Expressing Exclusively

[JK123]

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

My DS had probs latching on - he managed to do it a few times from about 8 weeks but he never did it long enough to get a proper feed. I really wanted to breast feed so I expressed exclusively from day one until he was 4.5 months old - always in the hope he would eventually latch on! He had silent reflux which caused a food aversion so feeding him even 100ml would take an hour or so then I would express.

Until my supply was really well established I expressed every time we fed him (this was obviously easier before DH went back to work!) - so when he woke in the night for a feed DH would feed him EBM and I would express. I had an avent IQ uno electric pump. This was ok and was very effective but I wore out the motor by 3.5 months and hired an industrial sized double pump for the last month - that was great because I could do both boobs in 20 mins. I have to say the avent pump is kinder to the nipples - they do a double pump but is is about £185. You can get more milk out if you massage the boobs whilst pumping. I got about 800 - 1000ml per day on average. If your supply goes down you just have to pump more often (shorter pumping times but more frequently).

I highly recommend the Kellymom website - it has loads of info for exclusive pumpers - I felt like a lone pumping freak before I found that website!

Hi everyone. Thanks for your replies. I don't want to exclusively express as I have found it is taking up a lot of my time. I'm not sure what to do now as I know I'd like to breastfeed but because my milk supply has reduced, how do I get DD to feed from me?It's so frustrating for both of us because when she latches on, the let down doesn't happen straightaway and obviously my milk supply is low. Even if I were to use the nipple shields, I still have the problem of building up my supply. Also, if DD is hungry and she is a hungry baby, then she just wants the bottle but if she's a little sleepy, I can usually get her on the breast. Not sure what to do anymore Sorry I'm moving away from the topic here....

The Kellymom website has loads of tips for increasing your supply. But at the end of the day it is supply and demand - can you express after a feed for a while? You could try expressing a little before a feed if your let down is taking a while - just enough to get the milk flowing so your LO doesn't get frustrated and come off.

I expressed solely for 3 weeks and like sombody else said couldn't do it any longer as was getting to tired trying to express 8 times a day inhcludingone at night when everyone else was asleep - very depressing!!

It is very hard to stay on top of the sterilising so I woudl say a good large steriliser will help so that you can sterilise as much as possible in one go.

I over a week mixing breat with bottle and found that DS became sick on breastmilk and not on the formula towards the end so stopped cmpletely - was originally planning on doing a mix for as long as possible.

I think if you've got alot of help you could keep it up for longer. I have a friend who managed to do it for 4 months which I was very impressed with.
Everyday you manage to do I think is fantastic but remember your own sanity is important too.

Good luck!

JK123, I am the mommy of a 4 month old. He didn't nurse at all for the first month and a half so I started solely pumping right away. At first, because of the stress and not pumping often enough, my milk supply got very, very low. My OB perscribed me Reglan - a G.I. medicine that also helps increase milk supply. After taking only 2 pills, my milk came back in and I haven't gotten low since. I only pump 4-5 times a day now and pump 32-40 oz. Every once in a while he'll nurse but he mostly just takes the bottle. Keep up the good work! Pumping takes a lot of time but remember your doing what's best - even if your not able to nurse. Good luck! You're not alone.