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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Anyone who has used an electric pump...

22 replies

indecisivemomma · 30/04/2022 22:00

I am loaning an electric breast pump from a very generous friend to try and express my milk to use alongside formula as I am struggling to feed my newborn from the breast and don't have adequate supply to fill him.

I'm hoping to pump a few times a day and get what I can. We are predominantly using formula but I'd like to be able to get some breast milk before my supply dries up completely. I will use or store (freeze) depending on how much I get. And this is where I'm confused...how much in volume am I likely to get from a single pumping session? When I've tried hand expressing I've got literally droplets, barely enough to fill a teaspoon. Will an electric pump get more?

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eurochick · 30/04/2022 22:04

It varies massively from person to person and session to session. I exclusively expressed and was getting over a litre a day at the peak. Moo!

Making sure you are well fed and well-hydrated will help to maximise the amount.

indecisivemomma · 30/04/2022 22:11

Thank you, that's a brilliant amount! Can I ask how many times a day you pumped?

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FruitToast · 30/04/2022 22:15

I exclusively pumped for 18 months with both of mine (very tongue tied babies I never managed to get to breast feed). I used to get a lot more with an electric pump than hand expressing. I used to sit with a double pump, with a pumping bra (so hands free), in front of the tv and if needed massaged my boobs as I pumped. A half an hour session gave me 4-5oz per boob. Hand expressing I could get maybe a couple of oz overall in the same time frame and I would have serious hand cramp afterwards!!

BertieBotts · 30/04/2022 22:17

Hmmm how long is a piece of string I'm afraid.

OK first of all. Congratulations on your baby. :)

How old is little one? Are you getting support from the infant feeding team at your hospital? Have you been discharged from midwife care?

If you are still in the first few days then droplets is exactly right and normal, and I would actually carry on hand expressing and see if you can collect in a syringe. You can buy 1ml or 2ml syringes from a pharmacy, or order online (medical/food grade) and then refrigerate or freeze these. I found trying to use an electric pump with this level of milk supply absolutely frustrating as most of the milk will just get stuck in the workings of the pump and dry up before you can hoover it out. For hand expressing, you need the "marmet technique".

If you are past the first week or so and you are still only getting droplets, or you want to use the pump to stimulate supply and are not really bothered about saving droplets that come out, you just want to get supply up, then go straight to the pump. You will want to look up the recommended pumping rhythm, from memory. Depending on the pump, it might do this pattern for you automatically or you might need to do it yourself. I found this quite baffling and frustrating but I did get there and having the right technique can really help. Also, doing things to help encourage a letdown such as looking at your baby, thinking about your baby, smelling your baby's clothes or looking at videos/photos of them. If you can pump while actually holding the baby then super! But I think I would have found that very difficult.

Don't over-pump. 10 mins each side is enough, even if you're not producing much by doing this. It's a good idea to do that every 3-4 hours. You will likely see your production increase over a few days, so don't get discouraged if you're not making very much to begin with. Most people find that it increases from a few droplets to 5-10 ml per session right up to 30ml per session or even more.

I would strongly suggest getting RL help and getting a feeding plan in place. Whether that is the infant feeding team/midwife team from hospital, or a private IBCLC.

You might want to look up about paced feeding - I found this enormously reassuring when I was mixed feeding DS2 because I found myself so stressed all the time at the idea he was taking so much formula that I would never ever be able to catch up and satiate his appetite. Paced feeding reassured me that he was only taking as much as he needed to, and not extra due to the bottle. It also meant that I had confidence to put him to the boob loads - like as much as he would tolerate basically, every minute that I wasn't sleeping/eating/showering and he wasn't being changed or bottle fed, I would have him on the boob. I didn't worry about him wearing himself out (because he was losing weight, I was under instruction not to let him feed for too long before adding the top up, which I didn't immediately understand, but I do now) so I would let him do his active feeding for however long on each side, burp, top up, and then after the top up let him latch on again and feed for as long as he liked, even if he was asleep but still latched on. It all seemed to do the trick. To be honest I never was very responsive to a pump so I stopped pumping very quickly.

OTOH if reading that makes you feel stressed and paced feeding is just another thing to worry about - forget it, it doesn't matter at all, the baby being fed is important and not how. Concentrate on whichever parts of this you have the energy for.

eurochick · 30/04/2022 22:26

indecisivemomma · 30/04/2022 22:11

Thank you, that's a brilliant amount! Can I ask how many times a day you pumped?

At the beginning, seven times a day. The hospital recommended eight but I was exhausted and recovering from a section and just needed to skip one session. I managed to get more than my baby needed so it was fine. Towards the end (when my baby was around 8-9 months) four times.

I found expressing really tough. I only did it because she was prem and too weak to suck at first and never got the hang of breastfeeding. I'm quite small of boob and had to sort of hunch to get the milk to flow. My child is seven now and I'm still dealing with back and neck pain that started when I was expressing.

eurochick · 30/04/2022 22:28

I should also say that at the beginning the amounts were very small but my baby was only having 10ml per feed. Even without breastfeeding your body adapts to their needs and the quantity and content of the milk changes over time. So don't worry if you don't get much.

FusionChefGeoff · 30/04/2022 22:54

Unfortunately it's the night sessions that really boost your milk supply so if you're serious about increasing that you will need to make sure you pump at least once between 2-4am I think is the magic hours

indecisivemomma · 01/05/2022 07:20

Thank you all. I am still very clueless about all of this so appreciate any advice.

