Starting to express

[LucyB1]

Hi all. My dd is almost 4 weeks and I am thinking about giving her the odd expressed bottle in the next few weeks so dh can feed (I can have some wine). Does anyone have any tips that we need to know? She is really good a breastfeeding. I don't want to muck things up!

It's easiest to express in the morning (just after first morning feed)

Some people find expressing easier than others - some women can produce lots quickly others not much. Looking at your baby or a picture of them while you pump is supposed to help

The fit of the pump is quite important so try to get one where different size boob attachments are available

Double pumping is the way forward IMO

Some bottles are supposed to be accepted more readily than others by a BF baby. we found NUK worked well

if you want to be sure she'll take a bottle you may need to give one daily or at least very often not just now and then

Thanks for the reply. How much do you give?

Yy to double pumping and making sure the boob attachments fit- I was using standard but went down to smaller 21mm size (small boobs; so obvious in hindsight!) and got much quicker results. Took time for my boobs to get used to the idea though so don't worry if you're only getting small amounts- it's not a reflection of how much milk you have. Remember, baby MUCH more efficient than a pump

Kellymom is brilliant for all kinds of BFing info, including amounts- calculator here..

www.kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/milkcalc/

Also used Nuk latex teats and got a Nuk latex dummy so even before I was giving her bottles regularly DD was at least familiar with the feel of the teat and how to suck it (took some persuading).

I've never managed to express, but just wanted to say that breastfeeding doesn't mean you can't have some wine!

Amounts - afraid I can't remember the amounts dd took as a newborn. You work out pretty quickly how much your baby tends to need after a bit of trial and error.

Top tip: don't put loads of ebm in the bottle at once because once their mouth has been in contact with the bottle you have to throw any unused ebm in it away. Put a fairly small amount in the bottle and have some more readily to hand in another container, so you can then refill the bottle if they take the first lot. A half full mug of hot water (that the bottle fits into) is useful to warm the second round. Useful to have DH/DP on hand to help with refills the first time.

We started doing exactly this when DD was about 4 weeks and it went really well for us. To start DH gave the bottle while I was out of the room so she couldn't decide she would prefer boobs! It didn't take long for her to accept a bottle from either of us.