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Infant feeding

help with expressing please!

21 replies

Allyco · 02/01/2005 13:19

can anyone help - I am due to go back to work soon and so am expressing a little store of EBM. Can I add to a bottle that's already got some milk in it (ie in the fridge not adding to already frozen stuff) and how long can I keep it in the fridge safely? Also, any tips on getting dd to take a bottle, I've bought Avent ones and the Avent breastpump which is good

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popsycal · 02/01/2005 13:21

i think that the guidelines are that milk can be stored in the fridge for 24 hours and that you can add to it, but the 24 hours time thingy start from when the first mikl was added - does that make sense?

I didnt breast feed for ages but that sticks in my mind...hope someone can confirm (or tell me i am talking rubbish lol)

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Allyco · 02/01/2005 13:22

wow popsy that was quick answer.

Maybe I should switch to formula as seems less bother all around!!!

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TheDragon · 02/01/2005 13:22

That sounds right to me although my memory is a bit hazy now.

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TheDragon · 02/01/2005 13:23

Or you can freeze small amounts as icecubes and defrost as many as you need.

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popsycal · 02/01/2005 13:27

allyco - i was thinking about this last night...bump due in 2 months...

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Allyco · 02/01/2005 14:30

omigod popsy I didn't know that is so exciting do you know what it is? what do you want or don't you mind? if is a girl would you like me to save stuff for her as I have got tons here lol

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yoyo · 02/01/2005 14:36

My HV told me that you can add to milk in fridge but not directly as the milk you have just expressed will be warm whilst the other will be cold and this could lead to bacteria breeding. You should store it in separate bottles but can then combine before using or freezing. I just froze lots of small amounts unless I needed it that evening.

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Allyco · 02/01/2005 14:47

cheers yoyo - but bollocks I just put some into the same bottle as the NCT book said you could!!

Think will throw away and start again...

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hunkermunker · 02/01/2005 15:03

Would also say buy the Lansinoh bags to store it in in the freezer - they're fantastic. MUCH easier to use than those with fiddly clips - they just have a double ziplock seal and you can write directly onto the top of the bag the amount and date you expressed it.

They're the safest plastic you can get to put breastmilk into too - they don't leach chemicals into the milk like some do.

Make sure the milk's very warm (body temperature) and try little and often - your DD will take it, I'm sure. This is how I did it with DS - basically every morning he had a bottle with an ounce or two of EBM until he got the idea that that was a new way to feed. He was about 14 or 15 weeks when I started and he really resisted the bottle to begin with, but now he'll happily drink from a bottle, beaker or breast - lovely boy!

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Allyco · 02/01/2005 15:26

thanks hunkermunker. Am finding can't really express much, maybe 2ozs or so. Do you think DD would need a whole full bottle each time or just a few oz?

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hunkermunker · 02/01/2005 15:35

When do you express? How old is your DD? I'm guessing at least four months old, so nursing and expressing at the same time will take a bit of practice - try holding her in the rugby hold (I sit nine-month-old DS up and he latches himself on and taps the pump as I express!) and express from the other side - makes the letdown more powerful.

Other than that, try expressing before the first feed of the day or if your DD goes to bed and stays asleep a while at night, wait a few hours from the last feed and express then.

Try to build up a supply of milk in the freezer for when you go back - I was too blase about it and have been running to keep up some weeks. Initially, DS wasn't eating much food and needed 20oz when I was doing a 10-8 shift, plus boob in the morning and sometimes that night.

But now he's eating more, he's taking less milk during the day - I left 15oz today and I don't expect he'll drink it all.

I never leave more than 4oz in a bag as it's easier to make bottles up with 2 and 3oz bits - sometimes he'll only take 2oz, sometimes he'll have 3 or 4 (he was taking 7 happily (once he took 8) as his last feed when I first went back to work when he was 6.5 months). It's MUCH better to defrost another couple of ounces rather than have three poured away because you've frozen too much in one bag.

You'll soon work out how much your DD will take. To get her used to a bottle though, don't use more than 1.5-2 oz!

Before you express, massage all round your boob, then lean forwards and shake them (looks weird, but helps, I promise!). When you pump, hold the handle in until the milk stops flowing on each pump - you'll need to vary from the short, quick 'sucks' to the longer ones as the flow varies. When it dwindles, swap boobs, but do this a couple of times as you might get a better letdown the second or third time.

HTH - if I think of anything else, I'll post again

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Twiglett · 02/01/2005 15:38

You can keep milk in the fridge for a surprisingly long time .. I'm sure it was something like 7 days ... hang on a second there was a link posted by mears (our resident midwife) .. I shall try to find it

yes you can add to milk in the fridge

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Twiglett · 02/01/2005 15:44

I can't find it

I am almost certain that

you can add to milk in the fridge
you can keep milk in the fridge for 7 days
milk can be kept in the freezer for 3 months

HTH

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Allyco · 02/01/2005 15:44

thanks twiglett.

Hunker - DD is four months. Trying to express little and often maybe need more practice.

Why shake your boobs??

Nearly collapsed when saw your DS wanted 20ozs. My plan is to get through next few weeks and then start supplementing with solids, as understand now the ideal thing is not to start til they're six months although with my older children it was four months ho hum.

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Twiglett · 02/01/2005 15:59

Allyco .. I found it

breast milk storage

mears is our resident midwife BTW .. you can trust what she posts

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hunkermunker · 02/01/2005 16:02

Shaking boobs seems to stimulate the letdown reflex. 20oz does sound a lot, but remember you'll have to express when you're at work to prevent your boobs getting the size of watermelons - if you take a coolbag and some icepacks with you, you can bring home that which you express and you won't necessarily need to do any other expressing - that's why getting ahead by having some in the freezer is a good plan too.

Your DD will be removing milk from you very efficiently by now, so waiting till just after a feed isn't necessarily the best way to express a lot. But when you're away from her at work, you'll be able to express more, I'm sure. I get 9oz in one go, even now sometimes.

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Allyco · 02/01/2005 18:34

thanks for that twiglett - am printing off a copy and sticking it to frdge!

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popsycal · 02/01/2005 19:15

hi again allyco
dont know what we are having...have one ds already and I am really not bothered at all what we have (though dh would quite like a girl i think)
to be honest, a boy would make life easier what witht eh mountains of clothes we have etc!

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Allyco · 03/01/2005 10:32

know what you mean popsy about life being easier with another of the same sex - if I was to have a boy I wouldn't know what to do!!

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aloha · 03/01/2005 11:09

Um, you'd do exactly the same! Boy babies aren't a different species from girl babies.

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Allyco · 03/01/2005 17:12

aloha - I mean I am now so used to the household being girls that it would be strange to have a boy. Friends with two boys say the same thing about girls!

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