Expressing help

[ScaryFairy28]

How can I get more than one once when expressing? Been trying for a week and that's all I can get.

You'll get more in the morning than at night.
which pump are you on?

Are you pumping from both breasts at once - usually more effective. Early hours of the morning were good for me too. How old is your baby?

Chips - I only find time to pump at night, though tried this morning and got nothing. Using mothercares own handheld.
Belinda - Only doing one at a time as have handheld pump baby is 5 months.

Sorry to suggest spending more money, but hand pump didn't work for me. Electric has been a godsend. Can you borrow one to try?

Have you tried eating oats? Sounds silly but it does work.

Also feeding from one boob and expressing from the other works wonders.

Good luck!

Could very well be your pump. Double electric would be the way to go, if you need to express. At 5 months though, I was getting much less when pumping. Doesn't mean baby is getting less though.

Oats, posterofaghoul ?? what - just porridge? (or flapjacks!!) never heard that one!

tried porridge today. Milk did seem to flow faster! thank you

i've just spent the last 10 or so weeks expressing after dd arrived at 27 weeks and found a few good tips and hints. first up robinsons lemon barley water - as barley boosts prolactin - its miraculous stuff! next up i ditched the pumps altogether and did it by hand and my supply soared. unless your boobs match the funnels on a pump really well you miss loads of ducts. i hand expressed by doing a couple of minutes a side then swap over to the other when the flow slows, and repeat back and forth. massage and um nipple twiddling helps too. and i found i got most overnight and first thing in the morning and least from teatime onwards. hths

Poppet, I heard hand expressing is more efficient than any pump so no point in spending loads of money, and would definitly save time washing and sterilising. However I tried it after watching a youtube video, but I have not been successful, can't seem to do it right. How did you learn? I think i will have to ask my midwife.

Sorry for the delay in replying. I learned from the mws at the hospital who gave me lots of help because they knew I'd be expressing for a long time, and I also used that magaziney type breastfeeding guide they give you in the bumpf of stuff after you've given birth. There's not to much of a nack to it though so you can pick it up without either of those, you do the nipple stimulation thingie, which frankly looks like tuning a radio , then gently stroke your breast tissue down towards the nipple to get the oxytocin and prolactin levels up then use your thumb and index finger in a 'c' shape to squeeze around the milk ducts. Make sure you squeeze different parts of each duct by doing it closer to the nipple and also further out towards the rest of the breast tissue as not all ducts are in a uniform ring around the areole and they might not be where you think they are. I hope that helps!