Expressed milk feeding

[Chelle2289]

Just wondered if any one can advise what is best to do for expressing milk and feeding from a bottle i.e. When's the best time of day to express for night time feed milk as I've been told morning milk shouldn't be given on a night feed. I only seem to be able to express first thing on a morning.

One of the reasons I would like to be able to give a bottle is so my partner can help with feeds through the night. Another reason is my boobs/nipples have been incredibly sore from cluster feeds and poor attachment from fussy eating and tying to give them a break to heal.

How old is your baby op?

1 month old

She's suffering from what seems like trapped wind or constipation 😥

Well its better if morning milk is given in the morning and evening milk in the evening because of the contents - that said when I pumped (6 - 8 times a day) and she only had expressed milk because she wouldn't latch I put the pumped bottle at the back of the queue in the fridge and fed her from the front of the queue... I also got lazy with my freezer bags and didnt always write AM/PM on them.. She did not sleep all day and stay awake all night so I'm not sure how much of an impact it has... I would pump when you have the time and the milk and not worry too much.

Have you got a decent pump? If you have sore nipples make sure you have the correct flange size on so that it doesnt make it worse, one thing you could do if you want a bit of a nipple break, pump to get enough for one feed (about 4 oz at a month) and then when your partner is feeding when you normally would be feeding, pump then and you have the next feed lined up - you can then pump for a few feeds while your DD is being fed and it gives your nipples a break, doesn't slow your supply, or change her feeds.. all these being if she's ok with a bottle of course..

I express in the mornings and have given the milk overnight and it doesn't seem to have any effect on her sleep.

Ah thank you :)
I've got the medela swing and it seems to work well. I believe the pain has been due to poor attachment from baby, but we've been getting advice and help on that at a breast feeding cafe.

Is it 4 oz per feed?

Hard to know how much they drink when they're being breast fed, mine would take a maximum of 3oz at that age. I'd suggest storing it in smaller amounts and just putting an ounce or two in a bottle at a time so you don't end up wasting too much.

I don't seem to be able to express much to be honest. Most I can do is about 2 oz on the morning then struggle if I try later in the day (only tried a couple of times to express as she's been not accepting bottles until now).

How long should I use the electric pump for in each breast? Sorry for all the questions just I've tried searching and get varied answers so wondered what Mams On here would suggest x

I just pump until I can't see any more milk coming out. Although when that happens I'll adjust the angle of the pump and cab usually get a little more.

I spoke to the health visitor about timings to express and she said that it's not really a big issue when and supply is normally better in the morning so if it works for my routine to do it then.
I pumped exclusively for the first two weeks as my baby was in hospital and was tube fed the milk. I pumped for 15-20 minutes and that produced a full feed and my supply was always better first thing in the morning.
Once your body is used to the extra demand on it at whichever time you express you should be able to produce more without a problem. I think you'll probably need to do it consistently from then.
Not to put you off but when my baby got to 8 weeks I decided to replace that expressed milk feed with a formula as I found expressing on top of feeding and looking after a newborn too much and my OH being able to do a feed has been a lifesaver. Find what works for you as a family and go with it.

Hi! I was a working mom back then and at the same time, my children are both fully breastfed. What I do is I expressed milk every 2 hours at work. It depends on how often your baby fed on you, because believe it or not. The breast will get full when it is feeding time. So I just pump it at work every 2-3 hours because that was the feeding hours of my child.

Then I kept it in a sealed container and then place it in the cooler so when I get home I will just put it on the fridge so that on the following day, my husband will have a milk to feed her while I am at work.