Wedding in two weeks and breastfeeding

[danielle26390]

It is my wedding in just over two weeks and I've been wondering how I will manage breastfeeding during it. I've been trying to build up a freezer stash to take with us on the day so family can give our baby girl EBM from a bottle, however since I had a bereavement a week and a half ago, my supply has plummeted (as I've said on a previous post) and there just isn't enough there at the moment. Ive spoken to HV, midwife and been in touch with local BF group who have all given the same advice, but to no avail. She's still on the boob on demand also.

I'm still not managing to express much at all, and it's going to be difficult to step in and out of my dress every time our daughter needs a feed, which is still every 3 hours and then she tends to cluster feed on an evening.

Would I be better off taking what EBM I have in the freezer and topping up with formula if need be?

Please no unkind comments, I have been doing all I could to ensure she had enough breastmilk for the day but since the bereavement, it's had an impact on feeding/expressing.

@DriftingBlue

If you do use some formula for backup, don’t have your wedding day or even the day before be the first dc has formula. Do a trial a week ahead of time. Sometimes babies don’t notice the difference. Sometimes tummies have interesting reactions and need a bit of time to adjust. Not something you want to experiment with during the wedding.

Hi, thanks for your advice. Yeah we would give her formula prior to our wedding if we needed to use that. I was going to give it until this time next week and if I still can't manage to express much, then introduce a bottle of formula once a day in the run up to the wedding xx

@AreYouRightThereSkippy

I'd also be more worried about you than your dd who will be fine with EBM and formula. I know you said feeding is less faff than pumping with a pump, but it may not be... I exclusively pumped with one of mine and it can be minimal faff especially if you aren't planning to use the milk, so you don't need to store it or sterilise everything?

Don't get mastitis at your wedding! It's bloody horrible.

I was hoping to express enough before the wedding so that she would have enough EBM for the entire day. That was my initial plan, and then to hand express when needed throughout the day to avoid soreness etc. But going from what other posters have said, it sounds like it'd be easier to feed her directly like normal and then give her my EBM when she would usually cluster feed at night. But also have formula as a last resort if I still can't express much more within the next week xx

@LifeIsBusy

Have you tried a Hakka or similar to express? Hook it onto the other side with proper suction then you can collect whilst your LO is feeding on the other side then build it up slowly rather than getting the time to get the pump out.

In terms of comfort for one day you'll be able to go more than the 3 hours and probably closer to 6 before the comfort is an issue (I had my gallbladder removed when LO was 7 weeks).

Other than that it will just be down to timing life well and hoping for the best 🤣.

Hi, thank you for your reply. I've read about those pumps but don't have one. I have a MAM electric pump and it was brilliant. Still is, but I'm just not producing as much milk via expressing. I was hoping to just hand express when needed at the wedding but from what others have said it sounds as though feeding her myself will be less hassle and then giving her EBM for the time she would usually cluster feed on the night xx

Yes, that's probably a good plan op. I tried to stop our last feed with dc1 (not the one I pumped with) cold turkey because we had an event and I got awful mastitis and was stuck in bed for days with horrible flu like symptoms as well as the boob pain. Was having flashbacks reading your op! But your new plan to keep feeding throughout the day but not during cluster feed sounds totally fine.

Enjoy your day

You need to be feeding lots to up your supply. On your wedding day you could breastfeed in the morning getting ready, do the ceremony etc etc then in the lull you could sneak off and feed, then the same again in the evening either before or after your first dance. Between these feeds someone else could feed the milk you pumped. You'll have to pump during the day anyway so you may as well feed the baby. You can still have a few drinks getting ready and with your meal, then if you wanted to drink properly later on just use the expressed milk. I got married when our first child was still ebf I did what I describe here, just fed around the day and topped up with expressed when I was busy with wedding stuff. I didn't get drunk so I could carry on feeding her, but I had milk in case I had drank too much to feed (and took my pump too to pump and dump). Don't go all day not feeding, you'll not help your supply and potentially make yourself ill.

The hakka or similar is around £10 so relatively inexpensive as it's just a silicone grenade, I only suggest it to take the stress out of trying to pump in-between feeds as it can be handy if you're just looking for a bit of extra milk for the freezer for your big day.

It is definitely easier to feed than it is express but for one day you can miss a feed without it all going horribly wrong so if you've got enough milk built up you could say feed at 11am then not feed/express again until 5pm.

So sorry for your loss OP

It’s probably as easy to feed your LO at points through the day for your own comfort than to express through the day

Your plan of feeding less often and then giving EBM when she usually cluster feeds is a good one,

I’d take a couple of the ready made formula bottles as a back up just incase

I’m Brest feeding our 8w old at the mo and my supply has dropped recently as I’ve been stressed so I’m giving him a bottle of formula at lunch and one on an evening as that works for us. As a guide he takes 5oz in general, so a couple of those formula ready made bottles would be plenty as a back up if you need it

All the best for your wedding day x

@PjsOn

You need to be feeding lots to up your supply. On your wedding day you could breastfeed in the morning getting ready, do the ceremony etc etc then in the lull you could sneak off and feed, then the same again in the evening either before or after your first dance. Between these feeds someone else could feed the milk you pumped. You'll have to pump during the day anyway so you may as well feed the baby. You can still have a few drinks getting ready and with your meal, then if you wanted to drink properly later on just use the expressed milk. I got married when our first child was still ebf I did what I describe here, just fed around the day and topped up with expressed when I was busy with wedding stuff. I didn't get drunk so I could carry on feeding her, but I had milk in case I had drank too much to feed (and took my pump too to pump and dump). Don't go all day not feeding, you'll not help your supply and potentially make yourself ill.

