couple of q's

I am wondering what, if anything, I can do to help my milk come in better/more abundantly once Waylon gets here. It seems I never really made much milk with Will, as I never once got that engorged, going to burst feeling.
Also, how often/for how long will I need to feed him during the first 3-5 days?
I am really wanting to be successful at BFing this time, so I'm reading up all I can and talking to a couple of ladies near me that both did/are doing great with it.
Oh, and what about pacifiers/bottles? Do they really make it more difficult, or does that just depend on the baby?
ANY advice you can share will be much appreciated. I'm planning on writing it all in a notebook to take with me to the hospital, just in case.
Thank you!!!!

Im new to BFing...but I have been reading up on it on kellymom.com

I'll be sure to check that out - thanks!

I also used kelly mom alot when i had andrew...
but the best thing i ever did was demand to have andrew as soon as they took him and weighed him, get him to latch on as soon as you can..
our hosp. originaly told us we would be seperated for a while while i was in recovery from the section but that didnt end up being true our dr told them what we wanted and thats what we got..and it did seem to make a difference, or was it that i was just a little more experienced since i had bf jake? i dont know but it did seem to help my milk come in faster..
also not feeding on a schedule just whenever and all the time..that did the trick

this is something I have heard before, I will keep that in mind too

I totally agree with feeding them as asap after delivery. It helps to get started right away. And just so you know, you do not have to reach that engorged, ready to pop feeling to be making enough milk. I always do, but I know people who have never experienced engorgement (lucky dogs!). Drink lots of fluids and definitely feed on demand-have baby room in with you if possible and feed whenever they seem hungry. I always room in and then if I am feeling particularly exhausted I will send baby to the nursery so I can get some rest with instructions for baby to be brought back as soon as they seem hungry. As as far as the whole nipple confusion, my babies have never had an issue with this but I know plenty of people who have, so err on the side of caution if you are really concerned and wait a couple of weeks to introduce bottles or paci's.

I agree, feeding on demand really helped me keep up with BF.

I bfed for 19 months. I'm not sure if there is anyone one thing that made me successful at bfing, except consistency. I refused to have formula in my house. I just put it out of my mind that there was any other option. I did use pacifiers, but not very much. Usually just in the car when I was driving and couldn't nurse. Then at night to help soothe him to sleep. He didn't get a bottle until he was 5 months old when I pumped and left bottles for my mom and him. I know you'll be successful. You're search for knowledge on it now while you're still preg shows that you'll be able to nurse as you want to. Good luck, and remember you have a great resource of moms here who want nothing more than to see you nurse for many months. (That goes for all you preggos out there )

my advice to you is nurse as often as possible never exceeding 3hours (from start of feeding) for at least 4 weeks, if you are worried about your supply go see a laction consulant and get him weighed if he is gaining the you know your making enough also they can weigh him before he eats and again afterwords to see how much you are making (naked weigh). Nursing on demand is good but when they are first born they are real sleepy for several weeks and that can make them not eat as often so if he is sleeping 3 hours later with no signs to wake up go ahead and wake him up and also if he falls asleep at the breast you need to keep him stimulated (rubbing his head kinda rough like but not really, patting his back, rubbing his feet, if he stops to sleep rub the bottom of his chin to make him suck) or let him eat naked that will keep him awake because when they get real warm. Can you tell i had a sleepy baby lol i think that was one of our issues... also I agree with Kellymom. com AWESOME full of advice. I wish you all the luck and success its is incredible and I miss it!!!! Also don't give him a bottle until he is about 4weeks old otherwise they get use to it because its a LOT easier if you HAVE to supplement ask them for supplementing tools (syringe, cup or supplemental nurser by medela) but try not to supplement at all if you can get away with it. Also it HURTS you can ask for some cream at the hospital but I would just go ahead and get some cream its completely safe for baby. And I agree you don't have to feel engorged to be full I didn't always get engorged but when she would go to eat she would get full (and shot in the eye LOL).

I'm such a nerd - I've been printing off tips/tricks/advice pages all night and I'm adding any info I get here to those sheets, too, to take with me to the hospital.
Thank you so much for the help!!! I just feel like I was a failure with Will and I really don't want that to happen again. I know it wasn't all my fault, as no one around me really seemed to know much either, and I didn't really know I could find out all about on the computer. I just thought it'd happen naturally, since babies have been doing this since the beginning of time, but obviously that's not true!
Thanks so much for all the support - I'm sure I'll be on here with problems after he's born, too.

you know thats true though but back in the day when thats all woman did they had other woman to help them with their babies.

You're absolutely right -- back then they all fed them the same way and all helped each otehr. The only woman around that ever BF was my MIL and she wasn't too helpful... she's almost 80 now and when babies come she thinks her job is just to sit and hold them, not help with ANYTHING. Plus looking back, I think she wanted me not to BF bc that meant she got to feed him, too.
My mom never BF, and my sister had a very hard time (got mastitis, etc) so she really couldn't help much. And at the hospital the only nurse they sent to help just kept switching positions with him for about 30 minutes, but never discussed the latch. Now that I've reading up so much I realize that was the majority of my problem. I thought Will's mouth was too small, but I know now that if he could take a bottle he could take my breast; just no one knew what to do. I also know now that a nurse that works in the nursery is not the same as a lactation consultant, so that little tidbit of info is sure to come in handy, too!
I"m so very nervous and excited about this -- I feel that I actually have a shot at making this work this time.