How to give expressed milk and not affect supply.

[sharond101]

I have been expressing a little after the last feed so some one else can feed Dd occasionally. My Mum gave her her first today and I then panicked as I realised my body may think of that as a missed feed and lessen my supply. How do you ho about it to maintain your supply? I decided to express whilst she was taking the bottle but that was taking away the benefit of my mum giving her a bottle I.e to free up time for me.

I'm sorry, absolutely no advice but marking my place because I'm in a similar position.

How long have you been breast feeding for?

This is a tricky one, and I think is the reason my lactation consultant said to not worry about expressing unless I really needed to do it (e.g. returning to work).

I did, however, miss the occasional feed before I went back to work (at 8.5months), but it was really just every now and then (e.g. once or twice a week at most after about 5 months). I produced the milk for this by adding in an 'extra' feed most evenings (about 9pm - after dinner, in front of the telly) to build up a bit of a stash.

It's less of an issue once supply has been established (can't remember how long this takes usually takes? With us it was a while for things to establish and then settle down as DD had tongue tie and I had oversupply issues), but if I was away from DD for more than one or two feeds in a row I'd have to hand express for comfort.

Hi! With my first, when she was about 2-3 weeks old, I expressed every day around the same time and she had a bottle of ebm most evenings. Supply was fine as although I was missing a feed, my body was also gaining one from the expressing.
Not bothered expressing with 2nd as bf easier.
As long as bf fully established and baby a few weeks old then your supply will be fine-if there is an issue then you will know about it as baby will just start feeding more (particularly at night) to increase supply (like they do in growth spurt) x

If it's one feed now and then it really won't be an issue after 2 or 3 weeks. Honestly, it won't mess up supply.

I hope there aren't many women wrecked with exhaustion because they think the odd bottle of expressed will wreck supply.

In fact the main reason I was told to wait was to avoid nipple confusion. Not supply.

If you are worried, make it a daytime not and evening/night you skip.

X post with up... YY to what she says.