bf help...., kind of long

To give a backdrop - when I had Will I really had not looked into to Bf, just thought he'd take to it and we'd be done. Well, that didn't quite happen. He had a terrible time trying to latch on, and after trying many different positions I finally just resorted to pumping and giving him that in a bottle, which he took to just great.
Even then I had a hard time making enough, though. I eventually had to wean him to formula completely by about 2 1/2 months.
With this one I REALLY want to BF, if possible. We went through so many formulas with Will trying to find one that didn't constipate him, only to end up with a soy formula and still had to add syrup every so often to help him go (poor baby!!).
My right breast seemed to make just fine, my left breast is a bit smaller (not sure if that has anything to do with it) and never made much.
Is there anything I can do while I'm pregnant, either now or later in pregnancy, that will help with my supply?
Will had a small mouth, and I was unexperienced so between the two we just gave up a little quickly I think. I think I am wanting it enough now that we'd have a better chance, though I guess that will depend a lot on the baby, too.
But is there any advice on helping the latching-on aspect? The nurses at the hospital tried to help, but it just didn't seem to help regardless of the position we all tried.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated, and thank you if you made it this far!

The best thing to do is to be educated about breastfeeding. Read as much as you can on it; you can never know too much!

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/start/index.html

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/start/prepare/bf-preparation.html

Another thing is to find support NOW, before you need it. Look for a Le Leche League or other breastfeeding support group & start going to meetings. Start asking questions so you can get the confidence you need when baby is finally here. Get to know the group leaders and get their phone numbers to keep handy if you do need help.

HTH!!

steph, i went out and got a book that i liked, i cant remember the name, but i am sure you can find one you like and bought it and kept it at my side all the time. it just made me feel better to have one there to refer to when something turned up.
also like you i didnt know anything with caleb, so it didnt last..with jake it was hard. but with my dh's help we took it one feeding at a time. i wanted to stop so many times, and he kept saying just do one more and if its not going well then stop and it did go well, and then before i knew it he was 13 months old.

i also think that the lactation consultants in the hosp helped me. i had to really ask for them and ask again, because they didnt come when i asked a nurse for one, but i kept at it, and when they did, it helped. i also called them several times when i was home.

it took jake 3 months to get the idea of it and really get it right and we were both comfortable.
i think half the battle is just saying you are going to do it and stick to it...and deal with one thing at a time as it comes up.

and dont blame yourself if sometimes it doesnt work out, just go one feeding at a time.
also someone told me later, and i think it would have helped had i known in the begining, that you dont really need to pump. it goes smoother if you just feed on demand..unless you really have to leave the baby with someone else to feed,
but if you can just let the baby latch on, and do it when ever, whether they are eating or not, it seemed to help make more milk. and i always had one side that made more then the other.
i am by no means an expert, but i am always here if you need some support..and mollie is the one i would turn too!

Thanks so I have 2 books I'm planning on getting. One is The Nursing Mother's Companion, the other is Breastfeeding: How to Breastfeed your baby.

Any other books you recommend?
I didn't take the bf course at the hospital with Will (bc I thought, hey, it's natural, it'll just happen), but I do plan on doing it with this one. Hopefully I'll get hooked up with a good LC through that.

http://www.kellymom.com/store/books/bf/generalref.html

There's a few more recommended through kellymom.com in that link.

I BF both my boys successfully, but much longer with Wesley (my second). And I think it was because I contacted a LC, both in the hospital and after. There was one in my ped's office that I saw a few times and called when I had questions. I also picked up this book with my second PG and loved it. My Webpage. I read it before Wesley came, and looked things up after. I also think what Stacy said was great advice. I fed on demand with Wesley and that helped. Trust your body, you will make enough. I think it's wise to talk to a LC instead of the nurses. JMHO. I had so much conflicting advice from nurses, so the second time around, I ignored them and went with my gut. Which was NOT to pump and to feed on demand. With Wil, I was so confused and stuck to a strict schedule. I think the stress alone, on both of us, was why we didn't nurse for as long as I hoped. I kept "thinking" something was wrong, so without confidence, you're going to throw in the towel.

Yes, if it doesn't work out, don't beat yourself up, but you can do it!! BTW, size of the breast has NOTHING to do with supply. I'm an A, so if that tells you anything. I had no problems at all!

I totally agree with Mollie. I would also recommend hooking up with a lactation consultant NOW so you can establish a relationship with her, talk about the issues, etc so she can be there when your baby is born - in the hospital, helping you get through it.

Honestly I had a rough time with both my girls for different reasons. The first time I was gifted that my hospital had a wonderful LC there to help me. When it came to my second I went right back to her and got help.

I don't care how much you educate yourself on BF - and don't get me wrong you should be armed with knowledge in order to think of success, but I think having an actual support person is 100% the best thing you can do to guaranty success.

Oh and I believe there are lots of people that have one breast produce more than the other. I do. It doesn't mean it can't be used or cause supply problems, though. Supply is based on demand. IF your supply is low it's because of latch, more than likely. The latch is off or not right causing the motion of sucking to not stimulate the breast properly to send a message to increase demand.