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

Infant feeding

question for those of you that express

22 replies

OffMyAyersRocker · 18/10/2015 07:34

How do you get out during the day

I'm currently expressing for dd2 who is 4 weeks but trying to express every 2 hours and then feed her makes it difficult to get out. Do you have a portable pump?

I use a hospital grade double pump at home but really didn't want to have to express when out and about.

Fwiw I bf dd1 and didn't have a problem with feeding when out. I just have a love /hate relationship with expressing!

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OffMyAyersRocker · 18/10/2015 15:55

Hopeful bump

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CultureSucksDownWords · 18/10/2015 19:09

Do you mean just expressing and doing bottles for all feeds, or expressing as well as directly breastfeeding?

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OffMyAyersRocker · 19/10/2015 15:16

Dd2 is only occasionally taking a bf so its really bottles for all feeds.

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KP86 · 19/10/2015 15:50

It's ok to skip or delay an expressing session if you have places to be, you may just end up feeling quite full. You could also try to get Bub to feed directly, worst case scenario it doesn't work and you can give bottle and go home with heavy boobs. If you are going to be out all day, there are small electric pumps you can get (eg. Medela Swing) and a lot of parents rooms have powerpoints (or the pumps can be used with batteries).

I expressed for 12 months with my DS.

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OffMyAyersRocker · 19/10/2015 17:22

Thanks KP, dd2 will feed inconsistently so l unfortunately couldn't rely on her if we were out!

Hmm hadn't thought of a small pump. I'm not sure how long l can keep it going so l don't know if it's worth buying a pump. Dd2 is the last dc too.

12 months is amazing. Did you have to express every 2 hours all that time? I'm worried about my supply. Dd2 is one month and she was feeding for 2 weeks but with a tt so not very efficiently.

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Racheyg · 19/10/2015 17:27

I'm no expert but i bf on demand and express when ds2 has gone for a longer nap (he normally feeds every 1.5 hrs) I can only get 2/3 oz out at a time and I have a ameda lactaine double pump. I don't pump when out and about I just bf.
Do you only pump or bf as well? I'm guessing if you only pump you would need to stick to your routine to keep supply up.

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OffMyAyersRocker · 19/10/2015 18:07

Really only pumping as dd2 is bf regularly enough for it to be any more than a token gesture (which l'll take!)

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OffMyAyersRocker · 19/10/2015 18:08

Isn't bf regularly that should say

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lightgreenglass · 19/10/2015 18:20

I wait till I get back home to pump and feel full by that point, I am 4 months in with DS2 and did 11.5 months with DS1. You won't need to pump every 2 hours as the weeks go on - I pump 3 times a day and that is more than enough, but I know some people have to pump seven times a day. Hopefully she'll work out BF and you won't have to pump exclusively for much longer.

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KP86 · 19/10/2015 20:07

I def didn't pump every two hours.

When DS was newborn it was every 3 hours (I had a massive supply, had so much excess I donated about 120L to other mums over the 12 months), then as time went on it reduced to day time only, not overnight (immediately before bed and upon waking - big load!), and three - four times per day, twice etc as I was starting to wean DS and by the end it was once per day.

If you find that you aren't making enough milk then you can go back to pumping more often as it stimulates production, but you'll figure it out as you go on.

If you can get DD to feed directly your supply will go through the roof! And of course, as you know from DC1, it's so much more convenient.

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OffMyAyersRocker · 20/10/2015 02:21

I'm still trying to get my supply sorted as it's really only been just over 2 weeks.

And I would love dd2 to go back to bf, the bottle prep is doing my head in!

Thanks for your answers. It's nice to think it might get a little easier.

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BumWad · 20/10/2015 04:12

Hi you won't need to pump every 2 hours when your supply is established. My 21 week DS is combination fed he will not latch. I currently pump approx 4 times a day (used to do 8/10). I've got a Medela freestyle pump. It is portable, comes with a belt and bra attachments which makes it completely hands, free it's fab! I pump whilst having breakfast or dinner then atleast once in the night. I bought it second hand from eBay and it is just as good as the Medela symphony.
I don't catch up pump when I'm out, my boobs do feel fuller but I just try to add a pumping session if I can.

