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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Expressing Exclusively

32 replies

JK123 · 01/12/2006 12:21

Hi. Could those mums who express milk exclusively tell me how many times they express in a day, how much milk they collect and the age of their little one. I'm having difficulties with my baby breastfeeding (3 month old) and so am thinking of switching to expressing all the time - I know it's not ideal but I don't feel I have much choice

OP posts:
ItsTheThoughtThatCounts · 01/12/2006 12:23

JK, what difficulties are you having?

It's perfectly possible to express fulltime, but it's hard work. There are MNers who've done it though who can help you with how best to do it and how many times you need to express, etc - but maybe till they post, we can help with the problems you're having? (Although I do have to go out in a mo!)

Have you been in touch with a bfeeding counsellor?

terramum · 01/12/2006 12:49

I had to express exlclusively for the forst month or so & then kept expressing for several months afterwards & I have to say it was the hardest thinbg I have ever done. To establish & keep my supply up I expressed "on demand": so whenever DS wanted feeding I would have to heat up the bottle, feed him and then express each side, then wash the pump & bottles, steralise them and then invariably start all over again. If he had a growth spurt and wanted to feed every hour then thats pretty much all I did - feed, pump & wash. Its not something I would ever do again if I had the choice.

What kind of difficulties are you having - have you spoken with a bfc about this

wools · 01/12/2006 14:11

Hi JK123,

I'm expressing at the moment but to be honest I'm finding it very difficult to get more than 3 4 ounce bottles per day. My dd ( age 6 weeks) is now mix fed, half her bottles are formula and half are breast milk - that's the best I can do.

I too had problems breast feeding - one thing after another and expressing seemed the only way to go. I express 5 times a day. Morning is the best time - I always get much more then. I try to do it every 3 to 4 hours but don't express in the night. It does mean you have to really plan your day and makes going out difficult although not impossible. I do sometimes feel it's taken over my life a bit and I know my dh is keen for me to give it up and just feed formula but I am resisting.

Original poster
JK123 · 01/12/2006 14:32

DD will only take my breast in the morning (her first feed) but after that she will resist and only wants the bottle. I stopped breastfeeding for a couple of weeks becuase I was just so run down and through hard work, have just got her back to being anywhere near my breast! I need to change the teat from size 1 to 2 and it makes me think that she is only going to want the milk in a bottle if I do this and I just can't see it that I'll ever be able to get her back to breatfeeding full time. At the moment, am only expressing in the evening and get about 7 oz. I reallty hate the thought of having to express 5 times a day!

OP posts:
vitomum · 01/12/2006 14:39

just had to give my support to you all. A good friend exclusively expressed and it was incredibly hard. I am sure you will get the practical advice you need here but i just wanted to say you're all doing your best, please don't ever feel it is not enough however things pan out.

Kelly1978GotRunOverByAReindeer · 01/12/2006 14:44

It is incredibly hard to feed exclusively expressed milk. I expressed about 5 times a day (once at night) to begin with then cut back gradually to 3 times a day and topped up with formula. I was lucky in that I found the actual expressing easy, and would get between 10-20 oz at a time (this was for twins). But it is such a faff with having to express and seterlise bottles etc. I also found that my milk went on really quickly in summer and didn't freeze well for some reason, but I don't think that is common. To feed expressed milk exclusively I think I had to spend nearly 2 hours a day expressing and sterlising the pump and bottles etc.

I've realised I sound very negative, but it is possible, I did it for 6 months and there are mnetters on here who have carried it on for a year or more.

smilingpolitely · 01/12/2006 15:01

Hi JK123 I've been expressing all ds's feeds for nearly a month. He is 14 weeks now. I was advised to give bottles and stubbornly made the decision that it should by EBM. i've posted for advice about this so I won't bore you with the details but you could look them up if you want. Please Please get help from an expert before deciding to do bottles of either EBM or AF. I tried to get him back onto boob after 1 week of bottles and he point blank refused. Expressing is hard and very time consuming cos you stil have to feed lo .

smilingpolitely · 01/12/2006 15:02

anyway this is how I do it..I'm strapped in at the mo (too much info ) I tend to express and do emails/ mn/ christmas shopping ! I have a double electric Ameda Lactaline and use a exprssing bra so can be hands free. I only pump 4 times a day cos thats all I can manage time wise. first thing approx 12-14 oz total, luchtime 8-10oz, tea time/8 o'clock depending on how calm house is or isn't, 6-8oz and then last thing at between 11 o'clock and twelve 4-6oz.