I'm still feeding on demand and then obviously the cluster feeding on a night, so can only put the amount I'm managing (or not as it seems to be) to express, is down to my recent bereavement and the grief and stress that has came along with it, because prior to this I was having no issues whatsoever and our baby girl was having one or two bottles a day of EBM, but I am now back to EBFing. I will be feeding her throughout the day still, and giving the EBM on the evening. However will just see how the day pans out in general as babies are unpredictable 😂 thank you for your advice, it's hard isn't it trying to juggle everything xx

@Bellyrumble

So sorry for your loss OP

It’s probably as easy to feed your LO at points through the day for your own comfort than to express through the day

Your plan of feeding less often and then giving EBM when she usually cluster feeds is a good one,

I’d take a couple of the ready made formula bottles as a back up just incase

I’m Brest feeding our 8w old at the mo and my supply has dropped recently as I’ve been stressed so I’m giving him a bottle of formula at lunch and one on an evening as that works for us. As a guide he takes 5oz in general, so a couple of those formula ready made bottles would be plenty as a back up if you need it

All the best for your wedding day x

Yeah I think that sounds like the plan that is going to suit us best to be honest! Ah sorry you're having a stressful time, but it's surprising how much it affects your supply and as long as you're doing what works best for you all, then keep going! Thank you for your lovely words 😊 xx

I also second what others have said re the Hakka!

I have a great electric pump as was exclusively pumping at first so needed it. Now he’s on the boob, I attack the silicone Hakka on the other side abs get around 1-2oz per feed- it collects the letdown from the other breast which would normally be soaked by a pad.
If you used 3x per day in the lead up you’d have a good amount for the freezer, loads easier than having to get the electric pump out

Attach**

I don’t attack honest

Don’t forget, babies are much more efficient than pumps so even if you aren’t managing to pump a lot, baby is still getting what they need, so hopefully one less thing to worry about!

Could your dress be modified so you can feed in it?

@Katieandthekids

Could your dress be modified so you can feed in it?

To be honest, not really. And I wouldn't want it to be altered from the style it is now. I will go to our room to feed her throughout the day and use the EBM I have to give her when she would usually cluster feed on the evening xx

@Bellyrumble

I also second what others have said re the Hakka!

I have a great electric pump as was exclusively pumping at first so needed it. Now he’s on the boob, I attack the silicone Hakka on the other side abs get around 1-2oz per feed- it collects the letdown from the other breast which would normally be soaked by a pad.
If you used 3x per day in the lead up you’d have a good amount for the freezer, loads easier than having to get the electric pump out

I think I will look into these as a few people have said they're really useful 😊 xx

Honestly, at 7 weeks you'll need to feed. "Hand express for comfort" is for when she's 7 months.

I'd stop worrying, take the expressed milk for if she's fractious at points you can't feed and then feed her at times you can. Is your dress feeding friendly? Could it be made feeding friendly?

@RacketeerRalph

Honestly, at 7 weeks you'll need to feed. "Hand express for comfort" is for when she's 7 months.

I'd stop worrying, take the expressed milk for if she's fractious at points you can't feed and then feed her at times you can. Is your dress feeding friendly? Could it be made feeding friendly?

Thanks for your advice, I'm still getting to grips with breastfeeding as I didn't breastfeed my first child so this is all completely new territory to me. I'm muddling through as best I can with the knowledge I've been given and the research I've done myself, as well as learning along the way.

I'm going to feed her throughout the day and use the expressed milk for the night time when she usually cluster feeds. My dress isn't feeding friendly and if I were to get it altered to be feeding friendly, it would change the style of the dress completely which ideally I don't want to do xx

Oh another tip, take someone with you when feeding to help with your dress and to change the baby's nappy while you're sorting your dress / hair afterwards. To minimise the time you're away and so you don't have to change nappies on your wedding day
At 7 weeks your milk supply might have just settled btw rather than being too low so don't worry about that.

I would just feed throughout the day as normal and then hand express or use a pump later after baby goes to sleep or home with babysitter etc.

I drank a few glasses of wine several times per week whilst breastfeeding, it certainly doesn't do them any harm. In fact evidence shows that it's better for babies to have breast milk from a mother who's had a few drinks than have formula (don't want to start a fight over BM vs formula, I'm just stating the facts) a few glasses of champagne throughout the day will be absolutely fine.

@Ralph871

I would just feed throughout the day as normal and then hand express or use a pump later after baby goes to sleep or home with babysitter etc.

I drank a few glasses of wine several times per week whilst breastfeeding, it certainly doesn't do them any harm. In fact evidence shows that it's better for babies to have breast milk from a mother who's had a few drinks than have formula (don't want to start a fight over BM vs formula, I'm just stating the facts) a few glasses of champagne throughout the day will be absolutely fine.

I loved a Prosecco of an eve when breastfeeding my twins.