breast feeding and expressing

73trix · 19-08-2014 7:11pm #1

This is a bit of a premature question but it came up in my antenatal classes recently and now I'm really curious. I would hope to breast feed but am aware that it does not always work out...

So...expressing? I found that the midwives were a bit negative about it suggesting that it is so much effort and not worth it. And about your boobs getting very full and sore etc, etc. Before the classes, I'd have thought, yeah the way to go, let my OH do some of the feeds, if traveling etc but now I'm not sure?

I'd be really interested in hearing people's experiences.

comongethappy · 19-08-2014 7:40pm

73trix wrote: »

This is a bit of a premature question but it came up in my antenatal classes recently and now I'm really curious. I would hope to breast feed but am aware that it does not always work out...

So...expressing? I found that the midwives were a bit negative about it suggesting that it is so much effort and not worth it. And about your boobs getting very full and sore etc, etc. Before the classes, I'd have thought, yeah the way to go, let my OH do some of the feeds, if traveling etc but now I'm not sure?

I'd be really interested in hearing people's experiences.

No experience yet, but I did a breastfeeding antenatal course today. She advised that you want to exclusively bf for 4-6 weeks to establish supply, and then you can consider expressing a feed on a daily basis. However, she also advised that there are exceptions to this rule, such as if baby is tonunge tied, where immediate expression may be recommended.

She also said that you can leave the expressed milk for the evening, but the last feed before sleep should be from the breast, as morning milk doesn't seem to fill them as much as evening milk?

In terms of fullness, she advised if baby started on left breast and drank a bit on the right, express the leftover milk from the right, and do the same on the leftover breast from the next feed. You might need to express a feed when his normal feed that you're replacing with the expressed is replaced until your production adjusts.

Again, it's what the lactation consultant advised, no experience myself!

Jerrica · 19-08-2014 8:01pm

The more I breastfeed (I've a three week old baby, not exactly mega experienced, but still

) the more I'm beginning to think that there aren't any hard and fast rules to it.

Ideally you exclusively breastfeed for 4-6 to establish the flow, make sure baby has a great latch, and allow your boobs to find their own equilibrium. As early as week one I was having major trouble with my nipples, extreme pain and signs of infection on one side. I have a family member who's a lactation consultant and we talked at length about my options - I invested in a media swing pump and I express once a day, initial this was to ease the pain of engorged enter when my baby wasn't able to latch properly and to give me a break from feeding pain, now my husband gives the baby a bottle because he really enjoys it.

We're lucky that she has no nipple confusion and it hasn't seemed to affect my supply, but that isn't always the case. From what I can see you keep no of have to wing it and try things out for yourself. I don't think know I could pump all the time, the breastfeeding has gotten so easy now that I genuinely love having her on the boob.

So from my personal experience I'd say don't rule expressing out, but wait until you've given breastfeeding exclusively a go.

fro9etb8j5qsl2 · 20-08-2014 7:39pm

I exclusively expressed for 6 weeks and I found it to be a pain in the àrse but that was mainly because it doubled the time of the whole feeding process and I felt like a cow at the milking parlour hooked up to the pump :pac: I think if I had managed to properly breastfeed then I would have liked to have expressed a few ozs so that my OH could help with the feeding.

Millem · 20-08-2014 7:54pm

Emerald Fat Doe wrote: »

I exclusively expressed for 6 weeks and I found it to be a pain in the àrse but that was mainly because it doubled the time of the whole feeding process and I felt like a cow at the milking parlour hooked up to the pump :pac: I think if I had managed to properly breastfeed then I would have liked to have expressed a few ozs so that my OH could help with the feeding.

Mrspostman fair play to you.
I did it for 4 weeks and it was torture! Pumping through the night, constantly sterilising the parts etc then having to feed, wash and sterilise bottles!! It was hard doing it all myself as my OH was away with work a lot. Oh the memories are coming back. (Or should I say nightmares). It was so exhausting

I am glad I did it though. I was so crazy (and hell bent on giving him my milk) I would of pumped for 6 months only I was so wrecked my milk would randomly stop

I spoke to a mum recently who managed 2 weeks and successfully breastfed her next baby until they were 3 so it might be totally grand next time

I reckon pumping one bottle a day would be a walk in the park.

fro9etb8j5qsl2 · 20-08-2014 8:25pm

Sorry, what I meant to say was I exclusively pumped for 3 weeks, I then had to combine feed half and half for another 3

God, I remember the pump sterilising

And the worst part was having to pre-empt when the baby would get hungry and start pumping half an hour beforehand. And then 2 pumps in a row died on me and I had to take them back into mothercare..... I'm glad I did it too although I would only breastfeed again if I could do it 'properly'. I reckon pumping 1 bottle a day would be fine provided it doesn't interfere with the milk supply.

