breast milk for a sick baby.

[IReallyHateMyCat]

Dd stoped bf at 3 months due to my milk drying up finally (we had latch issues and pumping didn't increase supply though I did it religiously for the 3 months)

She is 10 months now and has been pretty ill, pneumonia which she finished antibiotics for about a week ago and now she has started vomiting a lot (we're seeing the doctor today)

My question is I am pregnant 33 weeks and have noticed I can start to get some colustrum. Should I try and express some for dd? Will it help her? Will it "use up" the colustrum intended for the new baby before he is born? I don't want him to miss out if it turns to milk before he is born (sorry if that is a really stupid question)

Oh gosh, brilliant idea. Definately go for it if you can. It's jam-packed with antibodies that will be appropriate to her anyway as you're next to her. Absolutely brilliant.

Your milk won't "turn" to mature milk until a few days after the baby is born, and a few days after the placenta comes away from your uterus (basically). So don't worry about that.

When the baby comes if you're still expressing for your DD then the rule of thumb is to feed the baby first and take additional milk once the baby's had enough. But right now it's great. :)

Oh thank you I felt stupid about the colustrum thing but I know you don't provide it forever so I was worried I wold be "stealing" it from the newborn

Why stupid? What you don't know, you don't know, and you asked so now you know :) :)

Hope your DD gets better soon.

On another note, have you got local support for next time to try to avoid the same problems?

I'm not sure about the support system here as just moved but in fairness it was fantastic where I lived before. I think the bf councilor about wanted to cry we just couldn't do it and she couldn't get dd to do it... I had midwives trying to help the home visitor. Honestly I can't fault any of them. I guess it was just one of those things. I was really sad at the time though :(

I am not sure if my milk wasn't increasing due to her not latching or if she didn't latch because she wasn't getting milk :( I suspect it was the latter because even pumping I could do it for an hour and only get an ounce

Expressing just doesn't give an indication of supply as many people with gallons of milk can't express a drop. But, if you're expressing rather than directly feeding it can often lead to a drop in supply (as you found despite all your efforts) because there's not sufficient stimulation for some women to keep lactating :(

Good places to find out about support locally are your NCT branch (they may have qualified breastfeeding counsellors - it's a specific qualification although sadly the term is not legally protected so anyone can jut call themselves one). Same with the local La Leche League branch if there is one (they're called leaders, but the same thing). Your Sure Start centre may have a breastfeeding group or there may be a Baby Cafe (usually run by NCT) nearby.

Your midwife should hopefully know some or all of what's going on locally, but she might not so doing a bit of digging is a good idea.

There will be a reason why she didn't latch and I'm just wanting to make sure you get the best chance next time :)

Thank you organic dd was born in the UK and we had a govt run group of bf councilors who would come to your house and help.. I am in the US now so will need to start looking but I will talk to my midwife when I see her today :) She's quite hot on bf so I'm sure she will have some contacts, I do feel like I understand the mechanics and all that fine, I do have some medical issues which make it hard for me to keep properly hydrated and I suspect that is a large part of my milk supply issues. I will do my best though and hopefully it will all happen!

If your in the US then see if there is a local La Leche League group near you. They are world wide and if in a large population center in the Us then there should be one near you.