The expressing clique

[popsycal]

I'm Popsy and I am a pumper

DS2 is 6 months and i am bac at work 4 days a week mon-thurs. I express and lunchtime and get around 5oz.......
He needs 2 7oz feeds during the day but i am hoping to reduce his lunchtime feeds as his solids increase.
BEen back at work properly only one week but am having to express during every feed and every time on my day off to get enough.
my boobs hurt

Who else is in my gang

Oh, and you don't need to do it the entire session, just towards the end.

Hi jabberwocky - it's lovely to hear from another exclusive pumper and makes me more determined to carry on! At the moment dd is 4.5 mths and is having 5 x 7oz bottles. How did you cope with the pumping when commencing weaning...? When did you start to drop pumps? I'm just trying to get prepared to not knowing how much time everything will take!

Ds was really, really hard to wean onto solids. I'm not sure why. He was about 9 months old before he would take even pureed food very well. I'm trying to remember when I dropped the night pumping. It was either at 5 or 7 months. (Sorry, I had PND and sometimes my memory of things during that time gets a little fuzzy). I did pump 3 times a day at work until he was 7 or 8 months old. At that point I started to give him half bm and half formula so that I could cut down to just pumping at my lunch hour.

Just realised that last post was really unclear. I was still pumping 4 or 5 times a day when he was 7 months old, but just once while at work.

I have found that when espressing with the hand pump at work, if I kind of angle the pump towards the end of the session so that it presses down more firmly on one area, I can get more......sort of breast compression maybe?

Anyway....I am on a marathon today and tomorrow. We are at PILs for the weekend and I sont want to have to express all the time...so I am imagining that I have to go to work tomorrwo when I actually don't so I need to get the next day's feeds sorted which I will then freeze for monday. I alos like a little stock in the freezewr and I need an extra feed for next thursday evening.......argh

Advice please. Ds is only 1 week old, not been able to get him to latch on due to inverted nipples. Have been feeding with formula till my milk came in and am now double pumping on an ameda that is on loan from the hospital, I have to return it in approx 1 week. I am managing to get approx 6oz a day off at the moment expressing every two hours but this is slowly increasing so I am substituting two formula feeds a day at the moment with the hope that if we carry on the way we are at the moment I can stop the fromula completely within a week or so. I have an isis hand pump but cannot get anything off. Which would be the ideal electric pump to buy bearing in mind I am on a very tight budget? The hospital suggested hirring an ameda through someone else but that will cost £20/month which works out more expensive than buying formula.

one of the better leccy pumps to invest in is an ameda lactaline. new it is £80+p&p £10. they are available on ebay where they are going for over £45 normally so you can recoup much of yr outlay - or bid in one yrself.

speaking as someone who owns a mini electric, not worth the money

also, contact a bf counsellor who can teach you to manually express efficiently. many women find it better than any pump and its free.

I hired an ameda Mummyhill.... the one I had just did not do the same job as the hospital ameda (the rubber pads were different), and in desperation I tried the hand pump - I found it much easier than the electric, and wished I had had the facility in hospital.

I tried other hand pumps and none were as good as the Avent (the pads seemed just right for me). I always had to have a little "tweak" before expressing though to get my nipples interested IYSWIM. Have you tried that? Mine are a little on the flat side as opposed to inversion, but it might help?

In the end, I found total hand expressing to be the far most effective, but all forms of expressing take practice - and sometimes a fair bit before it feels ok.

My advice then.. forget the electric - I hired one to sit on the bedside table virtually unused - you can do it far more successfully without - practice, and you must try and relax whilst practising

I agree with serah. the Isis is a v. good handpump. Others here use it but they are not exclusively pumping. I own one of them too [blush.] I found it good but my hand hurt after a while and I am a lazy cow. Isis are going really cheap on ebay.

Has a bf counsellor helped you to turn your nipples outward? (I don't know anything about inverted nips.) Another thing, I believe that the NCT may have you trial a couple different pumps before you spend.

PS: I am trying out my new Ameda lactaline tonight - it works well. I had rented an Ameda Egnell which is the one hospitals use (?) It was big and bulky but I think a bit better than the lactaline. I found the Lactaline to be v. good. Pumps can be a personal thing.

well as good as one session can tell!

I am using an engell at the moment and am finding it more effective without the rubber pads. Will persevere with the isis but will also be scouring ebay for a reasonably priced alternative.

I used the Ameda Purely Yours. I highly recommend it. Not sure what the differences are between it and the lactaline, though. The Ameda brand is the only electric pump that I know of that is totally safe to buy used, so you could definitely shop ebay for one.

Hi mummyhill
My dd didn't latch on and I chose to exclusively express after 3 weeks of trying & failing. The bfcs could get her to latch on but I didn't feel the 6 pillows and 2 helpers was a look that I wanted to keep Does your hospital have a breastfeeding clinic? If I were you I'd avail of any help that I can and do lots of skin-to-skin as it will help.

