Expressing / pumping mums

[Kri5ty]

Any exclusive expressing mums out there?

I can't get d's to latch so um expressing.
Just at the point where I'm finding it so tiring. Trying to fit at least 8 sessions around feeding and cleaning bottles.

Plus my nipple are soooo sore! I'm using an ameda lactaline double electric pump, have tried different flange sizes but still doesn't help. Anyone have recommendations for pumps? I can't really afford to hire a hospital grade one x

[emmarose1991]

Hi,
I combination feed as I do not make enough milk due to a total lack of support at the hospital. My baby is 3 weeks old and is currently on about 40% breast milk. He will be exclusively on breast milk as soon as I make enough.

I currently use medela freestyle as of the last two days. I use an avent manual pump too. I cannot really advise you about to solve your problems but cannot certainly sumpathise. I pump every 2-3 hours and it is exhausting. I recently found out that you do not need to sterilise the pump after every use, are you doing this? I use wash my with boiling water and then put it in a container in the fridge. I sterilise it once a day then. That has certainly helped with the sterilising time.

Keep at it though! It's really hard work expressing exclusively.

[Kri5ty]

Hey

Yes I only sterilise once... I couldn't get my head around that!

You're doing fab, any breastmilk your lo gets is great :-)
My mw wants me to supplement with formula for a feed a day, as at 18 days he still hasn't put all of his weight back on. However he drinks between 70 - 100ml at every feed 2.5 hourly roughly and is having plenty of wet and dirty nappies. Part if me thinks it'll be easiesr combination as then I don't have to express as much (and save my nipples!)

Good luck building your supply xxx

[Kri5ty]

Hey

Yes I only sterilise once... I couldn't get my head around that!

You're doing fab, any breastmilk your lo gets is great :-)
My mw wants me to supplement with formula for a feed a day, as at 18 days he still hasn't put all of his weight back on. However he drinks between 70 - 100ml at every feed 2.5 hourly roughly and is having plenty of wet and dirty nappies. Part if me thinks it'll be easiesr combination as then I don't have to express as much (and save my nipples!)

Good luck building your supply xxx

[Kri5ty]

Yup night time too. Although I only do once in the night (should do more really but they're too sore and I'm too tired).

Yes nct hire them but it's the same price as going direct to medela. I can't really afford £45 a month.

Grrr I'm sat here as oh is asleep next to me through this feed!

[RockCrushesLizard]

Sympathy op, it sounds like you're having a crap time.
My sister exclusively pumped for six months, and I did for three weeks when I had mastitis, it is so draining.

In terms of the money though, the cost of hiring a good pump (£45 when I did it) is about the same as a months supply of formula so if you manage to get through this stage, even by hiring a pump, you give yourself a chance to not be paying every month for formula in the future, when you might not need the pump IYSWIM

I paid for an IBCLC to help, at the very beginning, but it's saved me at least 15 times what I paid by not buying formula.

Hope you're getting some sleep.

[McBaby]

Try vasaline/lansinoh on inside of the flange it helps reduce any friction and really reduced my soreness.

[Kri5ty]

Yes, i guess it is the same price as formula. Thing is if we bought formula oh would pay too... he wouldnt for a pump as he sees that as "for me" iykwim?

Thanks for the tip Mcbaby I'll give it a go!

[yellowsnownoteatwillyou]

Are you in England? Don't know why the rules are different but they hire pumps for free in Scotland.
I pumped for 6 weeks then had to give up due to medical issues. It's hard going.
I presume your baby has been checked for a tongue tie, the sooner it gets picked up the better. I was told ds was fine, but at 9 months it was proved he has a very thick tie that can only be snipped under GA.
also get your dp told the pump is for their baby, not a silly expensive you for you.

[curlywurl]

Or try olive oil as a lubricant it's easier to spread. The used to be an exclusively expressing forum on ivilliage I'm not sure if its still there but it was very helpful.

[curlywurl]

Here hopefully this is the linkwww.ivillage.com/forums/pregnancy-parenting/babies/exclusively-pumping

[zippyrainbowbrite]

Congratulations!

Is there a breast feeding group in your area you could go to for some help with latch? I know someone at mine who couldn't get baby to latch one so was exclusively expressing. She persevered and from 4 months was able to get baby onto EBM.

She was very honest that it was very hard work, but she kept offering the breast before every feed, and I think eventually used nipple shields to get baby latched on, then slowly weaned baby off them.

[MotherOfInsomniacToddlers]

I did it for 5 months and used an Avent double electric, cost about £100 to buy but I figured I'd have quickly spent £100 on formula!
My advise is don't drop the night pumps, they make the difference and it does get easier

[Kri5ty]

Thanks everyone :-)

Yup yellow we have to pay here. I think if you are using them in hospital they may rent you one, but the hospital I was at wad very reluctant.

I've seen a bf councillor, she's at a group on Friday I'm trying to get to. But had a section so can't drive to it.

She doesn't suspect tongue tie as he can stick his tongue out. But the problems I'm having sound like latch problems definitely.

No matter how well he latches, within a few mins he's slipped off and his lower lip is right under nipple. They also come out all squashed and elongated where they have been St the front of his mouth.

[yellowsnownoteatwillyou]

It looked like my ds could stick his tongue out as well, but my nipples used to be a very strange shape when he de latched. He would come on and off as well. When I got the tongue tie confirmed the dentist said she was surprised I could breast feed at all as it was a thick tie, in an unusual place.
It's so hard when it doesn't go like you planned. Keep pushing for help and I hope it gets better for you, I did try nipple shields after I have big cuts on both of them and it did work a little better.

[Lozzapops]

"Exclusive pumper" here!! Have been doing it for 7.5 months now, since my daughter was born and couldn't get the hang of breastfeeding at all.

