The ins and outs of exclusively expressing

[Emerald87]

And he'll be ok, I'm almost sure.

A few weeks ago my oh-so-darling hubby accidently (because he didn't listen to me!!) gave our DD some milk which was at room temp, in a bottle that had ALREADY BEEN DRUNK FROM about 12 hours prior, and expressed a few hours before that. I was in a mess and panicking sooooo badly. LO was fine HAHAHA!

 

[Emerald87]

As for the overheating the cooling thing - I can't see that doing harm. The milk bank I donate to actually pasteurizes via heating then cooling.

 

[pinksmarties]

Thanks so much Emerald, I'll keep an eye on him. I'll see what the next batch of frozen milk is like and maybe as you suggested add some fresh refrigerated milk.

 

[Twinkie210]

I remember reading something about some milk that has been frozen having too much of some enzyme... lipase??? or something like that. Nutritionally the milk is fine, it is just this enzyme starts breaking down the fat and it gives the milk a strange taste. Some babies will drink it some won't, but it will not hurt them.

 

[san fran shan]

Hello ladies. I have ended up pretty much exclusively pumping these days. I've always had to top off with formula since I make only about 1/2 of what the babies need. When I am home alone with the twins during the day, its too hard and time consuming to breast feed then top two off with a bottle. One baby has a spit up problem and is also now being really picky about bottles. The end result is I pump and then mix the breast milk with formula in each bottle. They are super lazy on the boob and the pump has always been way more efficient at getting all the milk out. When I would breast feed, I could still pump 15 to 20 ml out of each. So a feeding would be 20-25 minutes tandem feeding, then 15 minutes each for a bottle, then 15 minutes pumping. It was just too much, plus all the uncertainty of how much to top off with since I never knew how much breast milk they got.

I read the original post about pumping marathons to increase supply. I have been pumping til they are empty, then turn off the pump and wait 10 minutes, then pump again. I always get a little more. I do this at at least 4 pumping sessions a day and always at the 3am pump. I never go more than 5 hours and during the day pump every 3-4. I used to take a ton of fenugreek but didn't notice a difference. I started eating steel cut oats every morning and felt like that did help. I have calculated that I pump 30-32 ounces a day, but right now need twice that and the need for milk is only increasing.

Any tips on how to further increase my supply with pumping? I always run the pump on the highest setting. I have a Medela pump in style double electric pump. I run it even after they are empty and while its still pumping I massage and squeeze everything out. Maybe I have maxed out on what I can produce? I'm hoping once the babies are bigger they will be better at emptying my boobs and stimulating more production but also the longer they are bottle fed the lazier they will get.

Anyways, any tips would be great!

 

[Emerald87]

Hello ladies. I have ended up pretty much exclusively pumping these days. I've always had to top off with formula since I make only about 1/2 of what the babies need. When I am home alone with the twins during the day, its too hard and time consuming to breast feed then top two off with a bottle. One baby has a spit up problem and is also now being really picky about bottles. The end result is I pump and then mix the breast milk with formula in each bottle. They are super lazy on the boob and the pump has always been way more efficient at getting all the milk out. When I would breast feed, I could still pump 15 to 20 ml out of each. So a feeding would be 20-25 minutes tandem feeding, then 15 minutes each for a bottle, then 15 minutes pumping. It was just too much, plus all the uncertainty of how much to top off with since I never knew how much breast milk they got.

I read the original post about pumping marathons to increase supply. I have been pumping til they are empty, then turn off the pump and wait 10 minutes, then pump again. I always get a little more. I do this at at least 4 pumping sessions a day and always at the 3am pump. I never go more than 5 hours and during the day pump every 3-4. I used to take a ton of fenugreek but didn't notice a difference. I started eating steel cut oats every morning and felt like that did help. I have calculated that I pump 30-32 ounces a day, but right now need twice that and the need for milk is only increasing.

Any tips on how to further increase my supply with pumping? I always run the pump on the highest setting. I have a Medela pump in style double electric pump. I run it even after they are empty and while its still pumping I massage and squeeze everything out. Maybe I have maxed out on what I can produce? I'm hoping once the babies are bigger they will be better at emptying my boobs and stimulating more production but also the longer they are bottle fed the lazier they will get.

Anyways, any tips would be great!

Didn't want to R&R and will post more tomorrow. But have you seen a doc about some domperidone?

 

[Twinkie210]

When I first started pumping I tried hard to pump every 3 hrs day and night, then I shifted to every 3hrs during the day and 4-6hrs at night. I think I have pretty much maxed out at about 45oz per day, but there are many women on here that produce way more than that! My son eats about 35oz a day, but always varies his feedings, so I pretty much offer him 5 8oz bottes a day. I wish I had some magic way to increase supply, but the only thing I have done is stick to my pumping schedule and make sure I eat regularly and drink plenty of water. I have great respect for Mommies of multiples who BF/pump! It is so hard to do it with one, I can't imagine having two!

 

[san fran shan]

I got a prescription for metoclopramide which is generic for reglan. I brought it home then read about it and decided not to take it. Not sure if its the same as domperidone. The one I got said it could cause severe depression and that it did pass through breast milk. I want to feed them breast milk because it is the healthiest best food for them and it seemed counterproductive to take a pill that could make me depressed and affect them in any way.

I will google domperidone and check it out.