Millem · 20-08-2014 8:32pm

Emerald Fat Doe wrote: »

Sorry, what I meant to say was I exclusively pumped for 3 weeks, I then had to combine feed half and half for another 3 God, I remember the pump sterilising And the worst part was having to pre-empt when the baby would get hungry and start pumping half an hour beforehand. And then 2 pumps in a row died on me and I had to take them back into mothercare..... I'm glad I did it too although I would only breastfeed again if I could do it 'properly'. I reckon pumping 1 bottle a day would be fine provided it doesn't interfere with the milk supply.

Sorry now fair play to you even doing any pumping. I rented a double hospital pump for a month it was a medela symphony. I had borrowed a double electric avent one which was amazing but I was terrified I would burn out the motor which apparently happens with normal pumps because they are only designed to pump maybe 1 feed a day.
I don't think I could manage it by myself if I had to mind another child.
I reckon next time I could be like that mum who didn't have any bothers on number 2 but I don't think I would breastfed a 3 year old!!!!

pwurple · 20-08-2014 10:32pm

I rented the double pump as well. Massive difference for trying to heal nipples. It's like night and day, wish I had it from the start. You can set it on a very low setting... I expressed from wk 2 to wk 6. Would have much preferred to be able to bfeed normally, but the supply dropped then.

Expressing was no great time saver... You have to sterlise bottles, pump attachments. Then there is doing the pumping, which is slow. Then getting the milk into the bottles. Oh flashback of flashbacks to me pumping at about 2am, knocking it over and spilling it. Yup, i actually cried over spilled milk.

I'd say get the breastfeeding well established first, then try the expressing.

Millem · 21-08-2014 7:19am

pwurple wrote: »

I rented the double pump as well. Massive difference for trying to heal nipples. It's like night and day, wish I had it from the start. You can set it on a very low setting... I expressed from wk 2 to wk 6. Would have much preferred to be able to bfeed normally, but the supply dropped then.

Expressing was no great time saver... You have to sterlise bottles, pump attachments. Then there is doing the pumping, which is slow. Then getting the milk into the bottles. Oh flashback of flashbacks to me pumping at about 2am, knocking it over and spilling it. Yup, i actually cried over spilled milk.

I'd say get the breastfeeding well established first, then try the expressing.

I ended up buying 2 avent bottles for avent pump then I bought madela bottles for madela pump as I foundin early days that I was losing a few mls transferring. Every ml of milk was like liquid gold! I used to pump in bed at night and sometimes some milk will spill on my bed linen

yuck!!!!

Chattastrophe! · 21-08-2014 7:25am

I was asked in hospital if I wanted to rent a hospital grade pump - which I'd been using in hospital before I left, and it was working out great. In the end though I spent €160 on a Medela Swing. It stopped working after just two weeks - as others have said, it's meant to be used maybe once a day, not for eight feeds a day for a new baby!

Anyways I hated pumping, so I took the pump breaking as a sign, and switched to formula at that stage.

househunter · 21-08-2014 11:18am

Similar thing with me. I tried to feed myself but didn't work after after the first week so I pumped for the next few weeks with a medela swing and it was awful. Spent most of the day pumping, feeding, washing and sterilising and only producing small amounts of milk. I too cried over a spilt bottle of it

The next time i will try again myself and if it doesn't work out I'm switching to formula. No more pumping for me!

Kaylami · 21-08-2014 12:09pm

With my first baby I only managed to bf for 2weeks it was pure torture come feeding time I was crying she was crying. Pumping didn't work as I could only manage a few mls if I was lucky.

Baby no 2 only bf for 3days and I gave up.

Baby no 3 is 3 weeks old tomorrow and bf exclusively and it's a whole different experience. No pain no hassle. Hopefully when the doc ok it for her to have the bottle (she has issues with mouth and jaw formation ) I will be able to pump and have a nights sleep!

j@utis · 22-08-2014 8:47am

My baby is 3wks old today so not much experience here either but what I have to say is that expressing has saved my will to stick to bf for another while. My baby wouldn't feed properly: he latches on, does few sucks and spits it out, latches on again,... and this goes on and on, until he finally settles and feeds or tires himself out and falls asleep hungry, and without getting a proper feed he wouldn't sleep long enough (max 1-1.5hr) until he demands to be fed again, so no rest for the mommy either...
I was a nervous wreck, baby was irritable and unsettled and I was seriously considering switching to formula but I decided to give bf one last chance by expressing and feeding him from the bottle. He took the bottle straight away, stuffed himself and fell asleep for a loooong 3hrs, woke up, got another bottle and slept again for 3hrs and I slept too! It felt like somebody has swapped our baby for a new, good behaving one

