Breast to bottle - expressing question

[HollyPockett]

I have decided to start to introduce bottles. DD is 10 days old so I'm going to express so she's still getting my milk. My question is how do I do the expressing?

Do I express from one breast only and feed from the other? Will DD get enough of my milk that way?

I'm planning on dropping one feed a week so it's not too stressfull

Most people find that it's easier to express in the morning because that's when their breasts are fuller. Pumping while you feed on the other breast is a good idea because you get the letdown reflux from baby sucking on the other boob which will help your output.
Are you aware that expressing do early I'd not recommended though? It can interfere with supply at a time when your body is trying to figure out how much to milk it needs to make. You may end up with more than you need - trust me it's not fun to have oversupply - or the other way round if you're one oh those women who can't get much output from the pump - because it's one less feed your baby is having from you. Also it's such faff!!

Firstly congratulations on your new arrival.
Pumping can be a lot more stressful than feeding directly? You say you want to drop one feed are you planning on slowly stopping breastfeeding altogether.
I know many women who pumped so DH could feed at night etc and their milk supply dwindled.
Its also not advised to introduce a bottle until baby is passed 2 weeks at this can cause nipple confusion.
However when i used to express it was most successful to pump during the morning feed would get 4-6oz but would only manage 3 any other time of day.
Also what pump are you using as to get a good supply you need a good pump. I use madela swing. If you have a hand pump be prepared for some serious wrist ache.

I've never managed to get more than a few drops with a pump but can get quite a lot with expressing by hand - even so I find it takes me 2 / 3 days to get enough for 1 feed for him now he's older.

I'd say try and see what suits you best and at which time of day - I get most milk in the morning if I want to.

Are you dropping breastfeeds to replace feeding from you with just feeding expressed milk? I would think it would be very difficult to maintain your supply to exclusively use breastmilk in those curcumstances.

Thanks all for replies. I actually find expressing into electric pump really easy. I fed DD this morning and then expressed 60 ml no problem. It's so that DH can do the late feed :). But yes, I will eventually drop all breast feeds. But at the rate of one a week so I can keep up supply.