Expressing - will it drive supply mad and how do I give it? Ds is 2 weeks old

[thunksheadontable]

I could really do with someone else giving ds2 a feed. My ds1 is really struggling with not having any time with me and because ds2 has a lot of nasal congestion at the moment, he is doing a lot of "little and often" type feeding as the day progresses, with nearly all of his longer feeds overnight or very early morning AND I need to use a nasal aspirator on him for every feed as he gets very uncomfortable and snorty and upset without it, and this takes additional time.

I'm just not sure about expressing - when to do it, how to give it etc. I would just like there to be a fall back for the evening routine, so that I can bath and put ds1 to bed every other night or at least 2 times a week without just abandoning ds2 to his father with nothing if he wants a bit of extra milk. The general routine is two hourly all day and then a 4 hour stretch from bedtime to night feed and a 3 hour stretch after that but with some clusterfeeding in the early evening which is just when ds1 could do with a bit of attention from me (he is at nursery 3 days a week and not home until 5.30).

I just want a wee bit of flexibility because ds1 is very distressed by it all at the moment, and keeps saying things like: "I lost my mummy, baby has him [sic] now" and "Baby need to share my mummy me!". He is 2 and a half.

It depends how often you want to express. Many mums can express one feed a day without getting problems. In the early days of breastfeeding I would only express to give my nipples a break. I was lent a medical grade pump by the local breastfeeding support group, so that might be worth investigating.

There is a risk of nipple confusion, though I suspect a bigger risk is bottle-laziness as even slow drip bottles still allow babies to get milk without too much effort. There is a teat called a Medela Haberman, which I was recommended by another mum. It works by making a baby have to actively suck to get milk so helps stop bottle laziness. It was designed for special needs babies but is really good for breastfed babies who have the occasional bottle. You can also try giving it in a sippy cup.

In your situation I would express after the afternoon feed. If it's only an oz or two just stick it in the fridge and add to it each day so that you have enough for the feed. Breastmilk will keep for several days at the back of the fridge.

I started expressing when DS was a couple of weeks old (I had conflicting advice on this from midwives so just experimented myself - DS is 6 wks, ebf and happily putting on weight).

You might find you've got more of a supply in the morning - I usually get most expressing done then. I also read somewhere to express after feeds as this can increase your supply.

Maybe I'm just lucky, but DS seems happy to switch between me and the bottles.