This was a week ago.
At the moment I'm trying to get back to 100% bf, I'm mostly expressing at night time and bf the baby during the day. My partner feeds him bottles over night while I'm sleeping and I'm only waking up to express every 3.5hrs. Expressing takes me about 30mins with all the prep work and feeding the baby might take up to 1hr, so I'm getting more sleep and have more energy to look after baby during the day.

So thumbs up for the expressing if you're really stuck. I wouldn't rush to buy the pump before baby is born though. I've bought mine from adverts.ie for 40quid, it's TT standard single pump but it works well for me...

fro9etb8j5qsl2 · 22-08-2014 10:16am

Fair play to you j@utis, hopefully you'll get back too normal bf soon

It's tough going but if it's what you really want, it's worth it. I would agree not to buy the pump until after you've had the baby, I was mad to buy one but glad I waited. We alternated between a manual tommee tippee pump (which was actually ok, all things considered) and a mothercare one that cost €130 and turned out to be a heap of shìt. After a month it started sucking the milk into the motor and leaking out through the power outlet, nearly electrocuting me and my booby :eek: :pac: The replacement we got lost suction after 2 weeks so I took it back and just got a refund. It was around then I switched to ff so it kinda worked out that I had actually gotten free use of the electric pump for the 6 weeks

It put me off mothercare branded stuff for life though.

theLuggage · 22-08-2014 10:28am

Emerald Fat Doe wrote: »

I exclusively expressed for 6 weeks and I found it to be a pain in the àrse but that was mainly because it doubled the time of the whole feeding process and I felt like a cow at the milking parlour hooked up to the pump :pac: I think if I had managed to properly breastfeed then I would have liked to have expressed a few ozs so that my OH could help with the feeding.

Midwife in the hospital warned me about this. She strongly advised me not to express as well as breastfeeding because I would feel like I was in a milking parlour - her words exactly! I was hovering between bottle or breast and was planning expressing as an in between /giving me a break at times, but she convinced me that it would not be as enjoyable as one or the other exclusively. Went with bottle in the end.

lazygal · 22-08-2014 10:38am

Neither of mine took to expressed milk and in hindsight it was a good thing. The first got a bottle of formula a day after a week and my second never took to bottles at all, he'll still BF at a year old. I find expressing very time consuming because not only are you feeding, you're pumping in between and then have all the hassle of bottles. Seems like the worst of both worlds.
After six-12 weeks I breastfed them while out and about and at home, and the older one got a bottle before bed from her dad. I think you'll work out what suits.

pastry2010 · 25-08-2014 9:42am

I am a first time mammy and I'm due in 3 and half weeks, I'm nervous over BF, I have inverted nipples and I don't think it's going to be very easy, I'd planned to rent out hospital grade pump but should I have formula on stand by as well incase all else fails?!

I just want to be as prepared as possible and for all possible scenarios so I'm a but more relaxed, I've been that way the whole way through the 8 and a half months!! Control freak!

Nice to hear what some experienced mammy's would do?

Jerrica · 25-08-2014 9:51am

I have quite a flat nipple on one side and it did cause me a bit of issue in the first couple of weeks as bubs was finding it hard to latch on. She'd nibble at me and it ended up being extremely sore, so I started using nipple shields juatbon that side - it made a massive difference. She had something to latch to and it reduced my pain. They're messy enough I've found as the milk collects in them, but I think they're great as short term solutions. I started only using them on every other feed and gradually bubs pulled the nipple out so that it's raised like the other one and we feed with no issues. Might be something to look into?

cyning · 25-08-2014 10:48pm

pastry2010 wrote: »

I am a first time mammy and I'm due in 3 and half weeks, I'm nervous over BF, I have inverted nipples and I don't think it's going to be very easy, I'd planned to rent out hospital grade pump but should I have formula on stand by as well incase all else fails?!

I just want to be as prepared as possible and for all possible scenarios so I'm a but more relaxed, I've been that way the whole way through the 8 and a half months!! Control freak!

Nice to hear what some experienced mammy's would do?

Nothing wrong with being a bit of a control freak! Breastfeeding with inverted nipples can be a bit trickier but not impossible. Best advice is to look up a lactation consultant in your area or la leche/cuidiu breastfeeding supporter so if you do run into problems you know where to go for help. Try get to a breastfeeding group now before baby gets here too.

