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Original poster

Positive stories of mams expressing day 1

149 replies

Cowlover89 · 21/10/2023 14:23

Posting on here for traffic and can't find where chat is on topics.

Feeling like 💩 lots of pain with my PGP so would like some positive breastfeeding stories of mamas who pumped from day 1. I did post in pregnancy but only got a few commenting which I appreciate but want to know more 😊

I know the risks and willing to still do it. Dad wants to do nights and will be pumping once between 2am and 4am as that's when you produce the most milk. I'll still be breastfeeding during the day and pump on the other boob.

Tia

OP posts:
Original poster
Cowlover89 · 21/10/2023 18:31

Summermeadowflowers · 21/10/2023 18:14

God, I hate these smug ‘oh it’s soo easy feeding at night’ posts Hmm

@Cowlover89 , I pump for DD as we are crap at breastfeeding, to be frank about it! My main advice is to get a hands free pump. They are expensive but it’s so handy being able to pump when driving or pushing a pram or during Bath time. I also rent a hospital double pump and I use it three times a day, once overnight, once first thing and once before I go to bed.

DD is mix fed. She usually has six feeds a day and two are formula. She’s three months so I may have to introduce more formula but any breast milk she gets is good. I like the fact I know exactly how much she’s had and I don’t have the issues of not being able to have a hair appointment or similar. So it’s working for us although I am sad I couldn’t breastfeed.

I know. I'm just not going to reply to them. I hate having to repeat myself but everyone's experience is different and I ain't gonna change my mind 😅 I'm so glad it worked for you. I think I am going to get one. They say you'll be homebound. Not necessarily!

OP posts:
Blondeshavemorefun · 21/10/2023 18:32

Yes I have had mums do this (I'm a mn)

So they bf daytime every 3hrs - express evening 10/11 ish for night and I use the ebm to feed baby when they wake

I do try and encourage a bf mum to pump 2/4am as best milk then but some don't want to or want sleep

Boobs are clever they do releise not being used 11-6 and stop so much milk then ready to feed at 6/7am and I take baby in for feed then

Original poster
Cowlover89 · 21/10/2023 18:34

Blondeshavemorefun · 21/10/2023 18:32

Yes I have had mums do this (I'm a mn)

So they bf daytime every 3hrs - express evening 10/11 ish for night and I use the ebm to feed baby when they wake

I do try and encourage a bf mum to pump 2/4am as best milk then but some don't want to or want sleep

Boobs are clever they do releise not being used 11-6 and stop so much milk then ready to feed at 6/7am and I take baby in for feed then

Thank you for this. I will be pumping that time. X

OP posts:
Original poster
Cowlover89 · 21/10/2023 18:34

Those*

OP posts:
Original poster
Cowlover89 · 21/10/2023 18:35

AfterWeights · 21/10/2023 18:13

I'll be both pumping and feeding of the boob. Thank you for your experience.

I was too. I strongly recommend pumping at least 3 hourly at night, i tried to do exactly as you are suggesting and let DH help at night & sleep more myself, and reducing the feeding/pumping at night really killed my supply, even with lots of direct feeding during the day.

I'm gonna see how i go but definitely going to give it my best.

OP posts:
mrssunshinexxx · 21/10/2023 18:37

@Cowlover89 honestly a great part of BF is the convenience . Does your partner not have a job? If so I wouldn't think it fair to expect him to be up in the night and out working all day. Let him try hold baby whilst you have a bath when he gets in from work instead maybe?

Original poster
Cowlover89 · 21/10/2023 18:39

mrssunshinexxx · 21/10/2023 18:37

@Cowlover89 honestly a great part of BF is the convenience . Does your partner not have a job? If so I wouldn't think it fair to expect him to be up in the night and out working all day. Let him try hold baby whilst you have a bath when he gets in from work instead maybe?

No he doesn't and he was the one who suggested it.

OP posts:
Zanatdy · 21/10/2023 18:40

Summermeadowflowers · 21/10/2023 18:14

God, I hate these smug ‘oh it’s soo easy feeding at night’ posts Hmm

@Cowlover89 , I pump for DD as we are crap at breastfeeding, to be frank about it! My main advice is to get a hands free pump. They are expensive but it’s so handy being able to pump when driving or pushing a pram or during Bath time. I also rent a hospital double pump and I use it three times a day, once overnight, once first thing and once before I go to bed.