It is such hard work, and you are doing amazing! I remember how bloody hard it was in the beginning. There is light at the end of the tunnel, I promise! You will be able to drop pumps gradually in a few weeks hopefully. I am now at the point that I'm expressing only 3 times a day (and sometimes only twice if I have a really busy day). It feels liberating, haha! That, coupled with a drop in how much she drinks due to introducing solids, has made such a difference.

I also use an ameda lactaline, but have ever had any problems with it, so can't advise on what might be causing the sore nipples I'm afraid!

Oh, and I never sterilise my pump. I store my parts in the fridge between pumps, and do a hot, soapy water wash every night.

[emmarose1991]

Do you clean them before you put them in the fridge? Like swill them with boiling water?

[Gobbolinothewitchscat]

Exclusive pumper here too - doing 1.4 litres a day fir 5 month old DD. Topping up my 18 month old DS with anything she doesn't drink!

I exclusively expressed for DS until 22 weeks too

I use an ameda lactaline too. Second the lansinoh in the flange bits too - really helps. I also use a medela expressing bra too - it's excellent as you can then pump hand free

I have loads of medela storage bottles as they are bigger than the lactaline ones but fit on the lactaline pump. I also have about 4 sets of flanges. I have two pumps and two expressing bras (bought the second pump after a panic that the first one had stopped working.). I keep one upstairs and one down stairs with an expressing bra with each pump - that saves me lugging stuff about. When DD was very small, I sterilised everything. However, from 12 weeks, I just put it in the dishwasher - it does have a sterilising programme though. Have never had any upset tummies etc

I've been pretty lucky and managed on 5 pumps a day from about the end of the first week. I also dropped night expresses at around 5 weeks - I've got away with doing this with both DD and DS, although I know this goes against the received wisdom that mandates at least one night pump.

I've dropped down to 4 pumps this week. Not sure when I'll give up. Am planning to wean at about 26 weeks so in two minds as to whether to drop pumping altogether or whether to do one morning and one evening

I stopped with DS at 22 weeks as I was pregnant again when he was 16 weeks and was told there was a slightly increased risk of miscarriage so gave up - I was finding the morning sickness and pumping a bit of a ball ache to be honest too.

Good luck - you're doing great. Just tKe it a day at a time

[Lozzapops]

emmarose I just give them a little rinse.

Like PP I also do "hands free" pumping, which was a revelation. However I am too tight to pay for a fancy hands free bra, I have found that a regular sports bra is fine - I literally just put the funnels on through the top of the bra and then pull it back up to sit over the top. Once the suction is going, they're pretty secure (obviously can't go running or anything, hah! But I manage to play with baby, use the computer, muck about on my phone, knit). I also sometimes do this with a regular bra. Doesn't feel as secure, but works fine.

[moobaloo]

Hello

I'm exclusively pumping for DS who is 9 days old today as he wasn't taking the breast and had lost 10% of his birthweight so midwife advised expressing. It took a couple of days to get enough milk so I topped up with formula but he's now purely on EBM and I seem to be making enough for him. He's had 800ml in the last 24 hours and midwife says the minimum he needs right now is 675ml. I'm feeding on demand so can be between 1-4 hours between feeds.

I'm really worried about not keeping up with him as he was over 90th centile at birth (10lbs 3oz) and needs a lot of food!

I'm using a tommy tippee manual pump and am expressing after every feed and sometimes in between too, day and night. It's tiring!!

I would like to get him back on the breast as I feel I can't keep this up for a long time and I'd always hoped to bf for at least a year. Any tips?

[Gobbolinothewitchscat]

Moo - get him checked for tongue tie. That was the problem with my two - even once it was sorted, I still couldn't get them back on successfully though but I probably didn't try as hard as I could as I quite like DH being able to help me out with bottles!

If you carry on expressing, I would recommend a good electric double pump and a hands free bra. Much quicker and you can mumsnet at the same time or feed your DS. I used to pop DD on the ironybreast feeding pillow and feed at the same time as exoressing

[Gobbolinothewitchscat]

Oh - and you can keep up. My DD was on the 91 st centime at birth and DS was lower down fir weight but 98th for length at birth - then started lumping weight on. He took the full 1.4 litres that I was expressing a day whilst DD is on a litre.

The issue will be how easy you find to express, if it takes ages and you find it very disruptive, then you should not feel bad about giving formula top ups, I think

Kellymom is a good website - she explains there that I think that babies are on their max amounts by about 4 weeks. So if you've cracked amounts then, you should be ok. I certainly found that with DD and DS - with the caveat that they both had a growth spurt at around 16 weeks but I just defrosted some frozen ebf for them

[bakingtins]

Hi moobaloo it sounds like we are in a similar boat. My DD is 15 days old, born 2 weeks early and tiny at 5lb9oz. We had a rough few days in hospital and she had treatment for hypoglycaemia and jaundice, then she had a week of not gaining any weight once we were discharged. I'm waking her to feed every 3 hours, offering the breast first for max of 30 mins, then pumping and topping up with a bottle. I resisted exclusively pumping even though it would probably be easier at the moment, as I really want to get back to just BF. She put on 100g in first 2 days since I got a Medela symphony pump, and the plan is to get her up to 6lb (currently 5lb4oz) then start cutting back on top ups. I think she is gradually getting more efficient at draining a breast, I'm getting less from the side she fed on now. It's such hard work though, total respect for anyone that manages it long term. She's my third BF baby, I'm thinking exBF will be a breeze after this!

[bakingtins]

I'm in awe of 1.4 litres!I can only express 40-50ml at a time, luckily tiny DD only needs 450 ml until she gets to 3kg.

[Gobbolinothewitchscat]

baking - I'm a good expresser but I can't breast feed for toffee so am v impressed with the duel feeding shizzle you've got going on there