expressing milk really need advice urgently

[MAMA89]

hi
my daughter is 9 weeks and i really want to start expressing my milk coz im finding that i literally cant do anything, just to get myself waxed i have to hold her so she can feed and get waxed at same time. but im scared that shel get confused btw breast and bottle or will get comfy with bottle and i really dont want that coz i love bf
so dont know what to do,
please help!

If you are giving the occasional bottle then she will be fine BUT she may not actuallytake the bottle or you may have to try a few different teats to get one that she will accept.

I found that neither of my two came to prefer bottles, but I resolutely stuck to giving no more than one bottle per day and to using the slowest teats so make bottle feeding as much work for them as possible. With both I carried on with breastfeeding to past 6 months.

We do a bottle of EBM a every week or so, so that I can have some time alone or focus on DS1.

Both of mine will drink from the bottle if necessary, bt prefer the breast.

What Haliborange said

hmmm thank you i really needed the reassurance, what teat should i start with, and which pump should i use

You'll want a slowing flowing teat so that she doesn't get used too idea of so much milk so quickly, yum. If your breasts deliver milk slower then she might get frustrated and hence prefer the immediacy of the bottle. They come in 1(newborn) 2 and 3(which are faster). I believe you can also get even slower ones designed for prem babies. You'll just need to read the packets. I personally use the tommee ones, but for no particular reason, though its suppose to be better desgined for BF babies. We also have another small bottle that we got given and she feeds fine from this one as well.

My LO(11weeks) has a bottle most mornings and 1/2days a week while I'm working. There was a day where she had too many bottles as I was away for a long time and she then preferred the bottle (nursing strike). I just stuck to my guns to get her back to the breast. Though she still fed fine when asleep/drowsy having just woke up. Took 3 days and lots of handexpressing into her mouth and sometimes crying herself back to sleep having missed the feed (but then got her as she stirred). I guess what I'm trying to say, is if she does prefer the bottle, that doesn't mean she has to get it and it doesn't have to be the end of BF. Your the mother and if your prepared for a bit of hard work it will be fine. She's been back on a normal EBM bottle schedule now for two weeks and BF's like a dream.

As for pumps most people seem to have a medula swing. I use a manual as well, I personally don't see much difference between the two. It may take you a while to be able to express a decent amount, especially if you already don't have much time to yourself. Also its normal to need 2 or more pumping sessions to get enough for 1 meal.

I use the Avent Isis pump and the Avent bottles/stuff.

We use a size 2 teat for DS (8 weeks), it does piss him off a little cause I think he is used to things much faster.

I use the Medela swing, and it's been great, no problems. I'm still mostly using size 1 teats for DS as i want him to work for the milk, but occasionally he has a 2, for a bigger bottle. Echoing what Climberchick said, you may need a couple of pumping sessions per bottle.

Hi, MAMA89, I'm in a similar situation to you right now. DD is 7 weeks. Was exclusively BF up until Friday, when I expressed for the first time. Main reasons for expressing are that my hubby wants to feed DD, like you, I need some time to my self and also, I have a wedding to go to next week - couldnt find a nice nursing dress so hope to take a couple of expressed bottles as emergency back ups for times when I cant slip away to feed.

Because I expressed at night time, I only managed to express 2 oz the first time. I gave this to DD during the night, as well as offering her the breast. Like you, I was so anxious in case she refused breast after but she took both with no problems. I put the bottle up to her lips and she just sucked it in and started drinking! We were delighted. Gave her another expressed bottle yesterday and, again she took this with no problems. She has gone back to the breast fine. I am using Avent bottles, no. 1, which is the slowest flow. I have read that your best to use the slowest flow as it is closest to what baby will experience breastfeeding i.e she will have to work a bit for the milk. As for her being confused, she did not seem to be and was pretty relaxed when she was being bottle fed.

I know that I am prob quite lucky as some babies refuse bottles or dont go back to the breast.

In the morning, I have been able to express 4-5oz in half an hour. Much harder at night, took me 1.5 hours to express the same amount tonight, so I'll stick to the mornings from now on! Expressing also seems to be faster if your baby is feeding at the same time from the other breast as you will get "let down". Its a bit awkward to do, I needed my DH's help to get comfy.

Sorry..but getting waxed?? Can you explain? I sometimes try and find the time to wash up??? ejust having a laugh

oooh ok
thanks for the tips!
i was told yday by health visitor that i should use tommie tippie closer to nature bottles so ive bought some
gonna pump prob when shes next on breast
also does anyone know how long i can keep milk in fridge n say if ive pumped in one session n put it in the fridge, can i pump some more into same bottle?

try this thetruthaboutbreastfeeding.com/category/research/storing-breast-milk/

hope the link works!!

Hi mama89,

www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/pdfs/BFNExpressing&Storing.pdf

The above link will take you to advice from the breastfeeding network.

I know that everyone is different, but I have found expressing in the morning best so far. This morning I expressed 4oz in 5 minutes!

Hope you get on ok - like you I was really nervous about introducing a bottle. Felt a bit guilty doing it, which I know isnt rational! Good luck!