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OffMyAyersRocker · 20/10/2015 11:52

21 weeks, wow l think getting to 8 is an achievement not that l am counting down the weeks

I will take a look at ebay.

Thanks all!

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BertieBotts · 20/10/2015 11:54

What support are you getting with getting DD back to the breast? I'd look at that as the first priority, obviously it helps if you can get pumping sorted too. Sounds like a nightmare! Do you know what's preventing her feeding as yet? Tongue tie? Whereabouts are you in the world?

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BertieBotts · 20/10/2015 11:55

Oh gah just seen you said tongue tie. Any progress with getting that properly assessed and looked at? You might have to fight and claw for support, which is ridiculous, but that's what it is at the moment.

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OffMyAyersRocker · 20/10/2015 12:58

She has had it cut and has been off the breast since. I've had a couple of sessions with a bf counsellor but dd2 is just not interested now. I've been bottle feeding her for 2 weeks as she lost 13% of her birth weight.

Tbh I've really struggled with not being able to bf. Getting my head around it has meant less tears for me. I wanted to give her what dd1 had but it's not meant to be.

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BumWad · 20/10/2015 13:08

I don't know how I've made it to 21 weeks either! I tried to get DS to latch again but it was futile. Plus he was born at 32 weeks so him feeding and gaining weight was a biggie so I just bottle fed him. As he's getting bigger tha volume of formula is increasing in comparison to breastmilk.

Also to make it easier when you're pumping you don't need wash and sterilise the parts after each session. I put the bits in a Tupperware box and in the fridge and give them a good old scrub/sterilise once in 24 hours.

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swashbucklecheer · 20/10/2015 13:09

Off i could have written that post too. Ds2 had reflux and was hospitalised for failure to thrive. Was given bottles of expressed milk and then refused to go back to the breast. 2 different bf councillor couldn't help. I found myself attached to the double hospital pump at home determined to give ds2 the same start as ds1. When i saw how much ds1 was missing his mummy who couldn't play because i was pumping it broke my heart. I eventually went to formula with reluctance but it saved my sanity. I still regret not being able to bf ds2 but now 3 mths later i can see it was the best thing for us all at the time

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OffMyAyersRocker · 20/10/2015 13:39

Swash it's bloody heartbreaking isn't it. I actually feel like I'm letting both my dd's down for different reasons. I had a thread not that long ago and people were lovely.

Thing is dd will have a bf every day or two so l can't stop just yet...my bloody emotions won't let me. I would love to get to 21 weeks like bum but it's not going to happen. Dd2 is just over 4 weeks and if l make it to 6 great, l would prefer 8 though.

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OffMyAyersRocker · 20/10/2015 13:51

Bumwad for you as l really think it's amazing and with a premie and all.

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KP86 · 20/10/2015 18:37

It's good of you to keep going as long as possible, but remember that breastfeeding is only best when it suits (and is wanted) by both baby AND mum. If it is adversely affecting your life, then formula is a fine substitute, assuming no allergies (my DS was allergic to dairy pre-1yo, and flat out refused the special hydro-formula).

Look around your local nursery, can you tell which babies were breastfed for 1+ years and which had formula from birth? Doubt it!

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elliejjtiny · 24/10/2015 22:00

I exclusively expressed for DS4 for 5 months (when I accidently got pregnant with DS5 and my supply dropped). We went on holiday when DS was about 3 months old so we were out and about a lot then. I had a hospital grade pump at home which I brought to the holiday cottage and sometimes people's houses as well. I also had a hand pump that I used when out, in the car, in cafe's, whenever you would feed a baby. It shows a bit more boob than breastfeeding but not much. I covered the pump and my boob with a muslin or a scarf and pumped straight after every bottlefeed.