Expressing advice

[Teapig]

Hi, I could really do with some advice on expressing as a clueless first time mum.

My DD is 7 weeks and is EBF, I'd like to express so that DH can do a feed if I pop out but I'm not sure when to express and last time I tried (5 weeks) DD refused the bottle and I ended up with mastitis. So my questions are:

When is the best time to express?
Will expressing mess up my supply?
Any tips on getting LOs to take a bottle?
Is there a certain age you have to introduce a bottle by or it's too late? I've heard if you haven't done it by 8 weeks it's too late.

Thanks for any thoughts/advice!

• In the morning and doing it tandem is best
• Nope
• Try wide neck bottles and hold her to you.
• No some babies reject a bottle later, just trial and error

Hi tea.

Yes mornings best for me too. When I seem to be fullest.
I do tandem now but that takes some practice. It's most effective when baby is near you.
I guess my body is used to making the extra milk in the morning for the bottle in the evening.
I agree about the bottles - get your other half to offer it so baby doesn't try to go directly for boob. We used tommy tipper closer to nature to start with, but the teats kept blocking so we switched to avent.

Thanks faith and mrs martin, I'll give it a go.

One other question, is it ok to express from each side and put that into the same bottle? Could I keep the expressed milk at room temperature and then add more later if I express again later on before putting it in the fridge? Or should I express into a new bottle each time even if that means using quite a few bottles with a little in each?

I've always frozen expressed & then made up a bottle from various 2oz portions - they might be different days, let alone different sides. Small portions freeze & defrost quicker, & reduce waste you see... So yes, don't worry which side the ebm is from, 1 boob or both.

I personally wouldn't keep it at room temp then add more later though. I would put any expressed straight into the fridge.

Express into a fresh bottle at each sitting, & it might be best to transfer the contents to a milk storage bag, label up with time & date, so you know which to use first.

Ebm will usually stay fresh in the fridge for 5 days, but smell it. If it smells like off milk, its probably off. In fact, smell it when its fresh, & you'll know what it should smell like. It freezes & keeps for 6mths.

If you've tried the Tommee Tippee closer to nature bottles, I think some people have success with Nuk bottles.

If your DD won't take it from a cup or bottle, have a smell/taste. Some women have too much lipase, which can make it smell/taste a bit fishy. I don't think its very often, but there ways around it - its just a thought to consider if all else fails!!

Fine to express from both. I tend to express into a bottle, pop it in the fridge and if I get more off I cool it separately then mix them when they're both cold.

Thanks for the advice faith and chunky. Yuck to fishy milk! I hope for DD's sake I don't have that sounds icky but good to know if all else fails.

Sorry to jump on the bandwagon Teapig but in the same curious position as you. DD is nearly 5 weeks. I have tried expressing with a manual breast pump twice and both times managed about 1.5oz with considerable effort. Good to know it's ok to store and mix smaller amounts. My main issue is I never feel there's a good time to express. DD rarely goes more than 2-2.5 hours between feeds so never feel "full" and I do not experience the letdown people talk about. Is this normal?! Have spoken to various people (really helpful bf adviser, HVs and midwives) and although most have been very nice I don't feel there's any consistency in advice on bf'ing!

Dee generally your supply increases over night so I find about I get most off around 7. Faithlet usually feeds around 6 but I can still express about 3oz then. It gets easier when
go longer between feeds too!

Dee could you afford an electric pump? I found a manual was useless with my first - couldn't get anything despite getting 1.5-2oz in leakage alone using breastshells. The medela swing is a decent reasonably priced pump & works for me. I also found tandem-pumping whilst feeding first thing in the morning was the best. As I don't regularly give DS a bottle, any I pump has gone in the freezer, but any time I miss a feed when he does have a bottle, I pump & re-stock.

I found that I wouldn't ever get more than 2-3oz at a time with DD, even with the same pump, but can get at least twice as much with DS. It's odd. Boobs are weird and wonderful!!

Yes if you're going to express regularly an electric pump is a must! I used a hand pump for about 4 weeks. Such a bind, amount I got varied massively and my hand started to get callouses! I got the Philips avent which I'm really pleased with. Now I usually get 3-4oz from 10 mins on each boob.

Also re letdown - I've only just really identified it and its most noticeable if its been a while since she fed. The avent gets you to use a handle to pump until you letdown (you see the milk come into the system) and then you press a button to get it going. Without a light on I don't always know if its started!

Thanks for the advice ladies! I don't envisage needing to bottle feed often but was advised to try so that I know DD would take a bottle if needed...both times so far she guzzled the lot in seconds

Reassuring about letdown too, good to know it's not necessarily noticeable for everyone...