Electric pump at 4 weeks- advice, tips MUCH WELCOMED!

[Kate3150]

Just the above really.... I’m a FTM and would like to hear from others. TIA X

I have pumped for my daughter but requires work.If you wish to purely pump it takes 30mins one side then 30mins other and back to first for 20 mines.Whilst massaging from top to bottom of breast to help with flow.

Pump at least 3 times a day to keep supply up and watch tv have a cup of tea and relax.The best way to get milk is just relax and drink tea wile doing something enjoyable like watching tv Eat some biscuits or other snacks you get peckish .I found a proper home cooked meal for lunch really helped

Hi @Kate3150 - depends really what sort of tips you want. Do you already have a pump? I'm a month ahead of you (LO is 8 weeks tomorrow) and done a lot of pumping as he had a tongue tie and was quite bitey. I pumped a bit more often than PP and used breast shells in the other side to collect the leakage. Massage to remove lumps as you go helps to speed up the process, and (touchwood) prevent mastitis.

Have a look on la leche league website.

Why do you want to pump? It's generally advised to wait at least 6 weeks to get your supply well established and not over stimulate your supply.
If baby is feeding well from the breast then it's easier to stick with that for the time being.

i also used this on other side to help collect milk

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I have a Medela swing? I got it from Boots reduced to £94?
I was going to try and make it to six weeks but I just feel the right thing for me personally is to get my partner to do one of the feeds. I feel a lot happier in myself for making this decision, I appreciate it may not work out well but I’ve come to terms with that. X

Hi Kate, my son is also 4 weeks and I have the medula swing pump. I have been expressing since day 5 and I am still doing it - I express anywhere between 4-8 times a day which is really time consuming! My son had big weight loss on Day 5 so expressing was essential early on and I have now just got in the habit. I had a similar situation with my first son and continued expressing until around 4 months.

Top tips are:

• use collection shells while expressing to collect any leakagaes from the other boob (Avent do good ones). I get up to 30 mL each time from this and it saves me getting wet!

• I have been told that expressing during the night gives the biggest yield due to hormones - I am not sure this is true though but I need to express at least once during the night anyway. I take all my items up to bed with me and plug the pump in next to the bed so that you don't need to get out of bed. I also take a cool bag with ice packs to keep the milk cold until morning when it goes in the fridge.

• Get your other half to feed baby with a bottle whilst you express nearby (especially during the night as it saves time). Our normal routine is I BF, then bass baby to husband who does the top up from the bottle (taken from my previous expressed milk) and I express. If I need to do it all myself it can be 1.5 hours until baby is back asleep and I am able to go to bed.

• Express somewhere comfortable and when you are not stressed.

Generally I get 50 - 80 mL expressed milk straight after I have fed my son for 15 mins each side, or 100-175 mL milk if he hasn't fed yet. I work on a roughly 3 hour cycle.

I am still BF'ing the majority of the time but also express and give the expressed milk as a top up. I also use formula when I need to. With my first son I tried so hard to avoid formula which caused me a lot of stress but I am so much more laid back this time and happy to give it when I need to. As long as my son is fed, I am happy

I expressed 6 times a day for 6 months and am now cutting down - currently on 3 times a day with formula for the other feeds.
I use a medela too, it's a great pump.
Was there anything particular you wanted to know?

As pp have said, why do you want to pump?

It’s an utter pita and it’s far far easier to establish a good supply and feeding pattern by simply feeding.

I would like to share feeds with my Hubby. I just feel it’s the right thing for me to do. I was planning on expressing at 4 weeks but will see if I can hold out until 6 x

I would like to share feeds with my Hubby. I just feel it’s the right thing for me to do. I was planning on expressing at 4 weeks but will see if I can hold out until 6

Honestly ime it’s a nice idea but it doubles your work. While your DH is feeding you will need to be sat expressing and sterilising- even at night- plus expressing doesn’t stimulate your supply the same way as a baby so it will take longer to express a feed than feed directly.

It is much, much easier to just feed. If your Dh wants to feel involved he can make sure you are looked after, he can change the baby, cuddle the baby, watch the baby while you catch up on sleep. There is plenty to do other than feed!!

when i was breastfeeding my other half would make tea/food for me ,help look after other child,help round house,do laundry .He knew he could not help me when i was trying to feed her myself but he did everything he could round the house wile i was busy with the baby

expressing is a lot of work

I agree with PPs, having just started feeding directly in earnest the last fortnight. It's cut down time spent feeding/pumping. Would take me a good 20-25' to pump each side, but DS can drain it in 20-15'. We're still giving a bottle of expressed milk, but I haven't had to pump for over a week as I'm collecting the leakage in a shell and bottling that.

*10-15'

I recommend a breast milk collector like the Haakaa or Lanisoh. It produces more output than any electric breast pump and is dirt cheap.