smilingpolitely · 01/12/2006 15:03

Kellymom has excellent info on storing milk. You have to take into account time after expressing for washing pump and sterilising and for my pump it needs to be dry so taking it out to air dry or using kitchen towel (can't trust my teatowels . I find it very hard to cuddle ds or feed him when attached to pump so need another person around for am and teatime feeds but kids including ds asleep /school for other times.

smilingpolitely · 01/12/2006 15:03

At the mo all my milk going in freezer cos hosp have ds on lactose free AF. I'm expressing still just incase this doesn't work for him. I don't want milk to dry up and then find EBM suited him the best.
Sorry fo VVV long answer I've gone on a bit

smilingpolitely · 01/12/2006 15:05

I had to split that up into all those bits cos it wouldn't take it all in one go!!

Judy1234 · 01/12/2006 15:14

That would be awful. It's so different from that close comfort of the feeding baby, warmth, felsh on flesh, sucking etc. When I did it at work I used to get once it was got going about 3 or 4 ounces each time? Something like that a few times a day.

awayfromhome · 01/12/2006 15:26

I am also expressing 5 times a day and not at night, round about every 3 to 4 hours the same as wools. My DS is just 6 weeks today, he had a very low birthweight and as such wouldn't latch on properly at first, or take enough when he finally did so I had to start expressing.

Over a day I managed to express about 30-34oz, so I have been able to freeze quite a bit as well.

As wools said it is possible to get out, but you do have to plan well in advance!

wools · 01/12/2006 15:29

Awayfromhome, I'm really impressed with the amount you get. What are your tips?

awayfromhome · 01/12/2006 15:38

wools - Not sure really. I had the same problem with my DD and didn't get anywhere near the same amount of milk and by 6 weeks it had all disappeared.

This time round it is much easier - I know that what you eat and drink isn't supposed to affect your supply, but I find that when I haven't drunk enough I express less. I also find that it is easier when I have DS in my arms or chewing at the other boob!! Not very scientific - sorry.

NineUnlikelyTales · 01/12/2006 15:56

Hi JK

I get about 42oz {blush] a day using the Ameda Lactaline double pump and doing it 6 times a day, including once at night. My DS is 12 weeks and we are still trying to learn to BF. My advice would be to persevere with the BF if you possibly can - expressing doubles your work, because you have to feed the baby as well as pump. It is not always easy to find the time to pump, especially if your LO is having a bad day. Plus expressing can make your nipples really sore, so if that is one of your reasons for not wanting to BF then I'm sorry to have to disillusion you! And I got nipple thrush too.

Have you contacted a BF counsellor? I would really recommend it before you make such a big decision.

Nine

Original poster
JK123 · 01/12/2006 23:24

Hi None. My DD is also 12 weeks. I would love to breastfeed but she will only take a feed in the morning or throughout the night (which doesn't really happen). At the moment I'm only expressing once a day but I'll have to express like yourself 6 times if I want to express exclusively. Besides I need to build up my milk supply. I've got a hospital grade pump so I had better get pumping! How long did it take to get you to produce 42 oz of milk? Is there anything I should eat/drink to boost milk supply?

OP posts:
Original poster
JK123 · 01/12/2006 23:24

I meant Hi Nine....

OP posts:
Elasticwoman · 02/12/2006 13:37

JK123 - not sure if you said you've had any bf counselling. The NCT Breastfeeding line is 0870 444 8708. If no joy there you could also try La Leche League or Breastfeeding Network. I used to be an agent for Ameda Egnell pumps - those big things that look like sewing machines. It could be that you would get on better with a pump different to the one you're using. Or maybe you could increase your yield by either (a) looking at your baby (even cuddling her if poss) while expressing, or
(b) another school of thought is thinking of fountains, waterfalls etc.
Also, it helps to be relaxed and not thirsty or hungry yourself. So long as you're eating reasonably sensibly and not drinking too much alcohol which can dry up the milk, no need to worry overmuch about diet.

You say the baby is reluctant to feed from the breast. It might help that situation to have as much skin-to-skin contact with her as poss, without always trying to get her to feed. Also, have you heard of a Lactaid? It's something that you can attach to your body so that baby receives milk from a tube while sucking at the breast, so it encourages sucking while getting a good feed down the baby. I'm sure a bf counsellor will be able to help you. Well done for persevering so long in the face of such difficulties; I'm sure you will feel it's worth it in the long run.

krimbokrackerskayzed · 02/12/2006 14:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

jabberwocky · 03/12/2006 08:26

Hi JK, I had a situation very similar to yours with my ds1 except by 2 monyhs he refused breast completely I wound up exclusively expressing with an Ameda Purely Yours until he was 7 months old, then went to 1/2 ebm/ 1/2 formula. Here's what I did"

initially expressed every 3 hours round the clock for the first 6 - 8 weeks

then dropped to every 4 hours - still round the clock - until he was 6 months old

after that I went to 4 times a day while awake, none at night, and continued with this until the last month where I dropped a session once a week

I always averaged about 4 oz. per side, tpically more from my right than left.

