Need some advice re: expressing milk

[superbfairywren]

I have read countless articles and threads online and still feel clueless so am hoping someone might be able to help. I have a 14week old dd who is exclusively breastfed and I want to start expressing relatively regularly to give myself a little bit of freedom and get her dad a little more involved. I have a double electric pump which I didn't find the time or energy to try until last night. Managed to express about 1oz from a single breast but realise I was probably trying at the wrong time of day as dd feeds roughly every hour before bed and I hadn't given myself time to fill up again. Also she doesn't tend to feed much overnight so I assume my breasts are used to her demands and there might not be much there in the evenings? Can anyone advise me how to start with expressing? I don't imagine I will need to use bottles that often but I'd like to get her used to taking a bottle from someone else and work out how to fit in expressing best. What time of day should I try and should I expect to only get a little at a time? I thought I had oversupply issues as the milk is often quite forceful when she's feeding But I'm not entirely sure.

How much you can express is not a guide to how much milk you're producing (a baby is more efficient than a pump) , so don't worry that you didn't get very much that time.

I think that expressing is something of a learned skill, just like breastfeeding. You'll get used to what time of day is best, and how to get more milk. I find mornings are best, and it can help to express immediately after a feed so the milk is already flowing. Breast compressions help me too, and pumping until I get a second let-down.

Thank you. I think it will just be trial and error until I get it right. Fortunately she guzzled the ounce I managed to express this morning so hopefully she will take to a bottle okay.
Any advice on how often to try to pump? I don't want to make the mistake of upping my supply too much.

Get the medela swing pump. I tried loads, avoiding this one as it was so expensive, but it works so much better than any other ones (I tried about 5!) that it's def worth it.

I'd try first thing in the morning, when your breasts are quite full. Pump from one breast while the baby feeds from the other - baby's suckling triggers the let-down reflex in both boobs.

Thanks for the advice. I was given an ameda lactaline so am using that. I don't have to go out tomorrow morning so I think I Will get organised and try to express while I feed dd from the other breast first thing and see what I get.
Should the amount you express increase the more you attempt? Should I just express once a day in the morning and will first thing in the morning milk be okay to give at bedtime in a bottle? I have no idea if it's rubbish but someone told me that milk produced in the evening has sleep-inducing properties!

I have no idea whether milk produced in the evening is more sleep-inducing than milk produced in the morning... it seems to me that DD likes to fall asleep after a feed any time of day

I agree with elle. The only time I can pump more than a few mls is first thing in the morning whilst dd is feeding from the other side.

Thanks, it sounded silly when I wrote that to be honest. I assume that if I'm not there and she is having a bottle she will drink because she is hungry and fall asleep be cause she is tired. She has stopped feeding to sleep at bedtime anyway so won't really make a difference! I tried again and got another ounce easily so hopefully if I keep at it I can up the quantity so I can go out and leave her with my husband one evening. Not In a hurry or particularly bothered if it doesn't happen so will just keep trying. Thank you for your advice.

I've never heard anything about night time milk being different.

Milk is usually more plentiful in the morning. I've sometimes managed to pump whilst feeding her in the morning. But usually I have to wait until the evening when she's gone to bed and there's definitely less then. Make sure you store it properly. 3 to 5 days in the fridge. Keep it at the back. 6 months in the freezer if it's a deep freeze, less if it isn't.

Also I find I have to keep taking the pump on and off my boob to stimulate the milk. I take it off for a few seconds every few minutes.

I managed to get a bit more the second and third times I tried but didn't seem to be any more in the morning than the evening. Will try again tomorrow morning and keep going. Probably doesn't help that she had been exceptionally hungry the past week and seems to be feeding every hour and a half day and night! Thanks for the tips, I think removing the pump and returning seems to help. I have also ordered a different insert for the pump to make it hopefully fit better so that might make a difference too.

I used to pump from one breast first thing in the morning before feeding the baby, then offer baby the other breast first. Needs you to wake up first though! I think an ounce to start with is fine, you will probably get better at it. If you manage an ounce or two every morning you can get a good 'stash' in the freezer to use when you need it.

I could always pump more if I looked at DS or his picture, or smelt some of his clothes. I have no idea why, but that definitely made a difference!