Expressing Milk - Were you a natural or did you have to work at it?

[taffy101]

Unfortunatley I'm not a natural. Will it improve if I express regularly? It takes about 3 sessions to get a feed and I worry that it's full of foremilk so not that good anyway. Also, when I've sat there for 40 mins to get a measley 2oz, my ds gets frustrated at the next feed and I feel like i've stolen his milk! Expressing is not high priority as I'm a SAHM but I would like some occasional time out by myself. If you were me would you sack it and give the odd bottle of formula?

It gets a lot, lot easier the more you do it. I always did find it a bit of a struggle, though.

Experiment with techinques (e.g. hot flannel to start you off) and pumps vs hand.

Freeze it, then you can get a feed over a few days.

My top tips: do it in the morning/night feed when you're full.
Feed dc rugby ball style and express other breast.

Doesn't matter for one feed if its mainly foremilk.