 

[Emerald87]

They're both to do with dopamine but they're not same. Dom is a much safer option for mum and bub

 

[Snow Owl]

Well ladies I just wanted to say that I have spent the last 2 days pumping and feeding and not latching on and I feel so much better!

I'm only using a manual pump (my electric broke and I'm waiting for the children's centre to get more in) but can get enough in a day for him to eat (he has formula at night so I can catch up).

But I think we're getting somewhere and my nipples don't feel like their going to fall off. Yay!

 

[Twinkie210]

Congrats on the progress! I sometimes wonder if I worked a little harder if DS would have done both, but he is so happy with his bottles I don't feel too guilty about it anymore

 

[ShelbyLC]

Since my girls came home from the NICU, I've been trying to get them to feed at the breast, but they've got a huge case of nipple confusion. I decided a few days ago to quit trying and just be happy with expressing. I don't mind it at all now and it's just a part of my daily routine. I don't even think about it. And while bottles of course come with the washing, the heating, the storing, etc., it seems worth it to me to not have the stress of trying to get my babies to do what they don't want to do.

It's also nice to be able to leave them with OH while I take a nap.

 

[Twinkie210]

Well ladies, I may have made a major Boo Boo! I went out with my family Friday night and went 7 hrs between pumps. I have done this before overnight and it was fine, but I guess my body didn't react well doing this during the day and now my supply had taken a major dive. I was able to pump between45-48 oz a day, but now I am down to between 35 and 40 oz a day. I offer little guy 5 8oz bottles a day, so you can see my dillema!

Any advice? Do you think missing one pump did it? Or could it be something else and just a coincidence?

 

[Tweak0605]

Can you squeeze another pump in sometime during the day? When my supply decreased a little bit a few weeks ago, I started pumping every 2 hours during the day and coming up with 7 pumps a day instead of 6. I saw a slight increase, but now it's back down since a couple of bad pumping days.

Hope it increases for you!!

 

[Twinkie210]

That is what I am trying to do! I am starting to see progress today, but I can tell it is going to be slow! I also ordered fenugreek. It should arrive Thursday. I am hoping the combination of the two will boost my supply at least a little.

 

[Tweak0605]

Even if I take half a dose of fenugreek, like 6-8 pills, I see an increase the next day.

I also made some baked oatmeal with steel cut oats, and some lactation muffins. Both are REALLY good and are good for you too!!

Lactation Muffins

https://fullbellysisters.blogspot.com/2011/02/pump-up-your-milk-pumpkin-chocolate.html

Oatmeal

https://www.garnishwithlemon.com/2013/01/08/baked-steel-cut-oatmeal-with-apples-and-cinnamon/

Just started the oatmeal today, so we'll see the next couple days if it helps!

 

[LadyBug183]

Well ladies I just wanted to say that I have spent the last 2 days pumping and feeding and not latching on and I feel so much better!

I'm only using a manual pump (my electric broke and I'm waiting for the children's centre to get more in) but can get enough in a day for him to eat (he has formula at night so I can catch up).

But I think we're getting somewhere and my nipples don't feel like their going to fall off. Yay!

Glad to hear that Snow xx

 

[Twinkie210]

A little more progress today- I am about 5oz off of what I averaged My fenugreek should be here today too

 

[Monalissa]

Hi everyone! My LO decided a week after I returned to work that she no longer wants to nurse in the mornings. She always latches on but then midway through a feed refuses to continue. She will still nurse at night or to sleep for naps - so I'm hoping this is temporary. For now I'll be pumping a lot more. I was hoping for feedback on a couple of things and this seemed like the best place to ask.

1. What do you do if you have somewhere to be? Do you bring the pump with you? I have a bridal shower and wedding coming up that I am a bridesmaid in. I'm also thinking of Easter and other times when there could be long stretches without draining my breasts, particularly if LO won't nurse during those times.

2. I've been lugging the Medela Symphony on the NYC subway. Not fun! I'll be getting a Medela PIS through my insurance soon and will likely not renew my Symphony rental. Has anyone who made a similar switch found that you still maintained supply OK?

Thank you!

 

[Twinkie210]

Hi everyone! My LO decided a week after I returned to work that she no longer wants to nurse in the mornings. She always latches on but then midway through a feed refuses to continue. She will still nurse at night or to sleep for naps - so I'm hoping this is temporary. For now I'll be pumping a lot more. I was hoping for feedback on a couple of things and this seemed like the best place to ask.

1. What do you do if you have somewhere to be? Do you bring the pump with you? I have a bridal shower and wedding coming up that I am a bridesmaid in. I'm also thinking of Easter and other times when there could be long stretches without draining my breasts, particularly if LO won't nurse during those times.

2. I've been lugging the Medela Symphony on the NYC subway. Not fun! I'll be getting a Medela PIS through my insurance soon and will likely not renew my Symphony rental. Has anyone who made a similar switch found that you still maintained supply OK?

Thank you!

1. Yes I bring my pump with me if I am going to be away for more than 4 hrs (for less time I just adjust my pump schedule to pump right before I leave). I have had to bring my pump to my Mom's on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and NYE. Easter will be the same (unless for some reason I am no longer pumping then).

2. I have never used a hospital grade pump, only the PIS (from 1 week old on) and until last week I had NO problems at all- and my dip in supply was probably due to me trying to go too long between pumps. I have been able to partially correct this with a few extra pumps the past couple days. I am hoping fenugreek will get me back to normal