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Infant feeding

Very quick expressing question

14 replies

rnbsmum · 02/11/2006 23:53

Am expressing and offering that milk to ds after breast feeds to increase supply. (in a bottle) If he doesn't take it all, is it safe to keep in fridge and offer later or d I need to chuck it?

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ABadMouseNibbledMyFireworks · 03/11/2006 00:00

I would only offer it to him in 2oz goes so you waste less - and no, I'd not keep it in the fridge.

However...no need to express and offer it to him - just swap breasts again - and again. Save yourself the faff of expressing.

Why do you think you need to increase your supply?

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rnbsmum · 03/11/2006 00:10

Thanks for answering! Son lost 10% in first week and hasn't been gaining any at all (4wks tomorrow). Started at 9lb 6. Started top-ups on Monday to kick start some weight gain (bf/exp/top-ups)and want to drop them asap. (Sorry, started thread about top-ups yesterday as well. Am new to mnand probably not using right!) Bf dd exclusively till 15 months but its not coming so easy this time around.

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strugstu · 03/11/2006 00:11

Here's my two penneth -to increase supply - you need to encourage skin to skin contact , allow him to suckle frequently, you need to rest, have a really quiet day in bed or on the sofa, just allowing him to feed when he wants. the next day your supply will have increased.

If you have expressed after a feed- (No need to offer the expressed milk after a feed - cos he has probably had all he wants anyway,) store in fridge for 24 hours or freeze for upto 3 months. If he has taken expressed milk from the bottle - throw away the unused milk.

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AitchTwoOh · 03/11/2006 00:12

this is not my specialist area, but surely if you are expressing and then feeding it to him that defeats the point? should you not be expressing and freezing it, so that the expressed milk doesn't interfere with his appetite, but your breasts think he's starving and so up production? i could be wrong here... we need a tiktok or mears...

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ABadMouseNibbledMyFireworks · 03/11/2006 00:14

I still think it's a faff to express and feed him it/freeze it.

How often is he feeding atm?

Is it sore when he feeds?

Is he sleepy?

Skin to skin v good - have you tried feeding him in the bath (need help with this - someone to hand baby to, etc)?

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mooshy · 03/11/2006 00:39

Agree with strugstu entirely.
Lots of skin to skin.The more you feed the more you will make.Go to bed and have a BABYMOON-feed and cuddle for 24 hours and forget everything else if yoy can.

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rnbsmum · 03/11/2006 00:53

Because of the wieght loss and subsequent lack of weight gain, we're just trying to get as many calories into him as poss. As he wasn't gaining on bf alone, mw and hv worried he wasn't getting all he could so introduced expressing to get more milk in and help up supply. He still wasn't gaining weight so we introduced top ups These bf/exp/t.u.feeds take hours and are a faff which is tricky with 3yr old dd to look after. Too frightend to risk loosing weight again if drop formula but want don't want it to go on too long.

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ABadMouseNibbledMyFireworks · 03/11/2006 01:00

Have you seen a breastfeeding counsellor? I would strongly suggest talking to someone on one of the helplines and trying to see someone in the flesh about this.

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tiktok · 03/11/2006 09:08

rnbsmum - what a palaver.....on the other hand, I would be reluctant to suggest you stopped doing what you have been advised to do without suggesting you asked the mw what she thought first.

The best way to increase milk supply is to remove the milk frequently and effectively. The only way to increase the milk intake of your baby is to get the milk inside him....now, some babies who don't gain weight might have mums whose breastmilk supply has drifted downwards, and their lack of weight gain makes them too tired to persist with long 'switch' feeds at the breast (when you go back to the first side again and then the second again). I think if your baby has remained at 10 per cent under birthweight for 4 weeks then this scenario may well apply, and it may well make sense to give him expressed milk after the feed at the breast ... I don't know enough about your situation to know whether he needs top ups of formula after this as well.

If you can increase the frequency of his breastfeeds, this will be the most important bit of helping him gain weight, and don't be afraid to put him back again to the first side when he stops feeding on the second.

Important to use breast compression (google it or look on mumsnet) as this does encourage a non-sucking baby to start sucking again. If anyone is trying to build up a milk supply, they have to think of the minimum no. of feeds in 24 hours as being 8-10, and the night feeds are v. important.

Yes, express as well, so you inc. the stimulation and also you have a back-up if you want to increase his intake and he doesn't want to go back on the breast or if he is not sucking well.

Hope this helps.

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rnbsmum · 03/11/2006 11:42

Thanks tiktok. Will look up about breast compression. Have contacted local breastfeeding counsellor to discuss phasing out top ups - am managing 7 feeds day only 'cos each feed lasts 1hr and 1/2 with all the faffy expressing, making up feeds, sterilising. And DS is only able to have really short sleeps in between before its time to start all over again! Probably knackered poor chap! Poor three yr old getting a bit bored too. Still, will be worth it in the end. Thanks for the advise - it's so supportive.

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AitchTwoOh · 03/11/2006 13:41

google 'jack newman' for info on breast compression, it really does help. he's got brilliant video clips so you can really see what you are doing. this is bringing back so many memories for me, DD hadn't put on her birthweight at 4 weeks either and she was pretty unco-operative at the breast. (you should see this strappin 10-monther now, though).
let's just say no amount of toe tickling kept her awake if she wanted to drift off. she was definitely too tired to switch feed. we were told to give her formula and express etc etc, so i do feel for you, it's a pain in the arse.
can i ask what kind of breast pump you have? have the hospital given you one?

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rnbsmum · 03/11/2006 16:32

It's good to know that it gets better AitchTwoOh. I have got a medela pump in style (electric double one) that I bought to use at work when my dd was 6 months, so used it twice a day at least for 6 months or so. I do wonder if it hasmade my nipples a bit gigantic (sorry - tmi!) and that might inhibit ds latch.

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AitchTwoOh · 04/11/2006 00:02

that sounds like a good pump, good-oh. do try the breast compression thing if you get a chance in between all the feeding, sterilising, feeding etc. and if you are feeling self-conscious about your nipples you should DEFINITELY look at the clips. my breasts weren't working very well, that's for sure, but i was pleased to note that the champion bfer in the clips has ugly boobs. you got to find your comforts somewhere... (don't anyone dare jump on me unless you've seen the clips... she has big purple spots all over them).

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rnbsmum · 04/11/2006 22:45

Well, I see what you mean! I feel as though I've got two beautie now! Useful clips though. i'll be paying ore heed to the pauses and experiment with the compression. It's weird though. Didn't give a seconds thought to how it worked with dd - it just clicked. Now it feels like rocket science and as though I've never done it before.

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