Solely expressing - a few questions

[ladylush]

dd is 5 weeks old but was born 10 weeks early. We didn't manage to get bf going whilst she was in hospital and she is only just home so I am still giving her my breast milk via bottle. It suddenly struck me (bit dim at the moment) that it will be quite tricky expressing when I'm out. How do other people manage to do this discreetly? I've got a Medela Symphony double pump at home which is quite quiet but not portable and I have an Avent Isis hand pump which is slow and noisy (creaky - maybe cos it's old). Can anyone recommend an efficient, quiet pump? Also, how do I store the milk I've expressed when I'm out? Just use a cool bag? How long will that milk then be ok for?
TIA

[thisisyesterday]

there aren't many efficient yet quiet pumps i don't think.
have you tried hand expressing:?

it is certainly not too late to get her drinking direct from the breaest though, if you wanted to give that a go? why not see if you have a local baby cafe or LLL group? they ought to be able to give you the help and support you need to feed her direct

if you do carry on expressing then i see no reason why you couldn't use a quiet feeding area somewhere to pump?
cool bag is fine and i think it's up to 8hrs room temp, so a cool bag would last a little longer.

[ladylush]

thanks thisisyesterday I think for now I would prefer to feed her by bottle because I know how much she is getting. She is still titchy (only 4lbs 9oz)and has yet to be weighed at the clinic (so don't have a baseline iyswim). She finds feeding very tiring as she is so teeny but at least manages to stay awake for most of her feed unlike when I put her to the breast and she nods off almost straight away. Once she is a good weight I would certainly like to give bf a go. 8 hours for bm? I was told 4. If I expressed when out then kept it in a cool bag for a few hours, could I then put it in my fridge at home or freeze it? Or would it have to be used within the 4 hours?

[ladylush]

Oh and hand expressing - can't get on with it tbh. I find it very messy (ergo wasteful) and my nipples get sore. Maybe I will get a new Avent Isis and just reconcile myself to the fact that I will be in a toilet cubicle for the best part of 20 mins

[thaliablogs]

ladylush - you can keep it in the cool bag, transfer to fridge or freezer when you get home. Kellymom has lots on the safety aspects - basically you are fine because breastmilk is naturally microbicidal so actually there are fewer microorganisms in the bottle after 8 hours than there were when you started.

There is also a yahoo group for pumping mums called pump-moms which has lots of helpful discussion on how to maximise yield, power pumping etc. Mostly americans as they go back to work so bloody early there are lots of them pumping, but advice is pretty universal!

[Chulita]

You can keep BM 8 hours at room temperature so no worries there. I've got a Medela Harmony that was pretty quiet to start with but after 9 months is a little creaky it's a manual but it's quite small. The last time I expressed in 'public' was at a spa, I sat in the only changing room and creaked away for 20 mins, felt a bit odd! Good luck!

[TheProvincialLady]

I expressed for my DS1 for 18 months and the hardest thing was being tied to the machine during the day. I was only able to express in very good friends' houses or in hotel rooms etc. The pump I had was an Ameda Lactaline, which is as portable and quiet an electric machine as you can buy, but still very noisy. A lot of people give up on exclusive expressing becase it can get very lonely. As the baby gets older it can get harder to keep them occupied whilst you express.

If you went to a Baby Cafe or spoke to a BF counsellor you could get support for EE and advice on the best way to move onto BF direct. It is great that your DD will feed on the breast It is certainly the best method by far.

[ladylush]

thalia - thanks that is very useful info Maybe the NNU say 4 hours as a safety measure.

chulita - thanks The prospect of expressing whilst out doesn't seem as daunting now that I know I can keep it in a cool bag for 4 hours then put it in the freezer when I get home.

Provincial lady - I used ameda when I was expressing at the NNU and found it quite noisy. I was wondering about the medela ones. I find the symphony quite good and I really like the milk collection bags - though they are bloody expensive. Have discovered that my avent isis manual pump is only noisy when it is dry so if it is kept in a zip bag straight after sterilising or from dishwasher it is discreet enough. So now the only problem is that it will take about 15 mins (which I can live with) and I need to find somewhere where I feel comfortable enough to express. I agree that bf is easier and more discreet but I need to be sure that she is putting on weight and gets to a good weight before establishing it. I know I run the risk of it never happening but I have weighed up the pros and cons (after discussions with dh and staff at the NNU)and feel happy with my decision. At least she is getting 100% breast milk and it's all mine. In the beginning I wasn't producing enough and dd had 50% bank milk, then the NNU weaned her off the bank milk and introduced 25% formula. It didn't agree with her bowels and she was clearly uncomfortable (straining to poo +++). Thanks to Domperidone my milk supply has improved enough to meet her requirements.

[ladylush]

Provincial Lady - meant to say thanks for your post

[MrsBadger]

NB re milk storage bags, have a look at Axifeed bottles (also on ebay etc) - reusable (just dishwash), stack neatly in the freezer and never ever leak.

And depending on what bottles you're using you may even be able to screw the teat bit straight on...

[mcflumpy]

I use the Ameda Lactaline dual breast pump it's pricey but has been great. It's pretty portable and can run on batteries as well as mains. Not terriby quiet as its electric but very efficient. I use the axifeed bottles with it as i can put the milk straight in the fridge from the pump. The bottles came with the pump, think I got 6 with it?

Best of luck.

[ladylush]

Thanks both of you I was told (again by the NNU) that the axifeed bottles are single use and cannot be sterilised and reused. Makes perfect sense that they can be reused but in my tired wretched state I believed them and threw the bottles away. What a waste.

[diddl]

Why are you still using a bottle?

[ladylush]

diddl - dd was 10 weeks premature and could not suckle when born. She was fed via an NG tube until 2 weeks ago. We tried cup feeding initially but then I realised that she would have been in hospital for weeks til bf was established and we wanted her home. So we started bottle feeding. That's why.

[ladylush]

I am still using a bottle for the reasons outlined in my post to provincial lady