Tips:
Stay well hydrated
Be consistent
Use breast compression while pumping!!!
Use a good quality double electric pump
Get the car power adapter with your pump - yep, I've even expressed in the back seat while my husband drove down the interstate

Some other good ideas here

One thing I wish I had tried before going to exclusive expressing is nipple shields. If you decide to give them a go work with a lactation consiltant first as there is a bit of a trick to using them successfully.

Good luck and HTH

jabberwocky · 03/12/2006 08:28

Looks like I forgot to add that I stopped completely when ds1 was 13 months old.

MumToAPiglet · 03/12/2006 10:02

Hi JK123

I am bfreastfeeding (not expressing) but have found that fennel tea works wonders for milk supply. Another mum who was expressing her feeds gave me this tip and on days when I have 3 cups I have to sleep on a towel despite wearing breast pads!

Good luck.

MizZan · 04/12/2006 12:38

Hi JK - I exclusively expressed for DS2 for about 10 months, though he did breastfeed partially for some of that time. He was preemie and had major reflux, and could not tolerate any formula at all till that age, and he couldn't breastfeed for a long time for reasons too long to go into here.

I have a couple of suggestions for you:

  1. as someone else here said, have you tried nipple shields? these worked really well for both me and my sister (she had latch on probs with her first, and I had to get mine back on b-feeding after several months on the bottle, which was semi-successful). Medela makes good ones. They are cheap, and simple to use, and it is far, far easier than exclusively expressing, believe me. both of us found that they helped the babies latch on and then after a few times of using them, you could kind of subtly pull them away after baby had gotten well started on feeding. It's really worth trying, particularly if your alternative is exclusively expressing.

  2. if you do decide to express frequently, I would recommend the pump-in-style electric double pump, and a pumping bra. without this, you are going to spend hours to get small amounts of milk, and at least if you wear the bra you have your hands free to read, write, or do other things (though you have to sit in one place). this pump works really well and is comfortable - it is expensive, but very very worth it. I had a Purely Yours pump and it broke after about 4 months of (admittedly heavy) use, and we were reduced to running around trying to find another one at very short notice - not a situation you ever want to be in. We got the pump-in-style because it was all we could find, and it was way better in terms of getting more milk out.

  3. pumping on a schedule works best. like others here I did every 3-4 hours. Sadly, I also had to get up and pump in the middle of the night (like at 2 or 3 AM) in order to make sure I kept the supply up, though I was able to stop doing this once baby started taking some solids (just before that point, I had to pump 7 times a day and I was going out of my mind). You will always get the most in the morning, and at the end of the day, when you're tired, you get the least.

  4. drink a lot! it really makes a difference for milk production, especially at the beginning.

  5. it does get way easier with time, and you produce more, with time. so if you start this, hang in there. the first month or two are the most difficult, then it becomes just part of your body's normal routine.

  6. I ended up having to take Motilium to increase milk production. This is actually an antacid which is available over the counter, but it has the side effect of increasing milk supply. It works, and at least for me it had no side effects, but I wouldn't recommend taking this or any drug until you've exhausted all other avenues. My baby was taking this anyway for his reflux, so we cut down his dose to reflect what he was getting through the breast milk - but I don't think it would have any bad effect on a baby without reflux in the minute doses they get through the milk, from what I understand. I had it prescribed through my GP.

I wish you luck, but would just reiterate what others here have said - exclusively expressing is very hard work, so really, do try whatever alternatives you can before resorting to this. Personally I would have been happy to give my baby formula instead if he could have tolerated it. The amount of time and energy you have to spend pumping takes away from time and energy you can spend doing things with your baby (or other children, if you have them), and at that age, I think that's a lot more important than ensuring they only have breast milk.

mumtoone · 04/12/2006 18:33

I expressed with my ds as I had a lot of problems getting him to latch. All I can say is its very hard work. I did get a reasonable amount of milk but I was doing it every time he wanted a feed so about 8 times a day which included nightime. I'm afraid I gave up after 3 weeks as I was exhausted by the whole process. It is very hard work so if you can get help with breastfeeding I would recommend it. I'm expecting no.2 now and I will try very hard not to go down the same route but we'll see what happens.