Are you pumping at night? Books recommend that you do at least 1 pump between 1 and 5am as that is when your milk producing hormones are at their greatest.
I never used the hospital pump and perserved with my handpump for 4 weeks. Then broker 2 Medela Mini Electrics before buying an Ameda Lactaline.
Don't let any midwives or health visitors put you off saying that you can't do it. I was told this and chose to ignore them and 4.5 mths on dd is exlusively fed breastmilk. It's tiring, inconvenient at times but definitely worth it. You're doing a great job - any questions, I'm sure the expressing girls will be able to help

I know it sounds ridiculous Mummyhill, but when your baby is asleep, and you are relaxing (yeah, right, I know) try and practice expressing by hand. It doesn't hurt, there will be no pressure on you to "perform" so to speak, and you just need to find the technique. Just have a play, and that in itself will help you express with a hand pump and without reliance on an electric thing (I believe it is often psychological)

I wish Mears was still around. She puts it far better than I can

aha, did a search in the archives for 'hand expression' author: mears thread: breast and bottle feeding and 5 threads came up.

"By mears on Friday, 26 September, 2003 9:28:40 AM

Bunnyrabbit - have you been able to get a breastpump? Have you tried expressing whan ds is asleep and the pressure is off?
Try and think of your problem in simple terms. Baby needs milk. Until you can get milk expressed, formula is what baby meeds. Do not think that by giving formula you must give up breastfeeding. Giving formula will make you feel happier that your baby is not starving while you concentrate on getting your nipples healed.
hilst your nipples are healing, you need to get the milk expressed to avoid engorgement and mastitis. Practice doing it in the bath or shower by hand until you successfully get the milk to flow. It can take a few minutes for the letdown to kick in. Once it does the milk flows more freely. If you can tolerate the suction of a breastpump you can use that - better to get the milk flowing by hand expression first. Handexpressing is so easy once you have the knack - hence why I am saying practice in the bath or shower.
Have you been shown how to cup feed? Cup feeding is amazingly easy and helps avoid the baby being taught how to bottle feed when he hasn't learnt to breastfeed yet. Might be better for you. Ask your counsellor about it.
It still can be turned round BR - you deserve a medal for the effort you have put in so far. At the end of the day, whatever decision you make it the right one for you and you will not be letting anyone down - we are full of admiration for you. Best wishes, mears. "

and this:By mears on Saturday, 11 October, 2003 6:41:47 PM

Champs - confidence is what you need. You can express because your baby is able to get the milk out. Make sure you are in a warm room, massage your breasts gently from the back forwards to the nipple area. Hand exoress to get the milk flowing then use the pump (or continue by hand). Switch from side to side as the flow of milk slows as the milk lets down in jets. Attached is a link wheich might help. ythis

Just wanted to second Shivs re: the night and early morning pumping. Sometimes I would get up to 50% more at those times.

hiya, heard my name being called

advice was spot on and I expressesd at work right up until I had to wean ds off as I was pg with ds3 and very sick.
I have now started using a pump again and get much more out this time round. I thinl it's because ds3 takes more milk than ds2 did.

Hey fellow pumpers:
A funny (not!) thing happened on the way to work this morning?
I commute by train and when I arrived at my destination, I stopped at the ticket counter to make an inquiry. I usually carry a cool bag as well as a plastic bag containing my Medela Mini Electric - I could of course put the pump in the cool bag along with the ice packs but then the funnel bit would be very cold against my skin when I use it. Well, I put down one of my bags and forgot to pick it up when I left the train station. I had walked off for only a minute when I realized I had forgotten my bag and I rushed back to the station just in time, it seemed, as the security officer was about to take it away from the ticket desk (and blow it up, I guess!) when the lady behind the counter told him the owner had returned. I?m lucky it wasn?t the cool bag, as that would probably have looked more like a terrorist?s backpack.
Anyhow, I really would like to buy a new Ameda double electric in the next few days. Can anyone tell me where I can buy one? There aren?t any on eBay in the next couple of days. Also, what?s the difference between the Ameda Purely Yours and the Ameda Lactaline? And do I have to get those fancy (and expensive) bras that enable you to pump hands-free (essential as one of my wrists is really sore ? possibly RSI) or is there a cheaper alternative? Thanks. I'm off to pump now.

here is where I bought mine. I don't know for sure but I think the Purely Yours is the same as the Lactaline for all the standard bits and performance is the same, it is just the packaging that is different. have a look at the website to see what I mean.

I don't have one of these fancy bras. I guess they would be handy if you wanted to pump and drive at the same time or if your boobies are to big to be held in place by a snug fitting top - not me though on either count.

Can I join this clique too!

I have been back at work for four weeks now - four days a week. DS is 8 months. I work 7.30 - 3.30 so only need to provide one feed for the childminder. He takes approx7 in a feed, however I can only produce about 4-5 oz in a sitting. I was doing two sittings a day (one after lunch and one in the evening)- however. I AM SICK TO DEATH OF CLEANING THE £$^$*%$ EQUIPMENT! I don't mind the pumping it's all the rest of it!

So today I cheated and I am feeling guilty already as I don't think it was the right thing to do. It was my brithday yesterday so couldn't be bothered to get teh pump out in the evening so topped his 5 oz with cows milk. I will see when I pick him up as to whether he drank it.

if you are cleaning the pump after every use, then don't bother. you can wash in hot soapy water once 24 hrs and store pump in the fridge after pumping

Can I? That would sound a lot easier

Thanks for the advice. My midwife is being very supportive of my choices. We will wait and see what the health visitor says, hopefully she will help support me too, she has seen me through bad psot natal depression and a miscarriage so far and we have quite a good relationship so fingers crossed.

yes you can. bm has its own antibacterial qualities which is why it can be left at room temp for 5 hrs rather than an hr for formula. I also just read it again on a leaflet ameda sent with my pump.