starting to express

[chellebee]

Hi all, DD is now 6 weeks old and BF is established. Thinking of starting to express but not sure what to get. Thinking of buying medela swing breast pump but unsure which bottles I need to buy (can i use dr browns or does it have to be medela?). Also how do I sterilise as don't have a microwave. Any advice would be very much appreciated!

You can get a cold water steriliser (basically a tub which you fill with cold tap water and add either sterilising fluid or tablets to it) or make your own with a suitably sized plastic storage tub (would need to be large enough to hold a pump and bottle/beaker). If you plan on pumping more than once in a day you can just wash out the pump with hot water and soap or put the pump in the fridge in a bag (with fresh bottle attached).

With regards to which pump to get, it really is what amount of pumping you will be doing. If you are planning on going back to work and expressing in the future then a double electric type one might be best (quickest to pump both sides at once), where as if you are only planning on pumping for a monthly night out then either hand expressing or a simple manual pump would probably be your best bet.

Bottles can be any manufacturer - Medela pumps fit any narrow necked bottle though you probably won't need/want to pump direct into the bottle baby would drink out so the bottle you feed baby from wouldn't need to be narrow necked.

Dr Brown's are for colic/reflux I believe so would be appropriate if your baby suffers from either so if she doesn't then they would be an unnecessarily expensive option.

If you got some bottles from the Pound shop (bf babies apparently prefer silicon (clear) not latex (brown) teats) and work your way up from there. If she takes a simple teat/bottle combo then great if not then you could explore Nuk/Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature/Mam/Avent/whatever but they would be a lot more expensive.

Milk can be stored up to 8 days in a -18C freezer or for 6 months in a

I love my Medela pump. It`s a double one and I cut holes in an old bra (fit the cones through the holes) so I can use it while I MN, iPod, read or whatever. It came with a couple of bottles and we bought four more.

Have you tried her with a bottle though, she might turn her nose up, DD isn`t impressed but lives with it!

I have a Philips Avent electronic steriliser - it has been a lifesaver as I have had real trouble bfing and it allows DD1 to still get my milk. It's compatible with the steriliser to (which you can get a really good price in sales now). Only takes 10 mins to get about 3 - 4 oz now.

I'm a fan of my medela electronic pump.

I just use the one bottle that it came with and then tip it into another bottle (dr brown's - were on sale in mothercare recently) to store in the fridge, wash the pump and bottle out and bung into a tub of cold water + sterilising solution, ready for the next use.

I breastfeed every 3 hours (if my sore nipples allow it) so don't manage to express a lot, but just keep adding what i do to the bottle in the fridge which i then feed to DS at night.

On the rare occasion that I don't use what I have stored, I puy it into another sterilised bottle with lid and freeze it,

I have the Tommee Tippee electric pump and love it. I use the closer to nature bottles and DS has taken to them with no problems. I now express a bottle of milk each morning after his first feed (try expressing in the morning, you usually have more milk then) and then it goes in the fridge and it's his late-night feed which helps him sleep through. I think your breasts get used to expressing - at first I could only get half an ounce a time (must be why some women think they have "no milk" - I knew I had loads as DS has grown so much, but babies are more efficient milkers than any pump!) but now I can get 2-3oz from each breast in about ten minutes. After I've finished I wash and rinse the pump then sterilise it the next time I use it. I have the Tommee Tippee steam steriliser which is brilliant - really easy to use and sterilises quickly, then provided you don't open it everything is sterile for 24 hours. You don't need milton fluid or anything, it just uses water.

I'm a big fan of expressing - the main reason I do it is to give DS a big supper so he sleeps, but I also like that it now means I can walk my dog and leave DS with DH for half an hour! That bit of quiet time is lovely!

Thanks everyone for your advice and suggestions. I plan to occassionally bottle feed until returning to work. So I've now bought a steriliser and once than arrives I'm going to have a go at hand expressing to start with and then invest in pump if struggling/need to increase amount. When do people find is the best time to express and do you do it whilst baby is feeding on the other side or before/after feed? Many thanks

Agree with Lurcherlover I have the electric tommee tipee breast pump and microwave sterilser - brilliant pop in micro 200ml of water done in 8 minutes. Also used closer to nature bottles although found the flow on the teats a little to quick for my LO so if that becomes a problems and she ends up wearing most of the milk you have expressed (feels like a total waste after you have sat milking yourself lol) Then i suggest Dr Browns bottles they are anti-colic too and have much slower flow teats. My DD takes from this bottle brilliantly from dad every now and again when im looking for a wee break :) Good Luck

Oh have to say i had hand pump to begin with, it takes soo long and you will find your hand kills after 5-10 mins doing so.
Morning best for expressing flows out really quick and if you can master it, good to express when feeding on other side.

Blimey. Breastfeeding is a two hands and a pillow job for me - how on earth can you express at the same time! Would have to get DH to hold something... boob or bottle, my love?

LOL I was the same, but now if I get LO attached i can hold breast pump with other hand. what is said that woman can multi-task :)