Expressing only anyone?

[sarah_george]

Hi ladies I am after some advice, as D-day is getting even closer my brain has started to wonder about how to feed my baby, i tried to breastfeed my daughter but i just couldnt bare it! Think i have the most sensitive nipples in the world ever and i just couldnt do it

Anyway the reason for my post is i wonder if anybody has had a similar experience and got round the problem by feeding expressed milk only? theres a number of reasons why i would like to use breast milk but I cant bare the thought of doing it directly, I cant see a logical reason why it should be a problem but i havent spoken to anybody else who has tried it. also plan B would be maybe to use nipple shields if anybody has experience on using these and whether they numb things a little (or maybe a lot!)

Any advice would be much appreciated as i dont want to buy loads of extra kit unnecessarily and would be nice to be more informed, thankyou xxx

 

[Serene123]

nipple sheilds would be better than pumping, no one can get milk out like baby can x

 

[Hevz]

I would recommend looking on this website. They have fab, accurate information and a helpline too

https://www.laleche.org.uk/pages/about/helpline.htm

 

[EmziMoo]

I was wondering this too.

We are ttc at the moment & though I would like to bf I just can't face it. I don't know what it is but I know I couldn't do it.

 

[Bec L]

I know a girl who was doing this and it was ok for a while but as expressing doesn't produce as much milk as when your baby feeds, your supply will eventualy dry up a bit. She has gradually had to give more and more formula to her baby as her own milk has pretty much gone. I agree that nipple shields are the best way forward. Do you have any breastfeeding clinic/classes you can attend? The girls I know who have done this have found them to be great.

 

[Sovereign]

I'm just expressing at the moment as my LO can't latch on and had no problems so far but i've got an expensive breast pump (medla swing) which is great! But baby is only 9 days old so don't know if any problems will crop up in the future for me. x

 

[alice&bump]

i mainly expressed for a while cos i couldnt bear the pain on my nipples, but i got used to it eventually and my nipples toughened up! but i did find it easier just to plonk her on my boob rather than get a bottle ready

 

[sarah_george]

I know a girl who was doing this and it was ok for a while but as expressing doesn't produce as much milk as when your baby feeds, your supply will eventualy dry up a bit. She has gradually had to give more and more formula to her baby as her own milk has pretty much gone. I agree that nipple shields are the best way forward. Do you have any breastfeeding clinic/classes you can attend? The girls I know who have done this have found them to be great. There may be a reason for the soreness ie maybe an infection or something?

Thanks for the reply, There are classes i could attend, not sure if they would entirely understand my problem with feeding directly or whether they will think i'm strange! surely I cant be the only person who feels this way, i dont feel comfortable bringing it up with my midwife either in case she thinks its odd, guess it would be nice to here of others that are doing it first to make it seem more acceptable xxx

 

[Ragirl]

I have a friend who exclusively expresses and feeds, has an abundant supply, and no problems doing it long term. It's certainly doable but does take committment. She pumps for 15 min every 2 hours. As for if it's better for sensitivity, I don't know. My friend commented on how much it hurt at first and she slowly had to increase the power on the pump. I think the feeling of the pump is just very different from the feeling of nursing- so it might be a better fit for you. I would certainly say it's worth a try. There was a thread a while back "Pumping..destined to fail" that is worth reading. It highlights some of the downfalls to exclusively expressing- but rather than let it discourage you, I think it's good info to know so you can do things to combat them. Good luck.

 

[curlylocks]

I'm so glad I found this post! I have been worrying about this for weeks! I really don't want to breastfeed for many reasons, however understand the benefits of breast milk but wasn't sure if only expressing was possible?

I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels like this as it seems like every where I look for information on this just pushes breastfeeding!

 

[bex]

I exclusively expressed for 4 wks, not because i chose to, i wanted to breastfeed, but because my daughter has to be tube fed.
It is possible to express, but i'm not going to lie to you, it is very, very hard work and it needs alot of commitment.
I was using a double electric pump that was kindly loaned to me by my hospital. You need to express at least 8 times in 24 hours, so not only do you need to get up in the night to feed your baby, you also need to get up to express. You also have to sterilise the collection sets from the pump and bottles, it isn't easy.
I don't want to put you off, as any breast milk, not matter how its given, is better than no breast milk. I just wanted you to know it is so demanding and i can honestly say i had no idea how hard it would be.
I had hoards of visitors and you would have to be very brave to sit with them hooked up to the pump, with your nipples being sucked in and out for all to see!! At least you can breastfeed discreatly!!
I would do it all again to give my daughter the best start, (don't want to offend anyone) but if i could have breastfed then i would have done, expressing is so much harder than it sounds.
If you do have problems breastfeeding and start expressing then feel free to ask me any questions, will help you as much as i can.

 

[Bec L]

I exclusively expressed for 4 wks, not because i chose to, i wanted to breastfeed, but because my daughter has to be tube fed.
It is possible to express, but i'm not going to lie to you, it is very, very hard work and it needs alot of commitment.

I agree. I pumped for 2 weeks while Poppy was in Special Care although I was also able to feed her directly a couple of times a day. Expressing AND feeding in the night will be knackering!

Whatever your reasons are for not wanting to b/feed directly, I am sure your midwife or the b/f clinic staff would be sympathetic. Or as Bex says, you can always ask for help on here - I am happy for you to PM me

 

[winterbabe]

I totally agree with the last 2 posts. Much much harder than it seems to be. I couldnt get a latch with my LO for the first few weeks and used a combination of nipple shields and a expressed breast milk. The toughest thing is having to feed baby then expressing, washing the bottle and the expessing stuff, then sterilising waiting for the next time you need to feed!! eek, wasnt fun. but I still express now for when going out and when i need a break. Bottom line is, is that it IS feasible. good luck xxx

 

[Lucy&Pard]

I dont know if totally expressing before breast feeding has been established will really work (IN MY OPINION!). After a few weeks your nipples are like leather anyway!