Pump not working- should I just give an occasional FF?

[milkysmum]

DS is 9 weeks and is ebf- has just had the odd bottle of expressed milk if I have had to go out somewhere without him (not often!). I bought a medela swing breast pump second hand and it has now lost suction on me (serves me write for being a cheap scape!) I have tried replacing the valve and membrane but suction still low and no milk bar a couple of drips being expressed!. Due to go my works christmas party this friday. Can't really afford to go down the route of a new pump and being that I only plan for ds to only have the occasional bottle would it be reasobale just for dh to offer formula when I am not there?

You can hire breastpumps from the NCT or direct from Medela. They do next-day delivery so you could get one tomorrow if you wanted. Alternatively, have you tried a manual pump if you're only expressing infrequently?

You could mix-feed if you wanted to but if you would be upset about it then the other options are still open to you.

or hand expressing - it takes a bit of practice, but some mums swear they can do it quicker by hand than with pump.

I would, probably. If it's a one off it's unlikely to affect your supply. Don't worry about it :)

It might be that you're struggling to achieve letdown though rather than the pump being old. This becomes harder as your baby gets older and your body becomes more tuned to his needs rather than lactating wildly at the slightest prompting. Try expressing when you're overdue for a feed, or watch him sleeping while you pump, or try thinking about his birth or some other emotional event involving him. (Like, sounds silly, but perhaps a time when he was crying and you couldn't get to him.) You can also try hand expressing for a bit until the drops turn into squirting and then switch to the pump, or expressing for a few minutes at the same time each day from now until Thursday, even if you're just getting drops. The same demand at the same time should result in more milk being produced at that time roughly.

It's a call only you can make. A very occasional bottle of formula won't effect supply but once you give one there is temptation to do it again a few days later and then again etc and eventually it will effect supply.

Some people oppose mixed feeding because they put store in the 'virgin gut' theory that exclusively breast fed children get more benefits if nothing but BF goes into their gut. I never found much evidence to support that but others might know of stuff I don't know.

I don't think it does "create temptation", if it's purely being used because Mum is out - it's similar to using EBM in that sense. If you're using it to settle him or to top up after feeding then it might do, I suppose (as in, tempting to use formula in the future because it's the easy option and you know it works rather than seek out long term solutions which would support BF - NOT saying that mixed feeding or formula is something "bad")

I forgot to add OP that if you're going out for more than 3-4 hours you may want to express a bit while you're out. If you don't want to take the pump with you then it might be worth carrying a muslin in your handbag which you can hand express into in the toilet or somewhere.

I either hand expressed or used the tommee tippee manual pump for the first 6 months, and I was expressing a lot as I was back at work full time from 4 months. If you're only going to express occasionally the Tommee Tippee is great.

Expressing is something of a dark art and some women never get the hang of it. Breast compression and massage can help, as can looking at a photo of your child or thinking really hard about them. Stress can stop the let down happening so try and relax.

I'd try hand expressing. I never did get much with a pump but can hand express quit easily. Espicaly if it's only for the odd feed you don't really want to shell out on another pump.

There is some good info on the BfN leaflet about how to do it.
www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/pdfs/BFNExpressing&Storing.pdf
May take a bit of practices.

Thanks for the advice ladies. Is the consenses then that it's probably best not to give formula instead then and to try different methods of expressing- know it's a personal decision just value others opinions.