Practical expressing advice please!

[SeaShellsOnTheSeaShore]

Dd is 4wks and I'm really keen to get expressing so she can have a bottle a day of ebm.

I failed getting Ds onto a bottle and although I fed him for a year, I'm sure it contributed to my pnd as I couldn't go out etc.

I want just one feed a day- how much will I need? She is currently 11lb13oz,(fatty!!)

Is it ok to express during my toddler's afternoon nap?

When do I time expressing compared to dd feeds? She is feeding every 2ish hours at the moment.

Do I need to heat it? How do I do this?!

Um, anything else I've just got 4oz from one side on my first go-I really hope I can do this!

Thanks in advance- any advice would be greatly appreciated :)

I express first thing in the morning when DS is feeding, feed from one side and express on the other, I find this better than expressing when not feeding, although it takes a bit of jiggling arround to get the position right to be able to do both!

I'm not sure on amounts either, I've been meaning to ask for advice on that so will watch with interest - we never seem to have enough!

I've never actually given DS a bottle, DH has, and I think he's just plopped it in a bowl of warm water to heat up a bit, but tbh from what he's said DS isn't that fussy about the temp anyway, you might find DD isn't either.

Well done on getting 4oz, that's great going!

I was surprised by 4oz too, but then she had had a huge sleep so my boobs were bursting! One for her, one expressed. But I usually offer both.

Just bf is soo much easier lol!

I think 4 oz. is about 120ML? If so, well done. I could never do more than that in a day. It is a very individual thing though. I used to feed DD at 6am or so and then head downstairs and make myself a nice big cup of coffee and express milk. Not glamourous but it was a bit of time to myself. I never thought of doing it while feeding the other - seemed too much to manage. DD was also sleeping through the night, so my boobs were bursting by this stage. This was the only time I found when I knew that I wouldn't be disturbed. I think that's the most important thing - giving yourself time to do it. You need to be relaxed and not tired, whcih is not easy!!

I froze some in freezer bags so I could keep 'breastfeeding' after I had gone to formula/solids. Medela did nice bags that fitted with my pump.

120 ml was about enough for one feed for DD.

I warmed the milk in the microwave for about 20 secs so take the edge off the milk. I know that apparently the microwave destroys the proteins, but in reality this amount of heating was not going to affect anything. For frozen milk I put this in the fridge to defrost during the day or ran it under hot water as this duration of heating in a microwave might have affected it (probably being too pedantic there). The milk fats will rise to the top with storage/freezing, so you need to shake it well.

Good luck!!

to warm breast milk you should stand it in warm water... you shouldn't shake it either, it can damage the proteins in it.

kellymom is good for advice on how much ebm to give at feeds, plus lots of advice on how to store breast milk, ie how long it lasts in the fridge etc.

Headfairy- thanks for the direct link, I'd not found that page whilst surfing last night :)

Ds is just 2 and up at 5-6.30am so a leisurely am never happens, hence wondering if pm expressing was ok for now.

He is not coping very well during feeds-starts playing up, throwing things at us and hitting dd, so I have to try to express at times he is not there to make all our lies easier

Wahine-thanks for your experiences! Freezing is a very good idea in the future-I had a hen do 24hrs in April I'm aiming to be independent of dd for :)

I was always told milk supply is generally more plentiful in the mornings so I used to express straight after feeding ds, however I did hire a hospital grade double pump from Medela for about £40 a month which was a godsend because I could pump twice a day and get 10oz out in about 10 mins!

I must admit I haven't expressed this time round because I couldnt' manage it with ds tearing around at the same time. It was hard enough for him at first to cope with a mum who sat around all day feeding his sister without having to wait a further 20 mins a day for me to pump too. But then if I'd been able to get the hang of pumping while bfing I'd probably have tried... never could do it though, I'm all thumbs

It's tough with 2 isn't it...Ds is too young and active for me to trust himin a park whilst I feed etc. Hopefully the feeds will spread out a bit more, and if I can get bottle feeding cracked I may EVEN get to go to the pub with dh for a drink for my 30th!!!