Baby is only just a week old so maybe it is a bit early for the electric pump however I'm struggling to find the time and patience to hand express when I'm getting such tiny amounts. I'm only able to borrow the pump for a few weeks as friend needs it back so I'm hoping to see how I get on and if I'm finding it ok and pumping enough then I will invest in one of my own. They are expensive and didn't want to waste money if I'm not going to get along with it. In the meantime baby is having formula but I'd really be able to offer at least some breast milk too and as we are struggling so much with pain and latch (have had help with this it's just not working) this seems like the best way for us all.

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PartyPlan · 01/05/2022 07:26

Honestly, in the first week I wouldn’t expect to be able to express much at all, especially given you aren’t fully breastfeeding. It will only be tiny amounts so don’t feel disheartened by it.

I EBF my 6 month old. He only feeds for short times, but he gets enough milk. If I pump, the amount is minuscule, but babies are better at extracting from the breast than a pump is.

indecisivemomma · 01/05/2022 07:29

@PartyPlan thank you, is it one of those things where the more I do it the more I will eventually produce?

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FabulousFlowerpots · 01/05/2022 07:30

I had an electric pump. Baby was exclusively breast-fed and I had gallons of milk. But when it came to using the pump my tits said no & I never got anything out at all. I gave up after a two weeks and just stayed with the boob.

kikisparks · 01/05/2022 07:36

@indecisivemomma it’s definitely a case of keep putting in demand to up your supply. The recommendation is 8-10 times a day for the first 12 weeks including at least one between 12am and 4am. I did 8 times a day for 12 weeks, every 4 hours at night and every 2 hours in the day. It was really really hard and I didn’t ever make enough to fully feed my baby but I made approx 600ml at the 12 week mark and then gradually dropped pumps, she’s 6 months old now and I pump 3 times a day and still get 600ml.

BluegrassBlues · 01/05/2022 07:37

indecisivemomma · 01/05/2022 07:29

@PartyPlan thank you, is it one of those things where the more I do it the more I will eventually produce?

Yes definitely - milk production is all based on demand. The more milk that is removed (by either pump or baby), the more you will produce.

An electric pump is SO much better than hand expressing. If you can pump and/or feed in the night time when prolactin levels are higher that will help your milk supply too.

PartyPlan · 01/05/2022 08:13

Yes, you will produce more the more
you take out. However, what I was trying to say was I can feed my 6 month old fully from my breasts, but cannot pump anywhere near enough. Just because you can’t pump doesn’t mean your breasts don’t have any milk, they just need baby to take it.

StarsandStones · 01/05/2022 08:19

Please do make sure you buy flanges in the right size, so the right size for your own breasts. Otherwise you won't get much milk (as I have experienced).

And check what other 'loose' parts like tubing you need to buy before borrowing a pump!

And as others have stated: drink enough, eat enough, and also if you pump during a cold night: dress warmly and take a hot drink. Everything matters...

indecisivemomma · 01/05/2022 08:39

Well I just had my first attempt and managed to express enough for baby's next bottle - roughly 2oz. I'm really happy with this. Baby is being combi fed so there is less pressure to keep up with demand as such, I'm just grateful for anything I can give him. I will try and get into a routine with pumping often so that I can offer maybe 50/50 breast milk/formula.

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PartyPlan · 01/05/2022 09:02

That’s great, well done!

You can try to put baby to the breast too, the latch might improve if they are getting bigger. Skin to skin will help milk production.

BertieBotts · 01/05/2022 11:35

Wow, brilliant! Keep going :)

indecisivemomma · 01/05/2022 12:16

Thank you! I've just pumped another 2oz. I'm a bit confused about collecting and storing. I've been collecting in a sterilised bottle then leaving out for the next feed (says online that breast milk is fine at room temp for 4 hours and baby is only going about 2-3 hours between feeds at the moment so all fine there).

However he didn't finish his last feed and I wasn't sure if it was ok for him to have it later as it's been out for a while already and also from a sterilising point of view. I'm not collecting enough for two feeds/bottles but at the same time i don't want to end up pouring breast milk away because he hasn't finished a full feed.

Can anyone advise how best to collect and store these small amounts.

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kikisparks · 01/05/2022 16:17

@indecisivemomma is it milk left in a bottle he drank from? If so unfortunately it needs to be discarded after 2 hours (but you can freeze it for a milk bath if you want).

You can look up the pitcher method if you want to try a different way of storing the milk.

BertieBotts · 01/05/2022 22:06

Get yourself some milk storage bags. You can buy them from Boots. They are pre sterilised so you use them to line a bottle which you attach to the pump. Pump into the bag (inside the bottle). Remove bottle from pump, remove bag from bottle, seal and store in fridge or freezer. Write date and time on bag before you start pumping, so you always use the oldest milk first and don't keep it for too long accidentally.

That way you can decant as much or as little from one bag, mix two bags, use half a bag etc and save the rest. To use it, you can either snip off a corner and pour it into a bottle, or open the bag and wrap it around a bottle and then screw the teat on top (if that makes sense).

The bags are thin enough plastic that they don't interfere with the screw tops so you can use with the pump, teat, etc.

BertieBotts · 01/05/2022 22:07

Discarding after 2 hours once drunk from is for formula and technically also for breastmilk, but to be honest I would probably keep breastmilk in the fridge if it will only be a few more hours... it's so hard won it makes sense and it does supposedly have anti-microbial qualities. But your call really.

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