Try not to be too nervous. Practically speaking there's a thing called a latch assist that lansinoh do to uninvert the nipple for want of a better word! Also it may be that you need to use nipple shields.

When your in the hospital ring the bell everytime you need help latching baby on. Depending on your hospital you might get to see a lactation consultant there, but they are hit and miss. It's the best money you will spend if you can get one if your having trouble.

I had formula ready and waiting for first baba, not the second time. Neither is wrong, but I would say no... It's very easy to go buy if you do need it!

Moonbeam · 25-08-2014 10:58pm

on my 1st they had me expressing in the hospital s she was a starving baby,on 2 ,3 and 4 I expressed from about week 2 because breast feeding was a general disaster for me so did both.
The 1st was combined fed from day 2 due to weight loss,I never planned to bottle feed any of them so had no formula on standby.

pwurple · 25-08-2014 11:13pm

Inverted here too. Try breast shells.

mrsWhippy · 26-08-2014 1:56pm

I breastfed my daughter for a year, and I certainly wouldn't view a pump as a replacement for feeding, soooo much hassle!

It was useful however to build up a small stash for the husband to feed in bottles or to relieve engorgement if I had been away for a few hours. I used to pump on the other side during the first morning feed, my supply was best then, and I didn't waste any extra time pumping later in the day when I could have been showering/eating etc! I was also done and dusted before even getting out of bed

I'd concentrate on getting a support network of lactation consultants who will be available to assist you after the birth if necessary - and look at getting a pump after a few months in - you won't have time to pump before then

Best of luck.

squash22 · 10-10-2014 12:31pm

I expressed for a whole year.... Yes it's impractical and a pain in the bottom, but it was important to me at the start he had breastmilk and by the time I really wanted to stop (around 5 months) he either refused formula or took a little and puked it up, so I just carried on.

I have large flat nipples, tried shields, had all sorts of help for a week after the birth and it just wasn't happening. Plus my son had a mild tongue tie, so a combination of problems.

If I can't breastfeed my second I would express again although I would try and give at least one formula feed a day so that I don't have to do a year again.

xalot · 10-10-2014 2:11pm

I breastfed, with occasional express feeds for six months. I had to express in the beginning as my boy was in the special care unit. I used the hospital grade pump and it was amazing but I was forever knocking the bottles over, so frustrating when you've spent half an hour sitting there filling the damn thing!

I found the medela swing pump grand too once my supply had been established, I'd probably pump two/three feeds a week so my husband could do a couple of feeds or so if I wanted to get out for a couple of hours. As others have said it is possible but it's a lot of hassle, I found that expressing directly into the bags saved a lot of trouble,

I also figure out how to hand express and in the end was able to get a full bag in the the same time as I would have with the pump, and no appliances to steralise after!

73trix · 10-10-2014 5:22pm

I also figure out how to hand express and in the end was able to get a full bag in the the same time as I would have with the pump, and no appliances to steralise after![/quote]

My little guy is only 8 days old so a bit soon for express ing but tell me about the bags. Do you then pour into bottles? Do you freeze? I can hand express a little but god how long to hand express a feeds worth?

The Princess Bride · 10-10-2014 6:51pm

73trix wrote: »

My little guy is only 8 days old so a bit soon for express ing but tell me about the bags. Do you then pour into bottles? Do you freeze? I can hand express a little but god how long to hand express a feeds worth?

Congratulations.

It's never too early to start expressing.
I had 3, back in the day when maternity leave meant going back to work when baby was 10/11 weeks old.I worked fulltime, 12 hour shifts for first 4 years.

I breastfed each baby for 16 months, expressed & froze in bags/bottles(ideally small volumes,easier to defrost in fridge before transferring to bottle for feeding-I used Nuk latex teats) until they were 10months.I started expressing from day 3/4 so their dad could bottle feed.Then started building up a supply from about 6 weeks for when I returned to work.I used an electic double pump- it lasted the few years then passed it on to another mother I knew.

Seriously,like everything, it's as easy or as difficult as you want it to be.Just takes a little bit of organisation - Doesn't/shouldn't take forever, as for sterilisation- that's the easiest part.

Enjoy every minute. My oldest is almost 20 now- seems like only yesterday I was in baby mode.

Marz66 · 10-10-2014 9:31pm

My LC told me that bottles don't need to be sterilised if you are exclusively bf. they need to be washed in hot soapy water though so maybe not much of a time saving.

breast feeding and expressing

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