i need advise on expressing!!!

[jojolou1981]

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

just another thing is it just pure colostrum that come out for 3-4 days, surely baby will be ok on this because i dont think nature intended for our babies not to be fed for 3-4 days so im guessing it must be able to be expressed to??

 

[heather91]

Babies have enough fat stored for the three days before your milk comes in x

 

[Lucy Lu]

Hiya hun! I keep sneaking into 2nd tri. Feels weird being in 1st tri after you've had the 12wk scan, so apologies for nosing in your thread, I just thought I would put my two pence in!...

My SIL preferred to express with both her boys - she pumped for about 6 weeks for her first son. I think she did a bit less with her second, due to having her toddler to look after as well, but she had a really good milk supply and managed to pump a good stash for the freezer.

You could ask the hospital or a local baby cafe about loaning you a pump as well - you could see which one you get on with then, as they're quite expensive. I had a manual Avent one and found it really good. It was a knack getting the hang of it tho, so don't despair if you don't seem to get anything out initially - when I first pumped, I was lucky to get 1oz! - but once I got the hang of it, I could get as much as 7oz per time. Or you might be lucky straight off like my SIL, she always had great supply and got loads from day dot!

Don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but there used to be an exclusive pumping sticky thread in the breastfeeding section - that might have some helpful tips for you. Some of the ladies on that thread did say they found it's a real full time thing exclusively expressing, but I think if you're planning to formula feed as well, this takes a bit of pressure off you - just bear in mind, the less you pump, your milk may start to dry up sooner. They may have all sorts of other tips as well, like how to stimulate the let down. This can be a struggle sometimes, you can sit pumping and nothing comes out, then you start stressing more and it's a vicious circle! I randomly found holding the pump at an odd angle just initially encouraged the milk to let down - others say stroking the end of the breast or having a picture of your baby close also help to start it flowing.

Sorry I am rambling on! - I used to volunteer for the Baby Cafe when our son was born so love chatting away about feeding and expressing!!! Good luck with whatever you decide hun x

 

[Lucy Lu]

well ive been told hospitals sre stopping giving formular so im going to buy the little glass jars with sterile teats like they gave me with my son, but i think if i want to give expressing a good go i may have to breast feed for the 1st few days while in hospital my milk came thru about 3days after i gave birth to my son and there was loads lol it dried up pretty quickly tho so wasnt to bad so im hoping get a good supply again, il buy the glass bottle formular just incase i really dont like baby being on my boob xxx

if you do find you're uncomfortable about Evie being on the boob directly JM, you could hand express colostrum. I had to do it with our little one as he was jaundiced and so drowsy he wouldn't latch on initially in hospital. It's hard going getting anything out, but I think that's as much about the fact that your body doesn't make a huge quantity of colostrum anyway. I expressed it into a syringe and then you can pop it straight in their mouth

 

[jacks mummy]

Hiya hun! I keep sneaking into 2nd tri. Feels weird being in 1st tri after you've had the 12wk scan, so apologies for nosing in your thread, I just thought I would put my two pence in!...

My SIL preferred to express with both her boys - she pumped for about 6 weeks for her first son. I think she did a bit less with her second, due to having her toddler to look after as well, but she had a really good milk supply and managed to pump a good stash for the freezer.

You could ask the hospital or a local baby cafe about loaning you a pump as well - you could see which one you get on with then, as they're quite expensive. I had a manual Avent one and found it really good. It was a knack getting the hang of it tho, so don't despair if you don't seem to get anything out initially - when I first pumped, I was lucky to get 1oz! - but once I got the hang of it, I could get as much as 7oz per time. Or you might be lucky straight off like my SIL, she always had great supply and got loads from day dot!

Don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but there used to be an exclusive pumping sticky thread in the breastfeeding section - that might have some helpful tips for you. Some of the ladies on that thread did say they found it's a real full time thing exclusively expressing, but I think if you're planning to formula feed as well, this takes a bit of pressure off you - just bear in mind, the less you pump, your milk may start to dry up sooner. They may have all sorts of other tips as well, like how to stimulate the let down. This can be a struggle sometimes, you can sit pumping and nothing comes out, then you start stressing more and it's a vicious circle! I randomly found holding the pump at an odd angle just initially encouraged the milk to let down - others say stroking the end of the breast or having a picture of your baby close also help to start it flowing.

