question about expressing milk

[sunnyweather]

every time i express milk my ds is really fussy next time he goes to feed and then afterwards too, its almost like ive left him with no milk and he is going hungry....ive really not managed to build up a back up supply at all so if anyone has any tips that woulkd be great. thanks

[Mampig]

Hi. What age is ds and what time of day do you express?

[1catherine1]

I have had that too with the DD when I expressed before meal time. I think when milk is ready there (so to speak) the flow is faster so she doesn't have to work as hard to get it.

I combated this by expressing after she had gone to bed. This only worked when she had fallen into a regular predictable sleeping pattern. She was going down at 7:30pm and waking at 5:30am for her next feed. I would express at 10pm till I felt I'd got as much as I was going to get. For a couple of days I got very little - about an oz in half an hour but it slowly increased and I could get about 5oz in half an hour. It is pretty exhausting though...

[ascouser]

1catherine1....sounds like you found a great solution, well done.
Sunny, experiment with times, length and perhaps doing it after a feed rather than a little before.

[sunnyweather]

thanks for your responses.

ds is 5 months and i have tried expressing at different times- i get very little unless it is before a feed time when my breasts feel full so have been expressing before he eats( sounds like this is a mistake). It is also normally in the afternoon because that is the time that I can get myself organised and am least likely to be disturbed.

I wonder if part of the problem is that he is now pretty much ready to start on the baby rice - feeding has become a more frequent and i think he is wanting more at feeds, it feels like there is not a drop to spare!

I had given up expressing after he had fed because i really got next to nothing (literally a dribble) but i'll go back to trying an hour or so after feeds if it is likely to improve the more i do it.

I had wondered if it was also anything to do with my pump - its a tommy tippee electric pump - even on the strongest setting it doesnt feel very powerful - if there is a better option i would consider buying another.

Thanks everyone for answering its already been a big help

[AutumnWitch]

Keep at it - even if you only get a dribble after a feed, you are telling your breasts that more is needed and they should respond if you do it after every feed for a few days.

I used a mixture of the Ameda lactoline (half power was plenty enough) and the Avent hand held, depending on where I was and what was clean and ready to go.

He may be having a growth spurt which would account for the extra feeds.

Good luck :)

[1catherine1]

Sunny - I have the same pump and have sometimes wondered whether I shouldn't have bought it and had invested a little bit more in a better one. When my pump stops giving can still squeeze a bit more out by hand. Can't really answer your question on if you should get another as I have stuck with mine (too cheap to buy another) and now DD is 7mo I have stopped expressing. Worth knowing though - when I'm pumping I use the 3rd setting but when that stops giving I use the first setting for a while to get a little more.

If you want to get a decent amount per session though, it is important to do it at the same time every day so you are convincing your body that baby wants another feed then. If organisation is the problem you can always clean and ready the pump in the afternoon and put it in the steriliser till you need it.

Out of curiosity... what are you expressing for? Going back to work soon? I did this then DD refused the bottle anyway. Milk didn't get wasted though - she had it on her weetabix :)

[sunnyweather]

Hi again- at the moment I'm just expressing to make it easier for me to go out and leave ds with dh (I'm aiming to get to zumba this Friday) so far I've really not left him much at all. I'm going back to work in Feb so want to have mastered expressing by then. I went onto Kellymom website this afternoon and that was really helpful too -I think my expectations about how much I should be expressing were way out - she says 1 oz is normal and I was aiming for 5! what she says about distractablebbabies really rang true too and I wonder if some of the overall probs we are having at the mo are down to that.
I did go onto amazon and look at pumps too but they are pretty expensive and I'm put off getting another one as you just don't know what will suit you til you try.

Ill follow all your advice and fingers crossed will get to grips with it over the next few weeks.
Thanks to everyone who posted x