without one...I had no idea how to feed my baby and they sent me home and told me I would have to wait until her first checkup (2 days later) to see someone 

Thanks again ladies, I will be back with more questions 

[Fiver]

Oh my word, I'm so sorry you got such lousy support last time   Yes, of course you can do skin to skin in your bra.  If you wanted to lie down in bed and could make it work, you could always wear your bra in bed and then just open up the cup on the side nearest the bed and nuzzle LO's body into you that way so you're skin to skin.

[Erin M]

You don't need to have the girls out to do skin-to-skin, one of the L&D nurses in the hospital where James was born told me that James could get lots of skin to skin benefits if dh did it (milk production not being one of them, but there are a ton of benefits).  Having him close, whether you're braless or not will help.   

[eva026]

What nursing pillow do you have?

The standard crescent shape but I have no clue what company because its a hand-me-down. If you already have one you can test out both chairs and see which one is more comfortable.

I hear you on the nursing bras, it's a nightmare and there is no way you can 'hang free' because when your breasts are full it hurts! The Cake bra is better support-wise because it has a light underwire and I wear it out.
the one I have is: http://www.lovemum.pl/products/biustonosz-cake-lingerie-velvet-delight
The Hot Milk has less support but I wear it around the house. I also wear a bra at night but it's more like a sports bra/top, because it's not too comfy to sleep in the nursing bras I have and sleeping bra-less ... well like trying to sleep with 2 watermelons that don't stay in place! Although it's better now that my supply regulated at 5mo.

I was also told to do side laying position at the hosp and I was like - how? My boob is bigger than the baby and I can't hold her close, keep my boob from smothering her AND get comfortable and relax.

Did you try nipple shields last time? They are a bit of a hassle because we are only just weaning them now, but they helped DD latch at  the begging because she kept coming on and off when the milk way spraying down her throat. Expressing the excess somehow didn't work for me because that would be pumping for 10-15min!! I also had a pumping session after her morning feed from the 1st week (not counting the weeks of block-feeding), it cleared all the extra milk DD wasn't getting out and I could freeze what I got. Although pumping might make your oversupply worse, so don't listen to me:)
I'm a FTM so far from being an expert, just sharing my toughs on what might have helped.

[becj86]

I went from 10E to 12H - Poor DS' head was half the size of one of my breasts when he was born He is still feeding now at 18 months and

Frequent pumping following a c-section was probably part of the cause of my oversupply but block feeding did help me - blocks of 12 hr...

I found this really helpful: http://www.biologicalnurturing.com/, along with baby-led attachment.

You can do it!

[TB9]

Did you try nipple shields last time?

I didn't, but I think they would have helped a lot with DDs latch, she was not happy at all about the overactive letdown and oversupply and that definitely caused some latch problems.  I am going to get some nipple shields just in case for this time around   Thanks for that tip eva!

Poor DS' head was half the size of one of my breasts when he was born

Yep, this was me last time...DD was just so little and I was sooooo big

I would like to pump this time around, but I'm terrified of pumping leading to oversupply.  I like the idea of pumping in the am after the first feed.  Maybe that will clear all the extra milk out so I start fresh each day instead of milk just building and building...

Also ordered some different paci's to try, I found that DD was a suck for comfort type of baby but didn't try the paci until she was older because I was terrified of breastfeeding going bad...but in reality it probably went bad in part because she was sucking for comfort causing more oversupply issues!  I'm not afraid to use a paci earlier this time around, will have to make sure milk comes in ok and latch is good first though right?

One more question...I know at the hospital they will tell me to feed every 2hrs during the day.  I think they are very very worried about milk coming in for new mothers...BUT should I be feeding every 2hrs once my milk comes in?  I remember them telling me to do that even after milk came in, but really isn't that just going to make my supply go crazy?  Shouldn't I be feeding on demand, or letting baby go no more than 3hrs or so during the day?  2hrs just seems like such a short time if I've had oversupply problems in the past.

Thanks so much, BW ladies are the best 

[eva026]

One more question...I know at the hospital they will tell me to feed every 2hrs during the day.  I think they are very very worried about milk coming in for new mothers...BUT should I be feeding every 2hrs once my milk comes in?  I remember them telling me to do that even after milk came in, but really isn't that just going to make my supply go crazy?  Shouldn't I be feeding on demand, or letting baby go no more than 3hrs or so during the day?  2hrs just seems like such a short time if I've had oversupply problems in the past.

Wow, that's pretty often. They told me to wake to feed every 3h during the day  because DD was so sleepy she wouldn't wake on her own to feed so demand feeding didn't work. Surely that's enough unless the baby doesn't want more ofc.

[Fiver]

I'd go with 'on cue' or every 3h, whichever is shorter, personally

[Erin M]

I'd go with 'on cue' or every 3h, whichever is shorter, personally

I agree!