How much should I be expressing at one time??

[Oscar22]

Hi, have a 3 wk old very very hungry baby - unfortunately bf will not satisfy and so have been giving 1 or 2 bottles of formula in the evening. Recently she is very hungry during the day after bf and have topped up with formula today. Have tried expressing but can only express max 50ml. Baby can take 100ml formula at one time so expressing doesn't seem to be working. Also when I express the milk comes out really slowly drop by drop and sometimes nothing at all... is this normal?? Can anyone help as I really don't want to go to formula but feel I will have no choice.
x

I think its more length of time... about 20 mins a breast. The supply should build up, so gradually 20 mins will produce more. Try expressing more times a day of possible aswell, especially morning time. xXx

You need to speak to a breast feeding counseller. Breastmilk will satisfy but if you give formula then this will affect your supply. Babies will still drink formula after breastmilk, this is not because they are hungry but because it's differernt (you eat desset even if you're full).

Expressing is no indication of how much milk is there! It really isnt.

If you want to just breast feed then you need to stop the formula, trust your body and breastfeed. The more you feed the more you make.

Sorry but you dont want to be expressing from each breast for 20 minutes especially if your not getting much out anyway. A waste of time.

Just breastfeed. It is not really a good idea to express before 6 weeks when breastfeeding is better established.

Give the NCT or La Leche a ring. They have volunteers you can speak to on the phone.

Guess that makes more sense - I was only really answering the title question, Definatly feeding will build your supply, otherwise you'll get caught in the trap where your supply will ease off, so you give more formula, then your supply will drop more, so more formula etc. etc. They feed so so often at this age, you think your empty, but its never the case. The more they feed, the more your body will then produce. indefinatly.

It's just that I used to spend hours trying to express for dd at 5 months as I was back at work. The only time I ever got a decent amount was lunchtime at work. DD would still quite happily feed straight after me trying to express.

A midwife who occasionally pops up on here, Mears, likened forumla top ups to having a pudding after your main emal- you may take it and "amke room" even though you are actually "full". If you have a happy, thriving baby (gaining weight, lots of wet/dirty nappies etc) the top-ups should be unnecessary and may well cause your supply to deplete whereas smaller more regular breastfeeds will suffice and boost your supply in line with your baby's appetite. Expressing before the supply is established (6 weeks ish) can be frustrating, time-consuming and demoralising and lack of ebm doesn't necessarily indicate a poor supply. Have more confidence to limit/eliminate the top-ups and ring a breast feeding counsellor or visit a specialist cafe/clinic for support, if you want to persevere. Good luck

I remember crying on the phone to my MW because nnothing was coming out in the pump, and I got ticked off saying if he was latching on and feeding, not to bother with the pump! I did have to exclusivly pump the first week as he wouldnt latch, but when he did, I didnt use the pump again! (until very recently)

Oscar22 - it really is better to breastfeed than try expressing to build up supply. At 3 weeks your body has not established breastfeeding yet. If you want to breastfeed then stop the formula top-ups and breastfeed instead, even if you have only just finished. The more you feed, the more milk you make. Your breasts are capable of producing milk for the hungriest of babies - you need confidence in your ability to do it. Liz is right about what I said - babies will take formula after a breastfeed whether they are hungry or not.
The best breast pump is your baby. At the moment I would avoid expressing because you need to be feeding frequently.