Oh the rock and roll life :)

yeah, it really is... luckily I was able to feed dd in the park while ds ran around, but she was born on NYE so I practically froze my nipples off every day sitting on some Godforsaken bench while ds begged me to push him on the swings. Oh for a summer baby :o

I usually express about 120-130ml straight after DS's first feed in the morning as theres LOADS of milk then. It takes about 6 or 7 minutes. I put it in the fridge and DH gives it to him in the night. At nearly 8 weeks he's just getting to the point now where he finishes the whole lot. DH usually just heats it in warm water just to take the chill off.

I have never yet tried to express while feeding - looks far to complicated to jiggle both about!

Freezing it is a good idea, must get some bags.

If I express and feed dd simulatneously I won't be able to mn and drink apint of water.

The loss of this mnetting time negates any gain

Use your toes to type, get a straw - problem solved!

Ooh good idea! Only problem is with an iPhone and my feet I'll come across as a less confrontational Cod

there's definitely a market for a voice recognition software so that bfing/pumping mothers can still mnet whilst their hands are otherwise occupied :o

She just took 2.5oz like she had been doing it all her life from dh!!! Ok, I know it's first try, but how comes babies are so different. Ds screamed the place down when we tried?!!

I warmed it slightly, but she didn't seem fussed.

I now have to get over my sadness that i can be replace and she is not totally dependent on me. Ain't that a hormonal headfuck

is it a mixed feeling when they first feed from a bottle :(

as for amounts I use 1 oz an hr as a guide (plus 0.5oz for good measure).

One word of warning is that they quite often take more than they need, so don't fret if they start taking up to 6 oz, feel free to limit it (they like to suck but with a bottle they have no choice but to drink as well)

That's a handy guide to vol, thanks!

She has skipped a feedand now I'm engorged-woken her to give me some relief!

I feel such a beginner at all this again.

That's another reason to kinda limit their amount so they don't go longer between meals (and mess with your supply).

I forgot to say those amounts are kinda 6weeks and up, so your DD could reasonably take less than this for a while.

I also recall there seeming to be much less support for expressing and it being a very much try and see affair.

Just remember your doing great and don't ever feel pressured to expressing because other people want to feed her.

Oh and after the 6 week growth spurt, your supply regulates itself and stops oversupplying (that breast goes limpy stage). It also can then have an impact on how much you can express, I went from 4oz to 1oz. I was very disheartened when I realised I had to work on my expressing supply, but this was quickly done by doing roughly the same time each day. However avoid trying to build up too much of a supply before hand as you could end up with over supply issues which can then impact feeding.

It's tough-she is a big baby and been feeding alot, so finally get a couple of 3Hrs gaps and just get woken by my boobs instead grrrrrrr

well you must be something right then if she's a big baby () and 3hrs count yourself lucky .

I guess you forget the little things like not being able to sleep for your front for weeks.

Google hands free pumping for a neat hairband trick. I have been known to breastfeed/ pump and mumsnet at the same time! [smug]

Dd was 9lb, very long and on 98% curve. No idea how as Ds is on 50th!! 4 weeks old and already nearly 12lb!!

Me on the other hand can't eat enough cake to keep up and pg weight going (if not gone)!!

Thandeka deliberately didn't mention the one time dd lurched caused expressed milk bottle to fall covering dd and iPod in breastmilk.
as time saving strategies go is mostly great but having OH on hand to help at start and end is useful!

Doh!

I tried it this morning as we weren't doing the morning rush and it worked, but no idea how Monday morning will go!

If I've started expressing prior to boobs changing to reactive rather than churning it out milk production, will I still maintain a decent volume?

Thanks for your advice- I have had Ds off nursery the last week so not got to bfing clinic yet. As usual mn is the font of all knowledge!