Sorry I am rambling on! - I used to volunteer for the Baby Cafe when our son was born so love chatting away about feeding and expressing!!! Good luck with whatever you decide hun x

hi darling!! lovely to hear from u! i love seeing u in 2nd tri u should stay now! loads of ladies come over at 12weeks!!
thanks for the advise i do think tho im lucky and get alot of milk maybe its cos ive got huge boobies lol 34G! i dont no but i no when i used to feed jack with the bottle if i wasnt wearing a bra i would be soaked!! so im hoping i have a good supply. i can immagine expressing is hard work but im hoping to get as much as i can a freeze it, i hope my milk dosnt go dry and i hope i can pull this off lol cos i no its the best for evie!! take it u will be breastfeeding this LO? i have a feeling ur having a girl xx

 

[Lucy Lu]

I've been looking at the bf forum tonight tho and its kind of put me off. T slept through from 7 weeks but I see that lots of peoples 12+ month olds aren't sleeping through still. Not sure how that would work considering DD never gives me a break.

Sorry I am hijacking now JM! . Just wanted to say Heather, don't let the breastfeeding forum put you off. It can sound very negative in there because ladies obviously tend to report more when they're having issues rather than good news - the nature of the forum. On the positive side, some ladies have no struggles at all. We suffered with mastitis and LO did have slow weight gain from time to time, but on the whole he was always pretty well satisfied by my milk and slept well - he was sleeping through (11pm to 6am) from 10 wks old - we had points in time where he'd revert back, but it never lasted more than a few days.

Sorry there, just wanted to balance out the view a little bit and help to reassure you x

 

[jacks mummy]

i dont mind u hijacking the thread hun this was the whole point in the thread to get advise from the ladies that no much more than me and some of the other ladies xx thank u for the advice xxx

 

[Lucy Lu]

hi darling!! lovely to hear from u! i love seeing u in 2nd tri u should stay now! loads of ladies come over at 12weeks!!
thanks for the advise i do think tho im lucky and get alot of milk maybe its cos ive got huge boobies lol 34G! i dont no but i no when i used to feed jack with the bottle if i wasnt wearing a bra i would be soaked!! so im hoping i have a good supply. i can immagine expressing is hard work but im hoping to get as much as i can a freeze it, i hope my milk dosnt go dry and i hope i can pull this off lol cos i no its the best for evie!! take it u will be breastfeeding this LO? i have a feeling ur having a girl xx

That sounds like a really good sign you'll have lots. That's just what my SIL was like. She is one of these ladies who used to squirt milk in the shower involuntarily! . I never had that, so was v jealous of her remarkable supply lol! It can make you really full and uncomfortable but I think she pumped about a month's stash in 2wks so she could start letting her boobs dry up, but still knowing she had the frozen supply to fall back on. I think if you go into it relaxed like you are, preparing for either way, that will make it all the easier as you're not putting pressure on yourself to do it for a certain length of time.

Yep am planning to breastfeed this time - hoping I will be more relaxed this time having had the past experience but we'll see. Are you feeling nervous pysching yourself up for the whole 'newborn' thing again? - don't get me wrong, I'm so excited, but also feeling a little nervous about tackling sleepless nights again, breastfeeding, weaning etc etc!!! All such scary but exciting stuff!

Lol I am leaning towards girl too. Alongside the M/S, I also have nice hair skin this time (was covered in acne and greasy hair with little boy!) Who knows tho hey?! Can't wait to find out!

 

[jacks mummy]

if im honest im crapping myself about having a newborn again! lol im so so excited to have my baby girl and sometimes im just wishing the time away until shes here. but now its becoming very real and im starting to realise im going to have a newborn and a 4year old lol its just the sleepless nights im worrid about really now jack lets me sleep properly and he dosnt really wake me up until after 7am and if he does then i just put him back to bed. im also worrid about being snappy and tired with jack if u no what i mean and not having as much time with him. but im sure we will all get into a good routine quickly. and il be fine evie will sleep thru eventually, i cant wait to meet her and see what she looks like!! xx

 

[heather91]

I've been looking at the bf forum tonight tho and its kind of put me off. T slept through from 7 weeks but I see that lots of peoples 12+ month olds aren't sleeping through still. Not sure how that would work considering DD never gives me a break.

Sorry I am hijacking now JM! . Just wanted to say Heather, don't let the breastfeeding forum put you off. It can sound very negative in there because ladies obviously tend to report more when they're having issues rather than good news - the nature of the forum. On the positive side, some ladies have no struggles at all. We suffered with mastitis and LO did have slow weight gain from time to time, but on the whole he was always pretty well satisfied by my milk and slept well - he was sleeping through (11pm to 6am) from 10 wks old - we had points in time where he'd revert back, but it never lasted more than a few days.

