expressing

[LittleCheese]

Hi ladies

Im 32 weeks pregnant and would really like to breastfeed baby number 2. However my DH has also expressed an interest in feeding the baby as he really enjoyed feeding dd (she was totally bottle fed)I am quite happy to express milk so that he can feed the baby with a bottle and i know several people who do this. I would also like to express and freeze some milk in case we get the occasional night out etc...

My issue is when am i supposed to express? Does expressing milk mess up the whole supply and demand sort of thing? im really confused....

hi Littlecheese,
congrats on your pregnancy. It takes up to six weeks for your supply to establish, so until then its best to avoid the pump, let your DH do other thing for the baby like bathing etc. Once its established you can of course express then and let your DH give the odd feed. The only thing ill say though as a mam of a toddler and baby, expressing can be a lot of faff when you are already busy, so i just express when i want a bit of time out, not to give DH an opportunity to ffed the baby!

Best of luck with the baby, and you are dead right to ask questions now and arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible before the arrival.

Hi

Yes congrats on your pregnancy- 32 wks is a nice time so enjoy before the lump gets really heavy!

Just wanted to give you another perspective on expressing-I now have a 4 week old and started expressing a week ago as I could see that exclusive breast feeding was going to be very time consuming with my little one. She takes an age (bless her) after stopping to rest every time and having serious bowel movements. The intention was for my husband to do the late night feed ( a la Gina Ford advice) so I could get tro bed early and didn't turn into a complete blithering wreck from lack of sleep. So she has been having a bottle once to twice a day. Now however my husband is back at work and doesn't want to stay up late to do the last feed. But, it seems that she has got used to the speed of the milk flow from the bottle and is getting v. frustrated at the breast which has become a problem in itself. After talking to nct bf councillor today it seems it could now take a couple of weeks to get her used to bf again- therefore I am giving expressing second thoughts- and yes it is v. time consuming. i use a manual pump- but don't know how good the electric ones are. She has just gone through a growth spurt howver( they feed constantly like for 6 hours a day) and expressing at certain times for a few days before this occurred helped my supply increase for this purpose.It also helps to top her up a bit before bed. So I am now considering expressing my early morning milk only for the late night feed(more cals) and as and when I need to escape for a bit.