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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Questions about expressing breast milk

29 replies

amijee · 20/08/2006 16:56

My 1st baby is a little over 3 weeks old and I am breast feeding and expressing one feed a day without problems. My concern is that the amount I express ( using a very good electric pump) is approx 20% less than he takes. In other words, I usually express around 2.5 oz and he normally feeds a little over 3oz in one feed ( we've often had to combine two expressings) I'm not sure whether he extracts more from my breast than the pump does or whether he just feeds more from a bottle becaause it's so easy. The reason I'm concerned is because of going back to work and not being able to substitute all his feeds with expressing.

Also, when are the good times to express if I need to do it 2-3 times a day to get one good feed stored up for him?

OP posts:
clairemow · 20/08/2006 17:07

Amijee, your baby will be much more efficient at getting milk from your breast than the pump will, so he's probably taking as much from you as from the bottle, maybe more. It's all supply and demand, so expressing in addition to feeding will help increase your milk supply.

Also it's very early days and you'll find that both the amount you're expressing and his feeding increases as he gets bigger.

I used to express once in the morning, straight after DS's first feed (and eventually was getting about 7 oz), and then again in the evening while DH did the late feed before we went to bed. The morning expressing was always quite easy, as because I did it every day, my supply then was huge!! In the evening, I eventually used to get about 7 oz again, but it was always much harder in the evening as your milk supply tends to be lower after a full day of feeding.

Don't know if you know you can get plastic bags that you attach to the pumps to store expressed milk in the freezer - that would help you when you go back to work.

Good luck, give it time and your supply will build up with the demand.

Original poster
amijee · 20/08/2006 17:54

Hi Claire

thanks for that. I know that the amount increases as time goes on but will he ALWAYS extract more than the pump? If this is the case how do I go back to work and c/w exclusive breast feeding? I'm not gonna get the time to do an addtional one or two pumps as well as the pumping at work and feeding him when I get home. How does it all work? I've worked out i'm gonna have to do at least 2 maybe 3 pumps whilst at work and come home at lunch time to feed ( luckily I live close to work but I do long hrs)

Anyone else out there have experience of returning to work at 3 mths and continuing with exclusive breast feeding?

OP posts:
clairemow · 20/08/2006 19:58

There must be someone out there who knows the answer. I didn't go back to work until DS was nearly 1 so I'm not sure how it works re pumping if you go back earlier and want to carry on exclusively breast feeding. I know it is possible, but hopefully someone else will come along who's done it for you!

Sunday evening tends to be a bit quiet on MN, so if no-one replies tonight, bump your thread tomorrow morning and I bet loads of people will be there...

alex8 · 20/08/2006 20:02

Can you not give him any expressed milk in the 3 months you are home so you can build up more of a supply? Althoguh I cannot remember how long you can keep freeze it for. There was a thread on it recently I think.

I think the pump always get less then the breast.

popsycal · 20/08/2006 20:05

Hi there

I have quite a lot of experience of expressing thogh tehre are some Mners wioth more.

I found the morning feed was a rgeat time to express......have you tried expressing on the other side whilst feeding?

Your baby is still rather small though - you willstill be establishing your supply - I know you are going back to work soon but I would be tempted to wait a few more weeks before buildng up your freezer.

popsycal · 20/08/2006 20:07

There are some mums on here who exculsively gave ebm....shivs is one.

I returned to work when ds2 was 6 months and expressed at work.....
a year later i am still breastfeeding

www.kellymom.com is a great website

Hoping that tiktok comes along soon

liath · 20/08/2006 20:18

Slightly different circumtsances for me, but I stopped BF at 6 weeks (pain, bad latching, thrush and impending PND) and switched to expressing. I would express 4 times a day and get 8-12oz each time (just call me Daisy..) but it was quite hard going. My supply definitely built up the more I expressed.

NotAnOtter · 20/08/2006 20:20

I always express a lot and thus always produce more than demand. I think first thing in morning and last at night are best. I start from day one as i am paranoid about breast refusal ( bad experiece) Its hard work but I hire a pump and it makes it much easier!

Original poster
amijee · 21/08/2006 09:17

thanks for passing on the website - kelly mom,, I found it incredibly useful.

Unfortunately, it is quite depressing. It confirms that you never pump as well as the baby and will often have to pump twice for one feed. I really can't see how I'm gonna do this and work 10 - 11 hr days full time.

