Possibly a completely obvious question about expressing

[Trinityrhino]

I have only fed Gecko one bottle of expressed milk and she only took 2oz.

I would like to do it more regularly.

I am trying to hand express and have managed to get my boob to 'let down' once and I have tried to hand express a few times.
My question is would it be ok to express one boob whilst I fed Gecko from the other. I was thinking of feeding her lying down and pumping the other breast, The reason I was thinking of this os that then Gecko would definitely make it let down ad I would just be helping it along. I have a fierce letdown that used to drown her and I always feel it and it spurts out of the other boob at most feeds so I figured that if I was hand pumping aswell then it would be quite easy to get a feed.
Is there any reason why I shouldn't do it like that?

anyone?

If you can juggle baby and receptacle you are expressing into, I think it is indeed easy.

I used to express using a pump from one side whilst feeding ds from the other and never had any problems...

No reason whatsoever. In fact a MW friend once recommended it to me, although I found it all a bit complicated. At the very least bung a breast shell - one of those pervy-looking plastic things that look like a doughnut- over the other nork and collect the gush.

can't think of any reason why you shouldn't, I did it myself!

thanks guys, I am going to try it with Gecko lying down, might be able to juggle it that way...we shall see

somewhere (bet it was Kellymom) there was a very neat trick for hands-free expressing using a couple of hair elastics to hold the pump, which might be helpful...

aha

thanks badger but I'm not usign a pump, got any handy hints about trying to a bottle to your boobs

to hold a bottle to your boob

breast shells as per MI, in that case...

what's a breast shell?

bit like a plastic breast pad

I got the idea from here (of course). Some fellow moocow used to manage to get huge amounts just from those. I was a bit more meagre, but did manage to pump express quite impressively huge quantities. I got nearly a pint one day.

Ok, weird suggestion but it worked for me...
I found I got good let down when expressing if I held babyclothes that ds had been wearing to my nose!
Must have been that whiff of little mini-Porpoise that got me going. Worth a try?

thanks everyone
good idea porpoise

Pics of the sprog are recommended too . This suggestion made me feel really rather queasy, but then when DD1 was a few weeks old some photos arrived of her (because as our PFB we took pictures, you see, and got them processed and all) and I looked at them and was suddenly drenched. To my knees.

a friend had such an enormous let down she used a pint glass to catch the leakage form the other side. Maybe you could sterilise one and dangle yourself into it? Supported by the bed or whatever. A wider neck may be easier to aim at I am thinking?

I used the breast shells.
Have a look in boots though they are cheaper than avent.

Medela do a funnel-thing for hand expressing here