Expressing and using milk

[thelma57]

Hi all, DD is almost 8 weeks and we’re EBF (which is going well and I love) however I have an event at the end of October and I’m aiming by then to be pumping and giving the odd bottle
of expressed milk and to allow DH to help.

One thing I’m unsure of is using the milk - if she takes a little bit of the bottle but not the whole thing, can it go back in the fridge and be warmed again or not? I would imagine not! But wanted to double check.

Also, I just have a manual Mam pump - does anyone have experience of this and is it decent?

TIA!

I used to give small amounts at a time and keep getting more. It’s not ideal but seeing half a bottle of expressed milk going to waste is devastating.

I’ve not tried the Mam pump but I had a manual tommee tippee, an Elvie wearable (v.pricey) and a mid-range electric one during my two stints of breastfeeding and the manual one was the most effective.

You might want to express from the other boob while feeding - it’s a good way to get milk because you’re holding the baby and is also a good was to increase production (if at any time you need to.)

Thanks @Colourfulponderings ! Good to know about the manual pump, I couldn’t justify the expensive ones at all! Especially as it’ll just be for top ups or when I’m away from her.

I agree, I would hate to be pouring milk away! How long did you keep a bottle once you’d started using it?

2 hours but I think once he was older I’d stretch that a bit, especially in cool rooms. You don’t see cows milk going bad a couple of hours and I didn’t wash the mouthpiece of his water cup every couple of hours so what was the difference?

I used these guidelines for storage llli.org/breastfeeding-info/storingmilk/

We tended to offer small amounts of breast milk and just warm more if he was still hungry to avoid wastage

That’s so helpful, thank you @Nejnej !

I’m doing the same with just topping up the bottle rather than pouring a huge bottle and she leaves a lot of it. I use the breast milk storage bags in the fridge/freezer and just put small amounts in them then heat them in warm water and add them to the bottle. It is annoying every time she’s crying for more but not as annoying as wasting a whole bottle