I will probably aim to extend my maternity leave by a few weeks but it may well look as if I will end up stopping breast feeding at 4 mths when I do go back unless anyone has any ideas.

The only other way I can think of is to consider ( the very controversial) formula feed at night and express at this time to build up my supplies in the freezer.

Would love to be able to stay at home for 6 mths but can't afford it as I am the wage earner.

Any one else in this situation??

OP posts:
mears · 21/08/2006 09:24

amijee - once you are back at work you will be able to express a whole feed at a time, sometimes two. The thing about going back to work is to build up an EBM stock in the freezer. I expressed for a SCBU and donated milk plus fed my DD exclusively and returned to work.
I used to express frequently thoughout the day, taking off just a couple of ounces at a time. I froze the milk in batches of 4oz and 6 oz so I collected milk over a couple of days, depending on how often I expressed.
I did not return to work full time but I have a number of friends who did. As your baby gets older you will find that you get larger amounts when you express.
I used to express when i felt quite full - if DD woke up I still had milk to feed her with. Your breasts are never empty.
Your baby gets more than you do expressing because they are more efficient at getting the milk out. I found I got a lot more milk hand expressing which was more efficient than the pump for me.

mears · 21/08/2006 09:26

hand expressing

Shivs1974 · 21/08/2006 09:49

Hi Amijee
As popsycal said I exclusively expressed for my dd - she never latched on, so a slightly different situation to you. I managed this for a year, when I found I was pg again and my supply declined dramatically.
I also read & was told that a pump would never be as effective as my baby - so because I didn't have the option of her latching on, I always ensured that I had more than enough in the fridge/freezer as I couldn't bear being slightly behind on my milk production. Our fridge resembled a diary at times!
Until dd was 6 months old I was expressing between 5-7 times a day. I was fortunate to be blessed with an abundant milk supply so was able to freeze lots & also donate some excess to the local milk bank. Which pump are you using? I really recommend the Ameda Lactaline (double pump which isn't too noisy) - someone was selling one on the For Sale board recently so definitely worth a look.
Thought I'd let you know that exclusive pumping is possible - hard work, but possible. I was also fortunate that work supplied a room for me. Do you know what facilities you will have at work? By asking now, it'll make it less stressful for you when you go back - particularly as when you need to pump, you need to pump!!
As I don't have any experience of bfing & expressing, I'll pass over to the other MN'ers who are much more knowledgeable than I am.
Good luck!

Flamesparrow · 21/08/2006 09:54

I don't know if this will be any help, but I find I always express more if I have DS feeding at the same time as expressing (it involves a lot of pillows and a very odd looking baby ) - I prop him up backwards to feed from one side, and then pump from the other. I'm not sure how electric ones work though - do you have to do both sides at onece?

Original poster
amijee · 21/08/2006 11:47

Thanks for the help so far. I do hope as time progresses I will be able to express a lot more. I think the issue at the moment is that he is going thru a growth spurt and feeding loads so i don't have a lot left over when he finishes to express.

As far as work goes, i have my own office and there is a staff room but there is no way I will manage to pump more than a couple of times a day owing to work commitments. I will speak to them in advance though. What are our rights as far as expressing is concerned?

I am using a medela double pump. I find it difficult to feed and pump at the same time and he needs the second breast most of the time. Any ideas where I can get the bra that holds the double pump in place?

As far as building the stores up now, we are actually using them so that I can have a life! For example, attend a dental appt etc. As well as the amts that I get in one session now will be a lot less than he will need in 3 mths time so notvery efficient.

However, I will keep expressing and see!!

OP posts:
kiskidee · 21/08/2006 11:54

i work fulltime and expressed exclusively for dd for a year. remember that at work you will be expressing full feeds. as long as you express around every 3 hrs while separated, your supply will be fine. your baby will maintain it by feeding at night and on weekends so you won't suffer a diminishing supply. as said already, you are still building a supply so stop stressing about amounts in a pump. my advice is to trust your body and trust your baby. knowing what i know now, i wouldn't start to bother expressing a 'stock' until a week or 2 before going back to work. it will happen.

kiskidee · 21/08/2006 11:55

why didn't you just take your baby along to the dental appt and just feed? much simpler than expressing.

kiskidee · 21/08/2006 11:58

oops take out the word 'exclusively'.

prettybird · 21/08/2006 12:17

The expressing will get easier. Two things I tohught of:

  1. When your baby drops a feed, use that time to express. When my ds stopped his 10pm feed, Iused that time to express, to supplement what I was expressing while I was at work.

