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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

help with BF

14 replies

yingers74 · 25/10/2005 19:36

Just had dd2 and would like to BF her exclusively if poss.

I would like to express some Breast milk as well. Tried today and got almost nothing, less than an oz. This happened with dd1 too which ultimately led to me going completely to formula as anxiety over supply got the better of me. Is there a pump which can help my supply? have an avent isis but as mentioned it seems to get me no where!

OP posts:
MarsLady · 25/10/2005 19:37

how old is dd2?

nice to see you btw

startingtobehalloweenylover · 25/10/2005 19:38

yingers that is completely normal! it will take a little while for you to build your supply up to cope with expressing AND breastfeeding

when i started expressing i was lucky if i got 3 or 4ml!!! but over about a week i built it up to about 70ml...

how old is your dd2? you would be best to wait a couple of weeks until you have really settled into breastfeeding before bringing in the added hassle of expressing.
then do it just after feeding .. and do it regularly so that your body knows it needs to keep produsing a nbit more!

hth

hermykne · 25/10/2005 19:39

yingers dont pump when you are under pressure with your 2 babes, i think one needs quiet time to pump or else pump whilst feeding.
maybe first thing am???? ok not possible....
when they are napping - i know last thing u want to do when u have a min.

fisil · 25/10/2005 19:41

I hand expressed with ds2. Usually while he was feeding, as I found I would often leak!

yingers74 · 25/10/2005 20:48

dd2 is only a couple of days old but had similar probs with dd1 so am trying to get advice before the prob builds!

OP posts:
moondog · 25/10/2005 20:52

Yingers..it's very ealry days.Don't even think about it for now.Your supply needs time to establish itself and settle.
Concentrate on feeding as much as poss. which will create a plentiful supply then try again in a few weeks.
Like the others say,it takes time to build up so be patient.

Congratulations btw.

bonym · 25/10/2005 21:00

yingers - I never got on well with expressing and couldn't get anything with the Isis either. DD2 is now 7mths and I am still exclusively breastfeeding (ie. no formula but solids now as well). I have expressed milk a couple of times but found it much easier to do it by hand than with the pump.

As others have said, it is very early days so I wouldn't worry about expressing just yet.

dobbin · 25/10/2005 22:58

I agree with the others. I gradually learned to express more over the months but never enough to feel it was worthwhile. It's no reflection of supply. If they keep feeding, you keep producing.

meggymoo · 25/10/2005 23:31

Message withdrawn

alux · 25/10/2005 23:46

yingers, only a minute less than 1 percentage of women cannot physiologically breastfeed because of true supply problems. and the would already know because they have hormone problems too. my best advice is to learn to trust your body. it knows better than you on what to do. you already have the best breastpump known to woman. your baby.

bramblina · 26/10/2005 21:30

My ds is now 12 wks and exclusively breastfed, he's my first so I'm no expert but have been lucky as he's a great feeder. Have you tried expressing at different times? To see what your body likes the best? After my ds finished one side, I expressed the other, that worked for me, or try expressing while dd2 is on other side? Or keep same side going straight after she's popped off? Just keep trying different methods, but don't stress. Good luck.

frannykenstein · 26/10/2005 21:51

As far as I know, it is very difficult to express much before your supply is established. Also the pump does not have the same effect as your baby sucking, i.e. it does not stimulate you to make more milk as it does when your baby feeds from you. Your baby's stomach is tiny and can only hold a few mls of milk at the moment. You will make what she needs - but you need to feed very frequently in the early days to establish a good supply and let her practice feeding as well. Why not leave expressing for later and enjoy feeding her yourself for now?

bobbybob · 27/10/2005 00:34

I breastfed for 2.5 years (one child) and never got the hang of expressing. I did 6 months worth to mix with solids and that was as much as I could be bothered doing. How much you express only shows how much you can express, not how much milk you have.

If it ruins your confidence then don't do it.

KiwiKate · 27/10/2005 09:29

TAKE HEART - just because you struggled with the first, does not mean it will go the same way with the second. I was in your situation (difficulties bf no 1, worried about getting no 2 bf). Read all you can on all the bf threads. there are some very useful tips.

I agree with other posters. At this stage your baby only drinks a few mls - so your body only makes a few mls. Give yourself (and your body) time to adjust to bf again.

I tried expressing with ds and just could not do it. It ruined my confidence, and I ended up topping up with formula.

Now with dd (nearly 6 weeks old), I just relaxed and enjoyed her and let her feed often. At about 5 weeks she started feeding on one side only for some of her feeds, and I express on the other (really for my own comfort). At first only a couple of mls came out. Now I am getting about 60mls at a time (although sometimes it is much less - only 5 or 10mls). I pump on the "unused" breast, then on the breast she's just fed on and switch back and forth several times until they are both "empty". I do not pump every day, or even at the same time of day. I just do it when I feel a bit "full". You can combine bm pumped over a 24 hour period before freezing. I do this (keep my pump in the fridge and top it up all day if I feel "full"). I have a couple of fairly small packets of bm in my freezer, but am not fussed. These can be combined when defrosted to make up enough for a feed if necessary.

If you still have difficulty expressing in a couple of months, you may want to look at hiring an electric pump (some bf-ers swear by them).

As others have said, the most important thing is to get bf established and not worry abut expressing (which is a nice-to-have, but not essential)

GOOD LUCK

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