clueless about expressing, wanting some advice

[jabuti]

hi,

my baby is 12 weeks old now and since her first week we give her 1 bottle of formula per day, at night, when she used to get really grumpy.

now im producing much more milk, i've been able to express that night bottle. this has been happening for 9 days. but im not sure when to stop expressing to save it for her? for example, there are days i can get the whole amount in one go and other days i need to express bits here and there throughout the day. but when im doing the 'bits' method, i worry that maybe she will get really hungry in the middle of the afternoon and i wont have anything for her. and she has cried in the middle of the day and i couldnt tell if it was for lack of milk on my breast or just being tired. the dummy has pacified her in these days.

what do you think?

I know what you mean, cos some days it seems easy to get several ounces and some days just a dribble!

You'll never have absolutely no milk. If you had only just pumped, your dd may have to work a bit harder to get it, but your boobs are producing milk all the time, and the emptier they are, the faster they fill up again, a bit like a toilet cister, iyswim.

If the dummy sorted her out, I'd think it was the comfort of the breast she was missing rather than the milk. If babes are properly hungry they'll only be distracted from it for a certain amount of time.

If you want some really top info on supply, check out www.kellymom.com and search 'supply'.

Good luck.

am reading it right now, thanx mij!

its so hard to believe that we are never empty, but ALL info points to that direction. i think im still amazing that i can produce milk

You are amazing! You're a goddess! Never forget (and never let your DP forget ).

It is hard to hang onto the 'never empty' thought when your LO has apparently been feeding for hours, or is coming on and off and howling, or the pump isn't doing its job. I still have moments when I think 'maybe there just isn't enough there', and my DD is 16 months.

Keep the faith, hang in there.

i think i will be the same, doubt it once in a while when she is acting hungry even after a feed. i wish our boobs were transparent

I've been expressing to try and build up a supply for when I go back to work, and about 10 days ago started expressing first thing in the morning - sometimes immediately before dd's first feed. Makes it loads easier for me to express quite a lot of milk (up to 6oz) and she still seems completely satisfied after feeding so am now convinced by the "you're never empty" theory!
mind you, I don't do this at night, just in case it doesn't work and she screams all night long!

LOL at transparent boobs! Or perhaps even came with a gauge, like a petrol tank.

Smileyhappymummy just reminded me that a GP friend of mine, who went back to work at 6 months, used to express from one boob first thing in the morning while feeding from the other. I never managed that but I didn't get on with the electric pump. If you've got a powered one, that might be worth a try - the morning is supposed to be a better time.

I expressed a lot with DS and for some reason I always had more milk in the morning too.

I agree that if the dummy pacified her she wasnt hungry, the amount of times I was on the bus or something and didnt want to feed DS so kept trying to get him to take his dummy, it doesnt work,a s soona s they know theres no milk there they spit it straight back out!

true about the dummy. i dont know what i was thinking when i alluded the possibility of tricking her hunger with a dummy! its so good to talk to other moms to get my mind straight.

i think i will give it a go about expressing even before feeding her in the morning. that ought to prove me that my breasts are never empty! i definitely have lots of milk in the mornings. it feels like jumping in a cold swimming pool, i just need to gather courage! my DD were 9lbs when she was born, and 9 days early from her due date. hospital staff and friends were always saying how big she was. somehow that played in my mind as if she was a hungry lion, that i would never be able to satisfy her completely. hence i never opposed giving her a bottle of formula at night, because she was so fussy and i thought i probably didnt have enough in my breasts.

M, i have a swing medela mini electric pump. i cannot feed and pump, tried before, too clumsy and stressful. i preferred just relaxing with my DD than having her to put up with me fiddling around. i do like the pump, but from what i read in kellymom just now, and it seems to make sense to me, its not as effective as my DD!

I've got a swing too.... have you tried with a manual pump at all? just asking because i can get more out faster with my tommee tippee manual pump than the swing... though it's tiring to use, so still glad I've got the swing.

I found the avent electric pump the best, just held it there and it would do everything+ for me, I loved it!

FWIW, DS was 8lb 7.5oz, and I managed to feed him fine, your boobs will make everything that they need to, try not to fret.

I think you need to try a few different alternatives to find out what works best for you.

With DS1, I used the Mini Medala Electric to express during his morning nap - its a wonder what you learn on the radio on Woman's Hour!

I found electric expressing easier at this time, but hand expressing was much easier in the evening, especially either just after a warm bath or after massaging breasts first.

In both cases, there was a distinct difference between left and right - cycle path in one direction (40 mins to get 100 ml max), three lane motorway in the other (10 mins for 200ml). Boobs are just strange...

thank you ladies. good advice in trying different things. i think im gonna try to express right after my bath tonight, and massage a bit.

and today i expressed first thing in the morning, got 120ml and fed my DD right after. it was just fiiiiiiiiiiiine! yupiiiiiiiie!