i need advise on expressing!!!

[jacks mummy]

before i start i just want to say i dont want any replys that are going to be hurtfull towards me or any other ladies that formular feed please..
anyway when i had my son i was 19 and i didnt no anybody that breastfed so to me it was normal to formular feed and its a good job i decided on that really as i was very ill after having him so couldnt of breastfed anyway. ok so when i got pregnant this time breatfeeding wasnt really on the cards for me as i got on so well with formular feeding i just assumed thats what i wanted to do again. but ive been thinking alot about it over the past few weeks and if im being really really honest i dont want to feed from my breast (that is just a personal opinion here) plus OH loves feeding i think it helped him bond too. but i would like to try expressing, but i also would like to formular feed if you get what i mean i no loads of people on here say its one or the other but i dont see why i cant feed both milks for a while im hoping if i have plenty of milk that i could just express loads and just feed her on that but i dont want to stress and constantly have the thing attatched to my boob if my milk isnt enough for her. anyway i no this is abit all over the place but i would LOVE any advice on the matter and if anyone used both breastmilk and formular how did that work out for u? im just a very confused pregnant lady at the moment lol thanks for reading!! xx xx

 

[beckyboo1980]

Didn't want to read and run but just wanted to saythat you shouldn't feel pressure from ANYONE. We all know that breast milk is best, but if its not for you thennoone should pressure you into it if you are sure you've had time to think your decision through. I breastfed my first two babies and am now expecting twins. I would have loved to have breastfed them but had an elective partial mastectomy last year and breast feeding doesn't look like it will be possible this time. I am already getting a hard time from people who i have told i will be bottle feeding this time but haven't wanted to tell about my mastectomy. Take time to consider your options and then feel at peace with your decision knowing you have done what is right for the three of you.
Beckyboo

 

[jacks mummy]

thank u so much for ur reply hun!! its just what i needed to hear! i just feel so confused i hear so much that breastfed babies are needy and always hungry ect ect and i just dnt no what to think x

 

[keeks1987]

I know what you mean bout the expressing, I figured I'd express what I could then ff if needed to fill the gaps

 

[Tiredgirl]

I wanted to express with LO but because I didn't do it constantly through the day AND night I dried up very quickly. I won't lie... I found it hard work but was pleased that LO had some of my milk for a couple of weeks. (LO wouldn't latch on to boob and I wasn't too well).

Hope you find the answer your looking for hun. I am going to be more relaxed about it this time around and plan to express and formula feed.

Also I would highly recommend an electric pump rather than manual xx

 

[jacks mummy]

Yea I was just wondering about the pumps why is electric better than manual? Xx

 

[lau86]

To be honest I have very little experience on this, it's my first pregnancy. I am plannig on breastfeeding but expressing for when were out etc (not keen to bf in public!!) the only bit of advice I have been given is electric pump, it's apparently more powerful and you'll get a better amount. I've gone for modela swing, I've heard its great. Good luck x

 

[aley28]

The electric pumps are easier on you to use, for one... manual pumping makes your hand sore after not very long!

Electric pumps also help to establish a milk supply. The manual ones don't do it as well, so you end up with a low supply, and bottle feeding breast milk becomes almost impossible.

I believe the 'hospital grade' breast pumps are also more efficient than just your regular cheapy pump, so it only takes like 10 minutes to pump, whereas the other ones can take a long time. Most hospital grade ones have two pumps, so you can do both breasts at the same time, which makes it go twice as fast. In the US, (I was told) you can get a prescription for a hospital grade pump so that you don't have to buy the expensive bits, and then you just purchase certain pieces that they don't want more than one person to use.

I am planning to breastfeed exclusively... but if it doesn't work out, I want to have a really good breast pump ready so that I can still feed Baby my milk rather than formula. Its just so much cheaper, and we could really do well to save some cash. Also so much better for baby, but its really the cost part that is behind my decision.

 

[Ashley8806]

With my daughter, I expressed also. In the beginning, my breast milk was enough for her, I even had a bunch in the freezer for later.... after a while, no matter how much I pumped or how often, I did not have enough and eventually dried up. So I started supplementing with formula. In my thoughts, I was thinking it would be better for her to have some breast milk during the day mixed with formula, rather than just feeding her all the breast milk I had left and switching to all formula. So I was able to give her like 2 bottles a day of breast milk and the rest formula. She got along really well, and it was easy. Some people try to argue that it's too complicated to use both to keep track, but trust me you get in a routine and there's nothing challenging about it at all! Plus, it gave other people an opportunity to feed her as well. Good luck hun!

