Expressing advice please

[Pielette]

I've just bought a medela swing pump and I'm looking forward to using it! I'm waiting until bub is 6 weeks old which is next Wednesday.

I don't intend to express and bottle feed a lot, but I would like to be able to go out for the evening every so often. I also usually go to the gym on a Saturday morning and I'd like to get back to it, so I want to get a bit of expressing going.

My question is, when should I pump, and how in relation to Milo's feeds? Should it be at the same time on the breast he isn't using? And if he has a bottle of expressed milk, do I need to pump at the same time? Is there anything else I should know about expressing?

 

[Katteh]

I saw a lactation consultant on Monday and her advice was this... Pump at the first morning feed, on the side baby isn't feeding from, or after baby has fed. Pump for 20 minutes even if milk no longer comes out. That way your body will start to associate a higher need for milk at that particular feed and you should be able to express a decent amount after a few days.

If you're giving bm in a bottle then you need to pump to replace that feed, you could do it earlier or later though, and I'd have thought when your milk supply is well established it wouldn't matter if you missed a feed.

 

[iwantabub]

Depends how good your supply is but I go out to dinner with dh once a fortnight and my
Mum gives lo an expressed bottle and I'm sure as hell not gonna whip a pump out every time. I skip a feed and its totally fine. Plus I'd have to dump anyway coz I have a glass of wine or two.

So no u don't have to pump just to replace one feed once your supply is established unless u have low supply issues.

I express once a day. Some time in the morning and usually I express in between feeds... Lo feeds every 2 hours so an hour after I've fed him ill express. I always found that going from the opposite breast while feeding didnt work for me as I didn't get enough in one shot and I don't have time to pump all day.
I usually get 110 ml per pump and I freeze it unless I know I'm gonna need it.

Make sure U give lo a bottle soon coz they say if u don't within 4-6 weeks they may refuse to take a bottle at all