Expressing query

[rmyerspharmacy]

Just a quick question. In all the info I've read, advice when expressing is to pump until no more milk is available- and when bf make sure baby empties the breast so it refills efficiently.

My query is- if baby is asleep but you think they will wake within the next hour, can you pump a little bit to relieve engorgement but so that they can still feed from breast or do you have to pump breast fully to ensure more milk is produced.

Dd didnt sleep as much as normal last night so consequently is now into the third hr of an afternoon nap (very unusual). Expecting her to wake soon but don't know whether to pump fully and hope she stays asleep for another hour to let breast refill, or pump to relieve pressure now in case she wakes sooner.

Any advice welcome- both for today and for future long naps...

The breast is never actually empty. But yes, you can pump just a bit to relieve engorgement, sure. Much as babies sometimes have a full feed, and sometimes just a snack.

How old is your baby?

11 weeks. And I don't think she ever snacks- always stays on breast for ages and we have between 8-12 soaking nappies each day. And she is feeding very frequently at the moment (every 1.5-2hrs in the day and also every 2 hrs the last few nights)

I'm still finding bf painful (although I've been told latch is fine and advice has been that it will probably get better as she gets older) so we try to let my partner give one ebf bottle each day just to give me a break (but only since she was 8 weeks cos we didnt want her to get nipple confusion and make bf even more difficult)

Who told you the latch was fine?

Everyone told me DS' latch was fine, even though I found it didn't feel quite right and sometimes painful. He put on weight just fine too.

Turned out he has lip tie and suspected posterior tongue tie, and he's always been very gassy and a light sleeper. I didn't get him looked at or realise until he was nearly a year old - too old to have anything snipped or operated on without general anaesthetic or going private.

I so wish I'd seen an expert in the early days instead of just taking the midwives' word for it.

several midwives and a couple of health visitors.

i have found a lactation consultant on the internet but they are few and far between in the UK and i don't have transport atm to get to her in the day time (about 45 miles away) and she hasn't the availability to visit me at home.
I've read loads on the internet though- and we wait for a large open mouth, make sure we have an asymetric latch with nipple aimed towards top back of mouth, lips are flanged out, bottom lip covers more of areola and nose is close to breast above nipple...
just always comes out with the nipple mis-shaped (flattened with pressure stripes up the sides and flatter tip- lipstick like) and painful throughout feeding most times- we get the odd one where there is no pain but some days are better than others and some days are just horrid

Have been told she has a shallow latch and that it will get better as she gets bigger- which it has kind of, no-where near as painful as it was say 6 weeks ago but still hurts.

keep missing the local bf group too as the local one is once a week and we never seem to make it cos we are feeding and sleeping on demand still- and it seems she has either been asleep or feeding during the 2 hr slot the group meets

Its not so bad that i cant stick it out though- I read some threads on here and feel grateful that nothing has started bleeding yet, and I haven't got mastitis/thrush (touch wood) so we think positive and take each day as it comes :)

Make sure you're getting enough breast into the baby's mouth. My DS3 is a lazy feeder and would take the bare minimum in but I was ending up in a lot of pain. The HV breastfeeding specialist said not to put up with a shallow latch and to unlatch him and make sure he took a good mouthful of breast with the nipple pointing towards the roof of his mouth. It didn't take very long to retrain him and the pain went away. Breastfeeding can be painful at first as you both get used to it but by 11 weeks you should be getting the hang of things.

we do unlatch regularly and re-latch, and try to shove as much breast in as possible - but sometimes she pulls straight back and goes shallow again, which gets her unlatched and relatched again and again... we'll keep persevering....

It does take practice but it's worth persevering to get the best technique. Good luck.