First Night out - First time Expressing

[poppymum11]

I have been solely breastfeeding my DD for 2 months now and have a birthday party planned for a week today. I wanted to make an appearance for a couple of hours but am worried about expressing for the first time. Not sure how much milk I need to express and if I start this weekend will there be enough for next week as I have not done it before. Also a bit worried that she will either not take the bottle or struggle going back to the breast? HELP!!

Are you hand expressing or uing a pump? I would aim for 3-4 oz but the first time I expressed I sterilised an ice tray and froze cubes as you may only get small amts at first. I would express a small amount each morning and freeze then you should have enough by next week.

IMO now is a good time to introduce a bottle as if you want to start when older sje might refuse. I wouldnt worry too much about going back to the breast - should be fine.

BTW if you onlg get small amts DONT WORRY! It does not reflect how much milk you are making.

Good Luck

I'd say, pump a little before and after a feed (i.e don't go crazy and try and empty your boobs in one go! that'll send your supply up a bit). That was my MW's advice, and it worked for me. It's not a great idea to mix milk from different expressing 'sessions', but if you count all the milk you get throughout the morning as one session, and all the milk you get in the afternoon as another, that should be ok.

I hope your daughter takes a bottle ok. I don't want to be offputting, but generally, if you want them to use a bottle, you need to introduce one before 6 weeks, and then make sure you keep them 'up to speed' with it.

If you're looking at getting her to take a bottle by a week today, I'd start practising now, and see how it goes. She's very very unlikely to suddenly refuse the breast, but she is quite likely to not be interested in a bottle. Very common problem on this board, esp for women going back to work and wanting to express when their baby is older.

Hi poppy,

Every women is different. Some can express a lot in one go, others can get very little. Are you using a pump or hand?

Regardless, it is important that you prepare your breasts. Massaging is important. Some women find it helpful to have a warm bath first and to submerge their breasts in the,warm water. Relax and get comfortable!

Don't agree with gloy that its best to introduce a bottle earlier. It's actually better to wait 6-8 weeks or until breastfeeding is properly established before introducing a bottle. Some babies will take a bottle no bother others refuse. All you can do is try. There is some debate about whether nipple confusion exists...what I found was that my dd liked a bottle because she got milk a lot easier so she would fuss at the breast a bit in the early days after a bottle.

Around 8 weeks my dd took around 4-6 oz in one go.

Start expressing now. You fan freeze your milk in sterile containers or bags. You can mix milk from different sessions.

Oh and most women find it easier to express first thing in the morning. You might find you can get more if you express from one breast while your dc feeds from the other.

Babies take on average 25oz of breastmilk a day, so as a rough guide leave an oz for each hour you're away plus an extra oz.

harverina, each to their own, and I'm glad what you did works for you, genuinely -

I do come on here to say, I'm glad my (very pro-BF) MW told me if I wanted to introduce a bottle, to do it before 6 weeks, and to spread that advice - only cos there are SO many women who have trouble introducing a bottle later, and the advice to wait until after 6 weeks means they miss a vital window of 'learning.'

Some babies do take a bottle fine after that time, sure. Others don't, and it's then really problematic for women returning to work, or just having to be away from DC's for a short time if they can't express and have someone else feed a bottle. There have been plenty of women in dire straits on this board, who waited til their DC's were several months old, thinking they were doing the right thing, and it has caused no end of trouble for them.

I should add, the advice about introducing a bottle before 6 weeks applies as long as there are no feeding problems, mother and baby are doing well, good weight gain etc. Obviously if there are latch issues or other problems, then adding a bottle into the mix is likely to be harmful, and isn't a good idea.

Fair do's, I've just checked kellymom, and that says - "milk from different pumping sessions/days may be combined in one container ? use the date of the first milk expressed."

I've found nearly all of their advice spot on - apart from the guidelines about storing milk (mine never lasted nearly as long as they suggest - 8 days in a fridge and mine was off long before then....). But I'm perfectly prepared to accept that was my milk, and my problem.

Just checked again - one of the links on the kellymom site about introducing a bottle to a breastfed baby says: -

"Don?t wait too long.
Sometime between 4-6 weeks is a good time to introduce a bottle. Sooner may interfere with the establishment of good breastfeeding. Waiting too long may result in a baby who refuses the bottle."

The whole PDf is short and useful, I think. Here - www.leron-line.com/handouts/Helping_a_Breastfed_Baby_Accept_a_Bottle.pdf

I think introducing a bottle really depends on when your supply is established and when feeding is going well. For some this will be 3-4 weeks, for some 6-8 weeks.

Yeah agree that every mum different in terms of when supply is established. Some mums introduce a bottle from day one with no problem although for others the introduction of a bottle early on causes problems. Of course some mums have no option if returning to work etc. I was really lucky...we had a wedding to go to and my dress was was not bf friendly so we tried a bottle a week before when my dd was 7 weeks. My dd took it no probs.

gloyw we were similar...think the longest I have left my milk in the fridge is 5 days before it started to smell off.

I also only store milk for 5 days - 8 is a bit too long I think. I express first thing in the morning and last thing at night (when DD has been asleep for a couple of hours). I usually manage to get at least 2oz at each session, often more. I store it in 4oz batches and offer this as one feed, with more available if she wants it. DD first had a bottle at 10 weeks and has no trouble switching between bottle and breast.

Get DH trained up in advance too. First time I went out DH tried to give DS the bottle straight from the fridge without warming it up. Second time he couldn't find the teat - it was "hidden" in the steriliser, all nice and sterile - so he transferred it to another non sterile bottle. DH's haven't necessarily read the books!

Hi Ladies thank you all for your advice have taken it all on board! All the necessary equipment is currently being sterilized so will hopefully make a start to it in the morning! Just a bit concerned about expressing too much after a feed which might affect the next one etc just worrying as want to continue breast feeding for as long as possible...well at least till I go back to work!
Thank you all again!