Question about expressing

[pookamoo]

Our LO is due in 6 weeks' time. I have just started maternity leave and we're putting together The List of things we need for when the baby comes.

DH has said he wants to help as much as possible and that he would like to feed the baby and take his share of night time wakeups if he can.

I intend and hope to bf initially, but once it is ok to add in a bottle, I'd like to use expressed breast milk if I can, rather than formula. This will mean baby will still be on breast milk but that DH can give it as well.

So my questions are really about breast pumps.

Is it worth spending the extra £ on an electric one?
How long does it take to get a useful amount of milk (I know this can vary) with a pump?
What about a hand held pump?
Can you get battery operated ones which are somewhere in the middle of the price range?
There seems to be so much choice on offer that I don't know where to start!

I have been reading a bit about nipple confusion - does anyone have any advice on which kind of bottle teats are best to avoid this?

Thanks for any advice or hints or tips anyone can give me.

[scorpio1]

Big YES to electric

In the beginning it took a while, but now i get 6oz in 25 mins from one boob

I had a hand held tommee tippee one and got nothing.

most electric ones have a bit where you can use as battery powered too

Tommee tippee or NUK bottles

Try to wait until BF is established; 6-8 weeks ish.

[Ecmo]

I started with a hand pump butlater got an electric pump which was MUCH easier and got more milk out. It could work on batteries or mains.
My dd1 would never take a bottle no matter what teat we tried but my other dc's took to it no problem. I dont remember much about the teats, we tried various ones but if they used a bottle it didnt seem to make much difference.
My electric breat pump was made by Medela I think but this was several years ago now. The hand pump was a basic Boots one.
HTH

[pookamoo]

bump

[Flibbertyjibbet]

Some people don't get much milk out with expressing even if baby feeding ok.
I was one of them. Got about 2 oz max with manual or elec pumps.

My dp didn't feel like he had to take a turn at feeding as he realised that if a baby is bf then expressing just so he could take a turn at feeding, would be a big faff. (he just did absolutely everything else) There is plenty of time for him to give feeds later on after bf well established for example if you want to go out.

Also, when you are pg its easy for a man to say he will do night feeds 'if he can'. I found that being comatose for 8 hours each night mostly made sure my dp 'could not' and even if he'd said he'd get up, it took me more effort to wake him up than it did to feed the baby myself!

[elvisgirl]

The Avent Isis pump can be used on mains, with battery & manually so has all options. It also comes with an optional soft insert for the cup part which I personally found much more comfortable than hard plastic - soft inserts are available for other brands but at extra cost I believe. If you are going to be pumping a few times a day every day (like if you go back to work full-time) you will need one with a good motor.
If you are serious about pumping then a double pump will halve pumping time and can always be used as a single if you want too.
You can buy special bras & corset-like tops that hold the pump onto you so you can pump hands-free allowing you to do other things at the same time - I just catch up on my daily soap when pumping!
You can hire a pump mail order from the Medela website to trial pumping. The cost of a pump is quite a lot to fork out as there is always the risk that bf-ing may not work out. Sometimes they are on ebay.
Most pumps have their own brand of bottle & teats but obviously you do not have to use them. We use Tommee Tippee Close to Nature but were also recommended NUK or Pigeon. The important thing is to have one with a slow flow so babe has to put in effort to suck - you can test with water in the bottle to see how much comes out when you shake it upside down: it should be drops not flowing out.
I pumped from 4weeks as I had to go into hospital. I hope your DH does follow the plan and it works out with your LO!

[isaacsma]

Much like other posts I went with the tommee tippee hand held in the beginning which worked fine and can be adapted to the speed of your baby's sucking but have gone on to the mini medela as I need to pump more for breakfast etc now. Bit noisy for me so might give the avent isis a go - assuming quieter? - so can avoid formula when go back to work for a couple of days soon (ds is 6 mo).

Used the tommee tippee bottles and ds took to them like a dream, though recommend waiting for the 6 - 8 weeks mentioned so bf is properly established before giving a go. dh loves feeding when he gets a chance and I've been on a few nights out now so when you're ready will give you a chance to have a few moments of peace - though you'll obviously have v heavy boobs if you're out a while!

Also had good experience with the bf bags for storage in the freezer. Like to have a few in there for combining with food and the odd occasion when I need to go out and dh is on duty. Not as much of a faff as they seem.

Good luck with the birth and getting bf established - try to grit your teeth through the pain and the crazy hormonal surges, it's well worth it for bonding with your lo and the ease of feeding on the go when you're ready to get out and about!

[trishpops]

i've got medela swing, not cheap but well worth it, i used tommee tippee bottles for about four weeks till she started refusing to drink from a bottle

[pookamoo]

Thanks for all the tips!
I'll let you know how we get on.