working mums: what is your expressing schedule?

[Gemmitygem]

I'm about to go back full time, DS of 4 months will be with nanny all day, I'll feed him at 7 am and 6.30 pm but she will need to give him bottles of expressed milk at 11 am and 2.30 pm.

any hints on when to express? I can do it at work as well,

thanks!

i fed dd at 8am then i expressed at 10.30am and 1 pm as that is what my timetable allowed me to do. i then fed dd again around 4 or 4.30 myself. worked out well.

as it turned out, i had a proper milk monster who didn't take any solids till 10 mos. and was also expressing once at night to keep up with her daytime demands.

you may find that in the first week he won't be keen on a bottle or cup from a stranger but babies don't starve themselves and in a few days, accept the new routine.

can i ask how much you can get whilst expressing. i have just finished my second week back. (have done 3 half days then in 2 weeks changng to 3 whole dys) so far i can manage 5-6 oz expr a day which covers his mid-morn bottle but im worrying about his mid-fternoon bottle now.
he is allergic to milk protein and thus cant have formula.
ds2 is 6.5 months

shuls also say i bf and express at 7am
he has his bottle at 10-10.30,
then bf and express at 1pm
bf at 4.30 try to express byt hardly a drop out by then
then bf at 7 and try to exp again, maybr a few drops.
i have a medela pump.

i suspect i have a lesser storage capacity and found i never got more than 5/6 oz per pump on this schedule. once dd was weaned it was never more than 4.5 oz. what kind of pump are you using, wg? double pumps are supposedly more efficient as they remove milk from both breasts at the same time at the first letdown with is always the strongest one. also if you continue to pump after the first letdown, you get a second smaller letdown.

a third tip is to try breast compression once the letdown has subsided. google 'dr jack newman' 'breast compression' for a how to. dd is calling me right now.

get a double pump then. ameda lactaline from expressyourselfmums i recommend most highly. found the medela electric pants in comparison.

thanks for replies: ok but say it's Monday and you're at work, expressing, is that milk then being kept in the fridge and drunk on Tuesday? So you're always expressing ready for the following day?, so e.g.:

monday morning: feed myself at 7 am
express at 11 am at work, again at 2.30 pm,
home to feed him myself at 6.30 pm and 11pm

tuesday morning: feed myself at 7 am
nanny gives milk expressed on monday at 11 am and then milk expressed on Monday at 2.30 pm at 2.30 pm on Tues?

I would have thought this would work well as he is getting what he would normally get from your breast at that time..?

Hi,

Would recommend you start building up stocks and freezing them, because then if you have a busy day at work and don't get a chance to express any milk/enough milk, it is not a disaster and you can freeze that and add to it when you have another day like that (you can add fresh milk to frozen and put back in the freezer), but can make sure that you still leave the nanny with enough for the next day. Previously frozen breastmilk lasts 24 hours in the fridge. I have a stock of at least five days in the freezer (usually 10) and defrost the next day's supply in the fridge overnight. When I get home from work I freeze that day's milk. You can do it all without freezing, but the Friday/Monday thing means that on the Monday, the milk has been sitting in the fridge since the Friday. My book says if you freeze it, it lasts at least 6 months. Advantage is also that if you are building up stocks, you are covered for emergencies/nights out.

Good luck.

i built up a small stock before i went to work so i could rest easy. the first week dd did't drink as much as it was all new to her so i was expressing more than she was drinking the first week and that helped too.

i would freeze milk expressed on friday but normally never freezed what i pumped the day before and just gave fresh the following day. this way i dipped into my stocks slowly. if milk is used without ever being frozen, i think.

I never manage to express as much as my little guzzler drinks during the day so pump when I have him with me on non-childminder days. Don't think I have amazing breast capacity either since I usually get 3-4 ounces, tops, from each boob. I started pumping when he would normally be feeding, but it was so time consuming and so much effort for a disappointing result that now I wait until about 3.30pm and heaving boobs then let the pressure out, giving me time to recharge before he wants a feed about 6.30pm - 7pm. Defintely worth building up freezer stock.
Worleygig - you sound similar to me - my DS now 7 months. I tried a medela electric but found it pants in comparison to the avent hand pump. Haven't tried a double electric but not worth it now he's on solids, if I do this again I'll invest in one and a special bra so I can have hands free. Perhaps I don't get so much out cos I'm always trying to work at same time?