tiktok, could I just ask your advice....

[tortoiseshell]

Don't know if you remember my angst over milk supply - well, baby's weight is ever so slowly creeping up, about 1oz every 2 or 3 days. I've been expressing like mad to top him up with - he usually has about 2oz after each feed. This helps as he is STILL quite sleepy, and it seems to wake him up a bit. However, this morning I have SMASHED the medela pump (not on purpose, just dropped it on the floor) - do you think he could switch over to full b/feeding now, or would it be wise to replace the pump? Obviously I do eventually want him to come off the EBM as it is a real hassle, and impossible if I want to go out anywhere! (He's 3.5 weeks old now, and way off his birth weight still - was 4580g and at last weigh in was 4220g). If so, what's the best way of doing it? Cold turkey with a smashed breast pump, or gradually?

Thanks!

SOrry, just to add, I'd really like HIM to be in control of when he feeds - at the moment I'm still feeding him every 2 hours in the day, because I don't trust him to ask for a feed iyswim! He's still feeding in the night - has a feed at 12 and 4 ish which he wakes for, so it's the daytime feeds I'm thinking about.

Hi, TS - great to hear you're hanging on in there :)

I don't think your baby is out of the woods just yet and on the basis of what you say here, no, I don't think it would be ok to go to full, direct bf just yet. This will happen, but in the meantime, you do need to continue to express. Hand expressing is a useful skill and maybe now is the time to have a go.
I put 'how to hand express' into Google and there are several reasonable result returned.
When things are better, then of course he can be deciding when to feed and you will be able to go here there and everywhere with him :) But 3.5 weeks and still a long way off his birthweight, and still being sleepy.....not yet the time to go 'direct', sorry.

But it will happen!!

What do your healthcare people say?

Thanks tiktok - we're still under mw care atm, and they are just saying to feed him as much as possible. They're not overly concerned about the weight gain, as he is following the pattern of his brother and sister, who both did the same thing (ds1 lost about 15% of his birth weight, and only regained it at about 6 weeks, and that was with top ups of formula 4 times a day!!!).

I think you're right about not switching over immediately - I'll have a look at hand expressing on google - thanks for that! I don't want him to get into another cycle of sleepiness through lack of milk.

Thanks for the advice - now and before! Really really helped!

Hi again - he's just been weighed and is now 4370g, so has put on 150g in the last 6 days. And has FINALLY been discharged by the midwives! So I'm going to keep on with the EBM for now, but am going to try not to stress and obssess about his feeding!

Thanks tiktok!

Tortoiseshell - I have a medela pump, never used. (Used an electric one during my own pumping saga a year ago, and then things went so well I never had to pump again :) ). I would need it back as I'm hopeful for no. 2 at some point, but do you want me to send it you? CAT me if you do.

foundintranslation - that's really kind of you, but I've remembered I've got an Avent hand pump in the loft, so I'm going to give that a try - had forgotten about its existence! Dh is also hopeful he might be able to fix the medela one. Thank you so much for the offer though!

\link{http://www.breastfeedingandbabywearing.co.uk/expressing.html\link for handexpressing}

I never used a pump last time round. Hand expressing was much quicker for me. You actually can get larger amounts hand expressing than with a pump. No hassle of sterilising either. Worth a go.

Thanks mears, will look at that. Dh has just phoned and said he's fixed it, which I'm very impressed about - I smashed the electric motor bit! But I will look at hand expressing as well, I really hate the pump!