DD is mix fed. She usually has six feeds a day and two are formula. She’s three months so I may have to introduce more formula but any breast milk she gets is good. I like the fact I know exactly how much she’s had and I don’t have the issues of not being able to have a hair appointment or similar. So it’s working for us although I am sad I couldn’t breastfeed.

Have you tried since putting your baby to the breast? I couldn’t get ds2 to bf, a few painful days of him trying, getting exhausted and just so hungry. I eventually pumped after a couple of days formula but Dp brought him up one day in middle of me pumping (as he could see I was struggling with the expressing) and said try him on the breast and not sure if it was because I was mid pump and easier to suckle but he just started suckling, and then I fed him by breast for 8 months. I’d have never tried if he hadn’t have suggested it. It was a relief to stop all the sterilising

Summermeadowflowers · 21/10/2023 18:43

I don’t think she would now @Zanatdy - she’s nearly 14 weeks. And I’ve lost confidence in my ability to feed. The same thing happened with ds. But thank you Smile

89redballoons · 21/10/2023 18:45

If you want a haakaa type pump for out and about, have you looked at the Elvie Curve? That one does fit in your bra and you can adjust the suction as you wear it. Everyone's different but I found it really easy to use and in the first few months I would get 3 or 4 ounces of milk just by keeping it on the other side from where I was feeding directly from the breast.

Not sure how you'd use it if you were out and about for long though as you'd need to refrigerate the milk? But I guess that's a problem for any kind of pumping on the go.

Original poster
Cowlover89 · 21/10/2023 18:47

89redballoons · 21/10/2023 18:45

If you want a haakaa type pump for out and about, have you looked at the Elvie Curve? That one does fit in your bra and you can adjust the suction as you wear it. Everyone's different but I found it really easy to use and in the first few months I would get 3 or 4 ounces of milk just by keeping it on the other side from where I was feeding directly from the breast.

Not sure how you'd use it if you were out and about for long though as you'd need to refrigerate the milk? But I guess that's a problem for any kind of pumping on the go.

I'll give it a look and I've just found a cheapish hands free pump on amazon with good reviews. If I'm out and about say at a friend's I can store it in the fridge. Some days I probably won't be out long and have a cool bag to store milk.

OP posts:
Summermeadowflowers · 21/10/2023 18:48

Breast milk doesn’t need to be pit in the fridge immediately, it’s good for a few hours.

Original poster
Cowlover89 · 21/10/2023 18:49

Summermeadowflowers · 21/10/2023 18:48

Breast milk doesn’t need to be pit in the fridge immediately, it’s good for a few hours.

Good to know thank you 😊

OP posts:
Brenna24 · 21/10/2023 18:57

DD was born premature without a suck reflex. I hand expressed day 1, introduced the pump day 2 and manages to pump about 10ml of colostrum per session. By day 3 I was getting 50ml per session to tube feed with and by day 5 she has started to crack breastfeeding with nipple shields and I was still getting about 50ml after she had fed. I didn't pump to give to her afterwards as we were trying to reduce the reliance on nipple shields and not confuse her with a 3rd way of feeding. However I did continue to pump for donating. She would feed a lot during the night and them I would feed from 1 side only towards the end of the night and save the other side to pump from. I was getting roughly 200ml (6.5oz or so) from that one pumping session and freezing it to donate. I could easily have done that twice a day on top of the breastfeeding and used some for DD but once she cracked breastfeeding and we were established she was a bottle refuser anyway. If you are just collecting enough for 1 feed a day for dh to do one i don't see why it wouldn't be doable. I am with you, I quite enjoyed pumping. Possibly because I knew how desperately needed that donated milk was. My sister also donated and found it easy to fit in a pumping session. Like me she produced well and filled a bottle in a single session.

K4tM · 21/10/2023 19:01

Interesting thing we noticed - breast milk is different at different times of the day. When you put it in the fridge it separates out and we could see that morning milk was ‘creamier’ than late in the day milk. No idea how that affects babies sleep but it does seem there might be a biological basis for it.

yogpot · 21/10/2023 19:15

Let us know how you got on! I never managed to pump well (didn’t do it consistently, baby had a bad latch so I focussed on that, square in my camp that it didn’t work out) so I’m always so intrigued by others who do but I can’t see why this shouldn’t work out if you do it right. You understand the supply aspect of BF and how you and baby’s dad decide to split the care is up to you. Does he feel he missed out with your first, you say you have a 19mo? I totally get why he might want to help. Especially if he has insomnia.

