expressing to get a break from biting baby - can it work?

[MamaChocoholic]

dt1 has been biting me, on and off, for over 2 months. she is now 7mo and has broken the skin twice. we've had a few good days, but today has been bad again. I dread every feed, but most of all I dread the thought of her injuring me badly again and having to feed as it heals. just don't think I can face that again. so I am thinking of trying to build a freezer stash just in case, so I know I can give that side a couple of days break if needed. any advice from those who know something about expressing much appreciated.

I don't have a pump, and never managed to express much with a borrowed pump with ds1, so I'm thinking of hand expressing. can I express into a cup a little at a time over a few hours and then pour into a freezer bag? will the cup need to be sterilised (and if so how)? I presume defrosted milk can just be given in a normal (clean but not steralised) cup at this age?

if I then need to use the stash, will I be able to just hand express for comfort on that side while it heals? and (the unanswerable question), what's the chance she will refuse to go back to the breast if I don't feed her directly for a couple of days? she's not terribly interested in feeding through the day, and is starting to be able to be rocked rather than fed to sleep.

best if you do some breast massage and nipple rolling first before you start acrually expressing, as it will probably help get more. I don't think you really need to sterilise, just make sure it's a clean. You can add to it as much as you want over time, it will keep 6 days in the fridge - or you can even add to the bag once it's frozen as well.

Yes, you can just give it in a cup when you need to use it, and I would suggest that's a better idea than a bottle to stop breast refusal, but obviously there's no guarantee she won't refuse the breast.

I think your supply should be happy enough now that you are ok not feeding from the affected side and just expressing if you do need to do that, but lets hope you've cured the biting!

Check the storage advice on KellyMom. You can add to a pot in the fridge over 24 hours before freezing it or keeping it in the fridge, but don't add different days together as you have to go by the earliest day for how long to keep it.

Expressing isn't as effective as a baby, so if you totally stop feeds suddenly for a few days, expect to be a little uncomfortable and for it to take a couple of days for your supply to re-establish - though you may be fine.

Building a stash takes time when your supply is settled (it'll need to adjust to expressing extra and you can't express much in one go). I use Tommee Tippee 2oz storage pots, usually express 1/2 - 1 a day and DD takes 12-14 in 24 hours if on ebm only!

I think you can add different days together as long as you still go by the oldest day.

Yes, but it doesn't make sense to do so as you may have to chuck more.

thanks both. will pop to boots tomorrow to get some storage. so the plan will be to use one storage pot or bag per day, express when I get a chance, top up storage pot in fridge and freeze at end of day. obviously ideal if she would stop biting but that doesn't look likely any time soon. this way I at least have backup which will hopefully help me deal with my fears.

I did this recently for a few days as ds was teething and had a cold and made a hole on 1 side. Was a nice reminder of the pain of the early days!

I did find it uncomfortable on the side I was resting, especially at night as I obviously wasn't getting enough out hand expressing. Wasn't awful though.

Is it worth talking to someone on one of the phonelines, to see if they have any suggestions for stopping the biting which you haven't already tried?

thanks albrecht, good to know. tho sorry you're suffering too.

I did phone, and am now very consistent about saying no and putting her down. but she has a shallow latch which works for us with her bubble palette and I don't see any warning signs, possibly also because my attention is divided with dt2. she even bit me last night when asleep. not sure there's anything else I can try.

so had a go at hand expressing. have only ever tried to get small bits out for wiping sticky eyes etc and naively thought flow would continue at that pace for a few minutes. I managed to produce not even 0.5 fl oz, after half an hour trying in the bath. I'm going to keep trying with the mantra practice makes perfect, but any tips on hand expressing? have searched kellymom but can only find a video on expressing fir a newborn (before milk has come in). thanks :)

Did you do breast massage and nipple rolling first, that can really help expressing. Also I find a picture or video of ds helps as well, but then I only express when I?m away from him now as back at work