expressing milk q? help!

[jades91]

Hi
My baby is 4 days old today and I'm breastfeeding but I'm worried she doesn't get enough milk, today I'm expressing as my boobs r sore, how much do I need to express for one feed? And how long does it take to express this amount? Please help I'm clueless xx
Oh and I'm using a tomee tippee hand pump xx

 

[Tattoo]

At four days old your baby doesn't need a great deal of milk at one feed. Is your milk in? If not you'll struggle to express the colostrum.
What makes you think baby isn't getting enough?

 

[kissesandhugs]

Wondering the same ^^ Is your baby producing wet/dirty diapers?

 

[chineyjn]

At four days old my boy was starving and cranky, I had the worst baby blues and my nipples were a mess. I couldn't express anything other than a drop or two of colostrum until day six or seven, and even then it was only a few mls after 15 minutes of pumping. I just battled through and worked on building up my supply, but my poor baba lost a tonne of weight and is only now starting to catch up.

Generally, your baby can extract more milk from you than a pump can. So if you can get anything out to give to your LO then great, but also keep latching her on frequently as it will help build your supply.

 

[Tattoo]

As long as baby is turning out at least 6 wet nappies a day, plus at least one poo then it's very unlikely she's not getting enough. She'll probably have lost a bit of weight from birth, but that doesn't mean she's not eating enough; almost all babies drop weight initially.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking she isn't getting enough milk from you just because she seems to be feeding constantly! This is a very important, natural part of establishing breastfeeding. Your baby's stomach is so, so tiny right now. It fills up and empties very quickly, hence the need for her to feed often. She also needs to suckle a lot to help build up your supply.

 

[jades91]

Thanks everyone fro replying. She has had only one small dirty nappy a day these past few days and not many wet ones. She doesn't seem to want much of a feed during the day and when she does she doesn't stay on long. I have just expressed 1ounce into a bottle and gave her that, it just doesn't seem enough and it took me nearly half an hour to get just one ounce x

 

[kissesandhugs]

What I suggest, feed as often and as long as possible right now if you're wanting to get your supply up. It could be bc baby is sleepy right now. Do everything to wake her up to feed at LEAST every 2 hours during the day and every 3-4 during the night. Undress her, tickle her feet, change her diaper to wake her up. Sponge bath. I wouldn't suggest pumping as baby needs to suckle to increase your supply, it's more efficient than a pump!