Expressing after birth

[cookiecrisp11]

I'm afraid my baby won't be able to latch on to my breast. I have inverted nipples that have began to come out since my boobs have grown in pregnancy but my nipples are still quite small.
I want to give my baby breast milk but don't want to breast feed long term, I would like yo express long term though.
Can I express my colostrum in hospital for babies first feed or will I have to go straight to breast / formula ?

Yes you can express colostrum. Ask your midwife. Mine gave me a special kit to do it. You do it the week before the birth. Good luck

I had the same problem. I borrowed a hand pump from the boob people at the hospital then I bought one. I exclusively expressed for the first Dc for two months. It was incredibly time consuming! You are spending double the time providing food. With dc2 I didn't bother. He got some colystrum at the hospital and then it was formula all the way! Incredible weight off my shoulders.

Yes, I hand expressed with a syringe - it was not pleasant though, especially at 2am on the hospital ward, thank god DH was allowed to stay with me.

I then moved onto pump but only did it for 2 days. DD couldn't latch because of inverted nipped and tongue tie and even when she could, she didn't suck anyway but was completely fine with a bottle.

I'm worried about the time and the stress. I know that sounds selfish but I'm the kind of person who will need to say here OH take baby whilst I have 5 mins. And he too has said he doesn't want to miss out on feeding and bonding etc.
It feels like a weight off knowing I can express beforehand then, I'll look into that. And maybe I will just stick yo formula after the first couple of weeks.
Thanks girls xx

Have you talked to a lactation consultant? Your midwife should be able to help, or you can go privately. Inverted nipples can definitely be dealt with, and it's great you are getting advice before the baby comes.

Yes, you can hand express colostrum. It's bloody hard work though. In fact, expressing is hard work full stop. If I could have avoided I would have (baby wouldn't latch).

Expressing is generally harder and more time consuming than direct breastfeeding. I'm in awe of mothers who do it long term.

Expressing colostrum pre-birth is a good idea and can be done at leisure, unlike expressing long term, which has to be frequent and regimented. There's also the risk you won't respond well to the pump.

I'm still exclusively expressing 5 and a half months later... it's time consuming initially whilst supply is establishing, but I only do it 4 times a day now.

it's the best of both worlds imho, the benefits of breastmilk with the control of formula, plus it lasts longer out of the fridge. It can take some practise for days out etc (I whack a large muslin over my shoulder)

My milk didn't come in till day 4 due to c section, so we used a bit of formula initially, but baby is happy switching.

I don't rate the electric pump we bought, and found a hand pump far more effective (and transportable).

Happy to answer any questions you may have. x

Yes you can. However colostrum is incredibly frustrating to express because it is so small in quantity meaning you get literally drops and it's thick and quickly dries meaning it all gets stuck inside the workings of the pump. I actually got more colostrum from the ancient system which didn't have any kind of filter on it than the nice modern breast pump I had access to in hospital.

You might want to get in touch with somebody who can show you how to harvest colostrum by hand into feeding syringes, this is much more effective, just very fiddly.