Sorry there, just wanted to balance out the view a little bit and help to reassure you x

Oh good, you've given me hope! Bf would certainly be a lot easier than ff as long as baby takes to it. Cross your fingers it will satisfy him for me! Im always on the look out for positivestories

 

[maggieme]

My son was a terrible eater and actually still is and breastfeeding did not work so I exclusively pumped until my milk supply dried up when he was 8 months old. my daughter was a good eater, but I stopped breastfeeding her when she was 4 months old and got some choppers and returned to exclusively pumping until my milk supplied dried up when she was 10 months old. it can be very time consuming and a lot of work. I had a medela double electric Breastpump that I used both times. I had the 4 oz size dr browns bottles and they fit with my pump so I could pump directly into those bottles. The larger bottles would attach to the pump, but it was ackward pumping with them since they were so tall. I also had avent bottles and found a conversion kit that allowed me to attach those bottles directly to my pump as well. It was nice pumping directly in the bottles the baby uses because their is less stuff that needs to be washed. in addition to pumping frequently I would drink mothers milk tea(gross stuff), take fenugreek tablets, and eat oatmeal everyday to try to increase my milk supply. I found that exclusively expressing made it harder to maintain a good milk supply, but their is stuff you can do about it if you do a little research. good luck!

 

[ashley2pink]

I haven't read through this whole thing, but its true your milk wont come in until 2-3 days after baby is born. But you still have to pump during this time or your milk wont come in, or it will come in just a little. I pumped with my 1st baby cuz she had troubles latching(darn nurses gave her a bottle and she never went back!), and I was able to get some colostrum with the pump before my milk came in. Yes, it was only about 1-2 tsp after a half hour of pumping on a hospital grade electric pump, but the nurses told me it was great and thats all baby needs per feeding until my milk came in. I pumped about every 2-3 hours day and night at first. You will need to pump at least 7 times a day at least the first several weeks so your breasts build a good supply. I hated pumping though and gave up after a few months. I had wanted to BF but the latching was so hard, and I wasn't educated, nor did I get help, and I gave up too easy and went the pumped milk route which I really couldnt get myself to like.
When I was pregnant with #2 I vowed to try my hardest and luckily she BF great and I nursed her until she was almost 2. I plan to do the same with this baby as well.
You can give formula and pump-but maybe 1 bottle of formula a day to start so you can build up a good milk supply with pumping which usually takes about 4-6 weeks. If you give too much formula and dont pump enough your milk wont be as much and you may find it hard to get much after a while. Your breasts are made to produce supply and demand.
I know you dont want to actually BF...but maybe you should consider just trying while in the hospital, just to see if you actually like it? I know some women who haven't wanted to, maybe they thought it would be weird or just annoying etc, but just gave it a try and actually liked it to thier surprise. No harm in just trying it and if you decide you still would rather pump then at least you tried. But of course its up to you whether you even want to give it a try! Plus, BF is way easier than pumping!!

 

[Lucy Lu]

I've been looking at the bf forum tonight tho and its kind of put me off. T slept through from 7 weeks but I see that lots of peoples 12+ month olds aren't sleeping through still. Not sure how that would work considering DD never gives me a break.

Sorry I am hijacking now JM! . Just wanted to say Heather, don't let the breastfeeding forum put you off. It can sound very negative in there because ladies obviously tend to report more when they're having issues rather than good news - the nature of the forum. On the positive side, some ladies have no struggles at all. We suffered with mastitis and LO did have slow weight gain from time to time, but on the whole he was always pretty well satisfied by my milk and slept well - he was sleeping through (11pm to 6am) from 10 wks old - we had points in time where he'd revert back, but it never lasted more than a few days.

Sorry there, just wanted to balance out the view a little bit and help to reassure you x

Oh good, you've given me hope! Bf would certainly be a lot easier than ff as long as baby takes to it. Cross your fingers it will satisfy him for me! Im always on the look out for positivestories

Will do . It is challenging at times of course, but when it's going smoothly, I personally found it such a lovely experience... and certainly on those middle of the night feeds, knowing you can just roll your top up and the milk is just there instantaneously, really helped to ease the blow of getting up and feeling totally zombified! . Good luck with whatever you decide - you're a bit further along than me so will have to give me tips on how to juggle two LOs! x