 

[jacks mummy]

Thank u ladies I've made my mind up 100% now I'm going to express as much as I can for her and fill in the gaps with formular (if I have to) and I will buy a good quality electric breast pump, I'm going to be using dr brown bottles and they dnt make pumps so if I buy another brand should I just express into the bottle that is provided then pour it into the other bottles? Xx

 

[aley28]

Its fine to just pour it into other bottles. Though I believe they don't recommend pouring freshly pumped breastmilk in with milk that has been sitting in the fridge... you want them to be the same temperature when you pour them together.

If you do the pouring thing... its best to walk to a table or somewhere stable to do it. Smaller chance of spilling! Breast milk smells just like cows milk if it spoils, so if you accidentally dump some on your pillow and don't realize it, it will start to stink. Found that out the hard way!

 

[Ashley8806]

Yep you express into the bottles with the pump then transfer it, or store it if you have extra. I would also recommend that even the times you formula feed, you still pump, so you keep your supply up, and just freeze it or store it in the fridge in the storage bottles

 

[sparkle_gems]

Thank u ladies I've made my mind up 100% now I'm going to express as much as I can for her and fill in the gaps with formular (if I have to) and I will buy a good quality electric breast pump, I'm going to be using dr brown bottles and they dnt make pumps so if I buy another brand should I just express into the bottle that is provided then pour it into the other bottles? Xx

hey hun, i exclusivly expressed for 5 weeks, i managed to get a really good supply up, i was able to express from each boob at the same time with 2 pumps! it only took 20 mins to express 2 full bottles of milk (4oz) i bought these little pouches from tesco that are sterile and used to store breast milk and i poured my milk into these pouches with the date written on them and i put them in fridge.

i just made sure i used the oldest 1st, i would just pour one pouch into a bottle and warm the bottle in the bottle warmer

good luck with the expressing hun xx

 

[jacks mummy]

also another question lol when i give birth can i take my pump to hospital? will i be able to pump as soon as i have baby or will i have to give formular until it comes thru? xx

 

[Tiredgirl]

They should have a pump there for you to use hun x

 

[sparkle_gems]

also another question lol when i give birth can i take my pump to hospital? will i be able to pump as soon as i have baby or will i have to give formular until it comes thru? xx

You wont be able to pump any milk out when you are in hospital as your milk doesnt come in until about 3 or 4 days after giving birth, colostrum is too thick and doesnt come out enough to be pumped

 

[jacks mummy]

oh really gosh i didnt realise lol im so new to this haha do they have sterile bottles? x

 

[jacks mummy]

also another question lol when i give birth can i take my pump to hospital? will i be able to pump as soon as i have baby or will i have to give formular until it comes thru? xx

You wont be able to pump any milk out when you are in hospital as your milk doesnt come in until about 3 or 4 days after giving birth, colostrum is too thick and doesnt come out enough to be pumped

oh well i may try feed with my boob then is that easier? x

 

[discoclare]

If your not bothered about giving formula then I think there's no problem here. You just express and feed the expressed milk, use formula when you don't have enough and when / if your milk starts to dry up switch completely to formula.

The reason people say it's one or the other is that once you start giving formula, and not pumping at that time, your body knows not to produce as much so giving the formula stops your body making enough milk. This turns into a vicious cycle which often leads to your milk drying up. The other thing with exclusively expressing is that pumps just aren't as good at getting milk out as a baby is (and some people simply can't pump), so some ladies have difficulty keeping up their milk from pumping alone (but some do manage). As you don't mind giving formula it's not an issue, but just to explain why people say these things. BTW also colostrum is really hard to get out with a pump, many people find they go on the pump, get nothing for the first couple of days and panic that they aren't producing anything. Just because nothing comes out of the pump doesn't mean it isn't there.

Second what everyone else said about the electric pump. I used to do A LOT of pumping and would have seriously got RSI if I had to rely on manual only! Plus I could never get much out with a manual pump (but I'm one of those people who aren't brilliant at pumping anyway).

Good luck with it all, hope it works out OK. Personally, I hate expressing and was so happy to pack my pump away in the cupboard, but don't let that put you off! If you have a look in the breastfeeding section on here you might find some threads about increasing milk supply, pumping, best pumps etc that might be useful for you to have a browse over.

 

[sparkle_gems]

yes they should have sterile bottles for you to use you just need to take your own formula best taking the cartons if you choose not to bf any colostrum xx