Best of luck to you all. There are lots of tandem feeders at my peer support group, I’m sure you’ll be grand ❤️

mollyfolk · 21/10/2023 19:29

I would leave it for the first 3 weeks. It’s a lot to take on the pumping and it’s better if breastfeeding is established. Definitely don’t pump till your milk comes in on day 3. Good luck to you / people figure out ways that work for them. After a difficult birth my DH picked up the baby and settled her after feeding and I found this an enormous help to get back on my feet.

Crunchingleaf · 21/10/2023 19:31

I gave up on pumping. I was exhausted from it. Instead of getting a rest when baby was resting I was pumping. They feed so often in early days plus cluster feeding. My DH would have loved to help with nights but it was more work for me. I worked so hard with getting supply established that I didn’t want to resort to formula either.

Tesoroxx · 21/10/2023 19:33

I exclusivly pumped for all 3 of my children

Original poster
Cowlover89 · 21/10/2023 19:34

@Summermeadowflowers I'm sorry you couldn't breastfeed and just want to say you are doing an amazing job mama ❤

OP posts:
Tesoroxx · 21/10/2023 19:34

Posted to soon I exclusivly pumped for all 3 of my children with no issues for 8 weeks twice and 4 weeks once due to allergy

Original poster
Cowlover89 · 21/10/2023 19:35

Tesoroxx · 21/10/2023 19:33

I exclusivly pumped for all 3 of my children

Glad it worked out for all 3 for you 😊 it's hard work and got to give credit

OP posts:
Original poster
Cowlover89 · 21/10/2023 19:36

Brenna24 · 21/10/2023 18:57

DD was born premature without a suck reflex. I hand expressed day 1, introduced the pump day 2 and manages to pump about 10ml of colostrum per session. By day 3 I was getting 50ml per session to tube feed with and by day 5 she has started to crack breastfeeding with nipple shields and I was still getting about 50ml after she had fed. I didn't pump to give to her afterwards as we were trying to reduce the reliance on nipple shields and not confuse her with a 3rd way of feeding. However I did continue to pump for donating. She would feed a lot during the night and them I would feed from 1 side only towards the end of the night and save the other side to pump from. I was getting roughly 200ml (6.5oz or so) from that one pumping session and freezing it to donate. I could easily have done that twice a day on top of the breastfeeding and used some for DD but once she cracked breastfeeding and we were established she was a bottle refuser anyway. If you are just collecting enough for 1 feed a day for dh to do one i don't see why it wouldn't be doable. I am with you, I quite enjoyed pumping. Possibly because I knew how desperately needed that donated milk was. My sister also donated and found it easy to fit in a pumping session. Like me she produced well and filled a bottle in a single session.

I'm so sorry you had a difficult start but glad all is well and glad it worked out. You're an amazing mama ❤️ thank you for this.

OP posts:
Original poster
Cowlover89 · 21/10/2023 19:37

K4tM · 21/10/2023 19:01

Interesting thing we noticed - breast milk is different at different times of the day. When you put it in the fridge it separates out and we could see that morning milk was ‘creamier’ than late in the day milk. No idea how that affects babies sleep but it does seem there might be a biological basis for it.

My milk was quite creamy. Breastmilk is amazing like

OP posts:
Original poster
Cowlover89 · 21/10/2023 19:39

yogpot · 21/10/2023 19:15

Let us know how you got on! I never managed to pump well (didn’t do it consistently, baby had a bad latch so I focussed on that, square in my camp that it didn’t work out) so I’m always so intrigued by others who do but I can’t see why this shouldn’t work out if you do it right. You understand the supply aspect of BF and how you and baby’s dad decide to split the care is up to you. Does he feel he missed out with your first, you say you have a 19mo? I totally get why he might want to help. Especially if he has insomnia.

Best of luck to you all. There are lots of tandem feeders at my peer support group, I’m sure you’ll be grand ❤️

I will do 😊 yeah he missed out a bit so wants to make up for it! Thank you 😌 this is what I need to hear. Other mamas encouraging. But I know some find that difficult. ❤

OP posts: