Breastfeeding novice queries!!!! (Advice gratefully received!)

[Flowerbaby]

I am currently BF my newborn DC1.

How long does/should it take for my boobs to "go down" a bit? They are enormous and very uncomfortable. I went from a D to an F cup when pg and now they must be G (haven't been out of the house yet to get measured up, but my F bras are too small).

Also, I have tried to express milk but only got 25ml after 1/2 hour on the electric breast pump whico h was disappointing especially with such large norks.

Despite the large norks they have never leaked and I have not had to use breast pads at all. could there be a problem with flow?

Baby is putting weight on though surely is getting enough, why won't it express properly?

How long should it averagely take to express a significant amount?

Any advice welcomed!

I have never managed to express more than 25ml at a time, and I bf DS for 3.2 years and have been bf DD for 10 months so far.

You may get better results with manual expressing, or perhaps with a different pump, or you may just be someone who doesn't have much success expressing. It doesn't mean much about your actual supply or flow.

It's normal to not get much when expressing to start with. Give it a few weeks.

mmmm not sure about your first question as I never had a problem with 'huge norks'!! Maybe yours will just be large throughout I have had friends who went up 2/3 cups sizes so don't panic. If you baby seems happy and is putting on weight then BF is probably going well.

When I first expressed I had a rubbish electirc pump which took ages then I swapped to a Medela expensive but excellent and much quicker. Depending on when you express the amount you get out varies.

I went up from a 32D pre-pregnancy to a 36DD in late pregnancy, and a 34FF post pregnancy. 5 months down the line they are still a good F cup, have barely shrunk at all! I am not impressed.

Also, I have never ever leaked a drop (always thought it would be interested to taste BM and haven't been able to!), never needed breast pads except to stop the lansinoh staining my bras, and never been able to express more than about 1oz. I got 2oz the first time DS slept through the night, but never again.

DS has never had any problems (current slow weight gain, but that's nothing to do with supply, he's not demanding more feeds)

How old is your baby?

Do you need to express at the moment or do you just want to be able to?

Supply/demand does settle down and so will your boobs BUT 1/2 an hour on a breast pump is stimulation above and beyond what your baby probably requires and will not help with the uncomfortableness (is that even a word!?)

I fed DS for 2.5 years and could never express more than a tiny amount. It just wasn't worth the effort. That's not to say that you won't be prolific given time.

Thanks all!

I will persevere with the expressing, it would be good to have stored BM as backup as baby is quite unpredictable in terms of wanting feeds and when take him out I am paranoid he will want feeding in the middle of town, because I am still getting the hang of it and am a bit shy about BF in public yet.

Also (another few q's!!) we have got in a proper lather over sterilising to the extent that we are fearful of the bottles and equipment in case we get it all wrong, as follows:

Have got a microwave steriliser. When the bottles come out, they are covered in condensation.

1. Can you use them immediately (or after say 10-15 mins when they have cooled down a bit) or do you wait for all the condensation to go?

2. At what point can you put the teats and lids on? ie straight out of steriliser when there is still condensation, or do you have to wait? If there is still condensation in the bottles, does this not affect how sterile they are?

3. How long do the bottles stay sterilised for? If you sterilised a bottle do you have to use it immediately or within the hour or day? Is that with or without the teats and lids on?

4. The breast pump equipment only calls for being boiled in a saucepan once a day - can these bits go in the microwave steriliser with the bottles?

5. Can dummies go into the microwave steriliser?!?

Thanks again...

Gosh hopefully you sound just like me!

I was 32D before (those bras look TINY now!) Can't believe the size of them currently.

Notsorampantrabbit baby is 12 days old. X posts, the reason to express is because I don't want to BF in public mainly because my boobs are so enormous and unwieldy it isn't very discreet at all and just getting them out (and back in again more to the point) of the nursing bra is a tricky operation requiring both hands and yanking the eshoulder straps down to find the clip...

I used to seal my sterilised bottles immediately to prevent bacteria getting in.

Size-wise, I started a 36A before my 1st pregnancy, went up to a 38DD, then a 36F when my milk came in, and went down to a 36C once they'd settled (about 3 months after).

This pg I only went from a 36C to a 36D. Not sure about milk comes in as hasn't happened yet!

I was a 34DD pre pregnancy, went up to 36F and just stopped BF at 9mths (although was mix feeding for ages) and my pre pregnancy bras fit again and seem a bit roomier but not been measured.

I tried expressing for about a week at the beginning and couldn't get anything out at all and never once leaked. I always have had a really good supply and was down to 1 feed per day for 2 months until I have up bf totally today.

Re sterilising. I put on the teats and lids as soon as the bottles are cool enought to touch. I may be wrong but I think you can keep them in the steriliser for 3 hrs (but that may depend on what kind you have).

Dummies can go in the steriliser.

I think only the expressor bottle can go in the steriliser but I may be wrong.

Here's a golden rule on expressing: Express until the milkflow slows to a trickle, swap and do the same on the other side -or if double pumping rest for 60secs- and then repeat.

Then stop! 30mins is too long.

And if your dc is less than 6 weeks I would wait a bit anyway.

And unfortunately (or unfortunately I guess) nork size and milk supply are fully and totally unrelated.

You will get handier with that nursing bra clip- loads handier, believe me

dont worry about condensation in bottles.

what a faff boiling your breast pump in a sauce pan? Just wash up in hot water and store in Milton for a while!

Just to say - you will get MUCH better at feeding in public, so don't worry about that as you're only 12 days in. My boobs are similarly enormo and unweildy and i am also completely cack-handed, but I think I've got the hang of it now (or I've just stopped caring!)

Stockpile your hard expressed milk in the freezer for night out instead!

Lots of good advice on here about expressing, I expressed every day for ever (well about 8 months!) and it definitely gets better. The key with expressing is relaxing. I used to have ds happily settled in his bouncy chair or something near to me and I'd sit on the sofa and watch something engrossing or funny. It's amazing when you're not thinking about it how the milk flows. The most I ever got was 10oz in about 20 mins and that's because I was expressing and booking a flight online at the same time

With regards to condensation in bottles, don't worry about it. If the bottles are coming straight out of the steriliser, then the condensation is sterile too, so if you add EBM to that it won't cause any harm.

I used to sterilise a bottle when needed as I'd express in to those freezer bags and pop it straight in to the freezer. If I did need a bottle I'd take it straight out of the steriliser, assemble it, pour EBM in and pop it in the fridge until I needed it.

With the expressing equipment, the NCT breastfeeding advisor told me I could express, put the equipment (bottle, funnel things and tubes etc, but not the actual pump) in the fridge and use it again. I only washed it at the end of the day, and then I sterilised it in the microwave too. I had a Medela hospital grade pump that I hired, but I think you can put any Medela pump kit in the microwave. Not sure about any other brand. I'm sure someone on here will know...

HTH

Flowerbaby, If it helps you to relax it is worth noting that you don't need to steralise AT ALL! It really is a bit of a con, but many of us do it anyway as it makes us feel better (maternal guilt is a wierd thing). But at the end of the day it is not better than washing in hot soapy water and leaving to air dry- seriously! So Don't get too worked up about the intricacies of it - having the bottles etc thoroughly clean before they go in there is really the only bit that counts.

On the expressing front, it will get better, but no one can tell you how long it is going to take - everyone's different. I was a jersey cow and would easily express 9oz in 5-10mins right from the outset, but some people are great bfers but expressing just never really works for them. Most people find looking at their baby (sleeping ideally) helps the milk to flow faster.

Good luck!

Thanks all, there is some great advice here!

I hope I do get better with the clips madmouse, I think I need some more/better nursing bras and some nice nursing tops too.

Top tip there charitygirl re night out (what's them!?) )

Headfairy you have answered a lot for me there, thanks very much. I have got a Medela Swing and am determined to get some use out of it (at that price too!!)

Thanks for the tip bubbaluv will try looking at baby next time I brave the expresser!

flowerbaby for large norks you can't beat Royce ones from Bravissimo. Mine lasted a whole year!

Ditch the expresser and try with your fingers, I had some advantage with this as used to keep goats!!

Also totally agree with Bubbaluv re; sterilising, I think you only need to do this if you are storing milk. On the odd occassion my DS's had formula I just poured it into a clean bottle from the carton. Even bacteria needs a bit of time to breed.

I also am large of norkage and find it easier to use the rugby ball position for feeding rather than dc across the body.

I second the Royce bra suggestion, but have never used special nursing tops. Get a couple of stretchy vests (M&S have them for around £3 each) and wear one under a looser top. Then pull the vest down, undo your bra and latch dc on under the looser top. The vest covers your tummy and the looser top sort of drapes over you dc. I also have a muslin handy to catch any squirts if my dd2 decides to have a look around!!

Rather than slip out of the bra strap to get the clip I pull the strap up out of the top of my top (neckline/collar iyswim?) and grab hold of it in my teeth. Then it stays in one place & is easier to do up with your free hand. I can now do this super quick without really thinking about it.

Good luck