Hi, firstly get a different pump. Your nipples may take a week or so to heal and you will get repetitive strain injury from a hand pump.
I wrote a document on expressing to help other mums as I exclusively expressed for a year. Will cut an paste it here. If you need any more help let me know and I can email you.
Tips for Expressing & Milk Storage
Most of this information has been taken from other websites; some of it is my own opinion.
Pump
There are 4 basic types of pump: manual, single electric, double electric and two-phase electric pumps. Which one you get will depend on your budget and how often you plan to express. I can?t advise on hand pumps as I?ve never used one but they do seem like hard work!
§ Two-phase expression pumps mimic the way a baby sucks at the breast. Quick, light sucks at first to stimulate then slower, deeper pumping rhythm as the milk flows.
§ Single-phase pumps will apply the same pressure and technique throughout. Single electric pumps can be very noisy and obviously you can only express from one pump at a time.
§ Double pumps are very expensive and are best hired (around £30 a month). Pumps can be hired either through local pump hire agents or direct from Medela or Amber. Local pump agents can be contacted through the BF orgs or through Medela/Amber. It?s always worth looking them up because it might work out cheaper and could allow you to try before you buy. It?s only really worth buying one if you are planning to express long term.
Pump Care
It is not necessary to sterilise the pump every time you use it, if you are pumping more than once in 24 hours . In between pumps, the horns can be placed in the fridge without washing (in a bag if you prefer), and washed/sterilised every 24 hours. I stopped sterilising at 6 months but even then I don?t think it was necessary ? bm has anti-bacterial properties and theoretically any equipment doesn?t need any sterilisation, but you may want to for peace of mind.
I would NOT recommend the use of Lansinoh/Vaseline or similar products while pumping as these increase friction. Just a little olive oil rubbed in the horns will make for a less painful experience.
Hand Expression
Some mothers find hand expression to be a more effective way of expressing milk and there are many benefits to it e.g. no special equipment is necessary and the gentle massaging action may be quite relaxing .
Expressing Frequency
If you are breastfeeding frequently as well as expressing, you will not need to pump more than once a day as your nursing will maintain your supply, unless you are expressing at work or need to build a freezer stash. If you are exclusively expressing, you will need to pump every 2-3 hours during the day and at least once at night to maintain supply. After 12 weeks you can reduce this frequency slowly without too much damage to supply.
A good length of time for expressing is 15-20 minutes. It is advisable to continue pumping for 5 minutes after the milk has stopped flowing to trick your body into producing more milk.
Power pumping: in order to increase supply, after the 15 minutes expressing try stopping for 5 minutes then expressing for a further 5-10 minutes. I would often find that I got a second letdown during this second period.
You do not need to have the pump (electric ones) on full suction ? just have enough suction to feel comfortable. Do stop or reduce the pressure if it feels very uncomfortable or painful.
Time for Expressing
You will get most milk in the middle of the night unfortunately, as you are rested and your prolactin levels are at their highest. But practically, most women express first thing in the morning. Try to express at the same time as bf (I never managed this) as you?ll get a quicker letdown.
Milk Storage Guidelines
The UK has different guidelines for storing milk than the US. You can find the UK guidelines here:
www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/pdfs/BFNExpressing&Storing.pdf
and also at the end of this document.
Personally, I have always adhered to the US guidelines which are more relaxed, and these are given at the end. I would say that the older the baby gets, the better his system can cope with milk that has been stored for a long time.
BM loses certain qualities the longer it is stored; therefore ideally it should be used at room temp as soon after pumping as possible. BM can be stored at room temp for up to 10 hours (less in hot weather).
Fridge Storage
It can be stored in a fridge for up to a week. In theory, warm bm should not be added to cooled bm in the fridge ? it should be cooled first ? but I did it on a number of occasions. The milk will separate in the fridge ? this is completely normal. It is also normal for milk to take on different colours depending on what you?ve eaten!
Freezer Storage
If you are planning to freeze your milk, freeze it in milk storage bags (Boots own brand are the cheapest) as soon after pumping as possible ? it can be put in the freezer while it?s still warm. I would not recommend freezing milk in ice-cube trays as it is harder to keep these sterile. Freeze milk in small amounts e.g. 4/5 oz and you will end up wasting less. In a normal freezer with drawers it can be kept for 3-4 months, and in a chest freezer for up to 6 months. Again, these are the US guidelines; I used milk that was older than this and it was fine.
The rule is that if the milk smells ok then it is ok. Your baby will refuse milk if it has gone off. Frozen milk does appear different when thawed ? it usually has a yellowish tinge and can smell more strongly than fresh bm.
Thawing/Warming Milk
Milk from the freezer can be thawed in two ways ? either in the fridge for 24hrs or if you are going to use it straight away ? in a bowl of hot water. Milk thawed in the fridge should be used within 24hrs of being thawed (although I went over this limit when my freezer defrosted by accident and the milk was fine).
BM should not be microwaved as it destroys 30% of the protective immunoproteins (antibodies). It should be warmed in a jug of hot water or in a bottle warmer, or even by holding it under a tap. Some babies will drink it at room temp and this is the best option if you can train your baby to do so! Don?t shake the milk as that breaks up some of the proteins ? just swirl the bottle. Unused bm can be kept for the next feed, preferably in the fridge or at room temperature if your baby will drink it .
How Much to Feed?
According to research, exclusively breastfed babies aged between 1 and 6 months take on average around 25oz a day, (with a typical range being between 19-30oz). Divide that amount by the number of feeds baby would normally take, for a guideline amount of what to leave for each feed . For example they will need 2oz every 2 hours or 3oz every 3 hours. They state that babies need less bm than formula. HOWEVER my son drank FAR more than this! At one stage he was drinking over 40oz a day. I don?t believe that bf babies can overfeed, and I kept offering milk until he left some in the bottle. These sites also suggest slow-flow teats to mimic bf but that didn?t work for me.
Bottles
As with the pump equipment, bottles do not necessarily need sterilising, and it?s up to you whether you do or not. It is not common practise in the US to sterilise equipment used for pumping / feeding of bm; they just wash them well in hot soapy water. I stopped at 6 months.
Mixing BM and Formula
It is fine to mix both bm and formula ? just mix up the formula first before adding to bm so you don?t have to shake the bm. However, it is not recommended to do this as you could easily waste bm as formula needs to be thrown away whereas warmed bm can be kept for the next feed (but not warmed again). I needed to do it to get my son used to the taste of his hypoallergenic formula. Remember if you had used formula, all bottles and teats should be sterilised.