  2. Are you expressing the "right" way? It's not like feeding your baby, when you complete one side before offering the other. For best results expressing, you should alternate frequently and for dcreasing lengths of time: 5 minutes each side, then 3 minutes, then 2 minutes, then 1 minute - or a variation of this depending on how long you can manage!

I was epxressing from aobut 2 weeks on the recommendation of the hosptital's breast feeding coulsellors to supplement ds with EBM as he was gaining weight very slowly. Even when, at aobut 6 or 7 weeks, I was told to stop bothering by the conultant paediatrician (ds was healthy, but gaining weight at his own rate ), I kept going as it was useful beciase I was going back to work full time when ds was 4 months old.

Initially I had an electric pump for the hospital (and also used a hosptial one for a week when I was re-admitted withn an infection - although ds was with me), I actually preferred the Avent hand operated pump.

It was while I was back in hospital, using the breast feeding pump room that I read the posters about the "alternating boob" technique.

I also found morning a good time to express. it is also worth putting a breast shell on the "other" boob while you are epxressing off one - it's amazing how much that can fill up!

makesachange · 21/08/2006 12:18

Amijee,

If I can add my two penny'th worth....

  1. Don't panic at this stage. Your baby is very young and still establishing feeding. Getting enough EM to leave your baby with someone for stuff like appointments is all you should be concerned about right now. I would say focus on establishing a feeding routine so that when you do have to leave him you can be more assured that you know where you are and what you're doing. I'm not advocating a DR Spock system here - but if your baby is of the personality who will allow you to bring him into a routine then consider doing so.

  2. Your milk production will build over time so over the next few weeks you will find it more and more easy to express more. Therefore you will be able to build up reserves closer to the time when you need them. Try practising expressing while feeding if possible but only one or twice a day as you still need to focus on establishing a good feeding system with your baby.

  3. I was lucky enough to be able to take my DS1 to work with me, so BF as required through the day, but that is not exactly common! However, is there a possibility of being able to pop home at lunchtime for a feed? Your rights to express at work are complicated but in theory you should be allowed the time and privacy, and a storage unit (ie fridge). Do a Google search - a quick one I did came up with this .

  4. What are you concerned about with nightime formula feeding? I would personally BF at night and formula in the day if he needs a top up above the EM you can give him.

  5. I know many people who have successfully gone back to work and continued to EM and 100% BF. It takes some commitment and you do need to take the time out when you need to EM (for your own comfort as much as anything else) but have confidence that if you're able to express now, you should not have too much of a problem when feeding is fully established and your milk supply has increased. If you're getting so much now then I honestly think you'll be fine. Give it another few weeks and you should find it easy to express plenty for the freezer.

A fabulous resource is your local NCT breastfeeding counsellor. Visit the NCT Website to find your local NCT group, or call 0870 444 08708. There's also the La Leche League on 0845 120 2918. They will give you loads of help and support (free). The NCT BF counsellors go through some years of training - they REALLY know what they're talking about.

All the best,
Emma
www.makesachange.co.uk

mears · 21/08/2006 20:56

amijee - \linkwww.expressyourselfmums.co.uk/easy-expression-bras/Easy-Expression-Halterneck/prodnum/2/areanum/140\here is a useful site that sells top to hold pump in place}

mears · 21/08/2006 20:57

here is a site that sells top to hold pump in place

Original poster
amijee · 21/08/2006 21:13

Wow - just went on that site and those bras are fantastic! Thanks ever so much mears and everyone that's given their useful experiences.

have decided to be cool about it. Little on is on a food frenzy at the moment and i'm reverting back to feeding every 90 ins to 2 hrs day and night so hardly time to express as well. But when he's a bit bigger and has established feeding times will do express more regularly.

The good thing about him feeding so much is that my supply is increasing and I feel the need to feed him even before he wants to.

OP posts:
popsycal · 21/08/2006 21:54

or you could try the old hair bobble method

JennT · 21/08/2006 21:55

Que?

jamiesam · 21/08/2006 22:08

amijee - congrats on getting organised. I had hardly any stocks of bm when I went back to work, ds1 aged 4 months. I expressed at work and found I could get LOADS out when he wasn't having first go!

In time, I did find that I couldn't express enough for him to have only bm and I had to top up with formula.

Don't forget to take a picture of him to work to help with your let down!

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