Expressing breast milk - help!

[ahsat84]

My little one is ebf and almost 6 weeks and am thinking of expressing so husband can do a feed a day.

I am confused regarding when to express ? If I am breast feeding all day then how do I express as well? Also what happens to my supply if baby has expressed milk once a night ?

Confused !! Thanks

I was in the same position as you, but with a cluster feeding baby; so I bought an electric expressor. My advice would be don’t bother as there is no time to express so early on and the odd occasion my DD wasn’t eating the last think I wanted to do was express- I wanted to eat or clean or SLEEP. Instead about 9 weeks in we introduced one formula feed in the evening to give me a break. (Biggest waste of £70 that machine)
Sorry if this wasn’t specifically what you wanted to know and Best of luck if you are able to express.

Agree with poster above. Our dd is 7 months old and has always had formula at bed time so that dh can be involved. She usually bf as well but It does mean that if i want to go anywhere (hobbies are in the evening), he is able to do bedtime.

You don’t need to formula feed but I get why pp say it is easier.

I used to express early morning, between 6-8am while baby is sleeping or in another room with Dad and usually after baby has just been fed.

My baby is almost 6 weeks. I express in the morning on whichever brest she hasn't fed on and store it to build a collection. My partner does a feed whenever I need a break or an early night. :)

I was always told to express after the morning feed.

I express after the morning feed too as that's when my supply is higher. DH then does the first night feed and I express while he does that as well- having the one expressed feed a night just means that rather than the usual unpredictable 2-3 hour battle in the middle of the night I know DS will be fed and settled within 30 mins. Good luck OP!

I've got a 4 month old and have only just started trying to express, he now won't take a bottle, but that's a whole other thread...!! With our daughter though I started to express at about 2 months old, I used to do it about 7am, I'd feed her from one boob and pump from the other at the same time. I only feed from one side during a feed though. I found I got the most out at this time of day too. You don't need to give formula if you want to have the last feed off, unless you want to of course, you could use your milk instead.

I expressed after every feed. By the time I went back to work at 6 months I had loads in the freezer to send with DD to the childminder, and it enabled DH to do the night feeds on one of the weekend nights so I could have a decent night's sleep in the first weeks.

I used to express once a day, either 9am or 9pm - I'd feed baby on one side and express on the other, then swap them over. Baby refused a bottle so I ended up donating all my milk! Over 10 litres in the end.

Just to say you don't ever need to express if you don't want to.

I have breastfed for a total of 7 years and never expressed.

Do you actually need your DH to do some feeds? I ask because honestly, expressing is a right pain in the arse. Fathers can do every other part of childcare apart from breastfeed so if it's about him being involved then I'd re-think. If it's to give you a break then that's different, but again if you are managing then it would be easier to just go with it, and let your supply fully regulate.

They say night nursing boosts your supply more than day feeding (more prolactin or something) so it's best not to miss those night feeds at this stage.

Anyway, to answer your question, I only ever expressed instead of a feed ie when I was working. Expressing is not as efficient as the actual baby so you may notice a drop in supply. I rectified this by nursing more frequently at the weekends.

I was knackered actually, but they are 18 and 8 now and I'm glad I did it.

Personally, the time it takes to express (of you can find a time)!i may as well have just fed mine. I get dads want to be involved but DH found nappy changes/cuddling/sling to be sufficient.

I expressed in the morning, I also found it really easy and got loads. I used an advent hand pump because a work friend had used one successfully. Doesn't come as easy to everyone though

I would feed one side and then express the other if I could sense that there was supply available - by the time my son was 6 months old I was expressing on average a litre a day. Some was kept for a night feed and remainder frozen for adding to meals/cereals. did start to feel like a jersey cow...

I wouldn't bother expressing just for the purpose of DH giving a bottle. If you need to be away from baby regularly or going back to work, then it makes sense. I went back to work so I started expressing while I was home to have a stock in advance, but I had to make time for it. It's a lot easier to feed directly than to express, honestly.

Oh - something that might be a good compromise. Have you heard of the Haakaa pump? It suctions to your breast and can draw and collect milk from one breast while you nurse from the other.

www.amazon.co.uk/Haakaa-Silicone-Breastfeeding-Manual-Phthalate/dp/B01F8W7CF0?tag=mumsnetforum-21

I started expressing early on because of having a baby in SCBU. I kept up the habit but TBH DS never wanted a bottle if I was around, so any plans for DH to do some night feeds were swiftly shelved

I found expressing in the morning after a feed worked best for me. The Avent hand pump was fine

I was just about to post re the haakaa pump!

I only express when I know I am going to be away from DD for a few hours/ on my night that I sleep in the spare room to get a bit of extra sleep. I found it such a faff with my DS with a "normal" pump that we just used formula.

I found expressing a right pain in the arse but have found hand expressing a bit here and there less hassle. I don't have a great supply so using this to boost.

I express so I can feed ds from a bottle at night as he has colic and it helps him loads to do it this way. Hubby also loves doing a feed. I use an ameda electric pump and it works great for me. The best way to get started is to pump after a feed and in between as well, just to get started. Then whenever you use a bottle express the next feed as well. As i type hubby is feeding expressed from a bottle and I’m expressing for another time. I have a couple of bottles in the fridge and freeze the rest for later use. For us it does save time and is well worth it.

Expressing was brilliant option for my family. I didn’t want to give DD formula if possible (no judgement on others who did though) but expressing meant I could get some sleep and DH loved being able to care for his girl independently. Crucially it also allowed me to feel like I had the option to be away from DD for a few hours if I wanted some time to myself, this saving my sanity on a few days! Top tips - invest in a good electric pump like the Phillips Avent Isis IQ. Pump little and often straight after a feed to start with as this will help drive up your supply, then move on to expressing from one side while feeding from the other so it doesn’t mean you are pumping all day. And make sure that the milk you give your baby has both fore- and hind-milk in it, because foremilk on its own might upset baby’s tummy and isn’t as rich. Easiest to achieve this by either expressing after a feed, or draining a full boob. You can see the makeup of the milk if you’ve stored it in the fridge - there should be a layer of cream at the top and then thinner milk below. Best of luck and I hope it’s easy for you.

I only ever managed to get more than a drop out if I expressed from one boob whilst DD was feeding on the other. Always managed it in the morning, from about 2/3 months. DH loved being able to five DD her last feed of the day and I enjoyed a bit of peace! We did it until 6 months with both our DDs and then gave them formula for that last feed instead. We figured that any benefit from being exclusive BF was lost once she started on solids, so didn't mind using formula then.

I never managed to get anything significant out for DS1, but then he never figured out bottles (or feeding cups), so it was pointless anyway.

Then DS2 I gave it another go, but he wasn't interested unless it was fresh from source, and went on to full solid meals so quickly at 6 months and lost interest in breast milk so it was never a thing anyway.

Do you want DP to be able to feed for bonding? Consider baths or something instead. If it's to give you a solid block of sleep, then I had my best luck in the morning (although still never expressed much)

"Do you actually need your DH to do some feeds? I ask because honestly, expressing is a right pain in the arse. Fathers can do every other part of childcare apart from breastfeed so if it's about him being involved then I'd re-think. If it's to give you a break then that's different, but again if you are managing then it would be easier to just go with it, and let your supply fully regulate."

I agree with this ^^
I ended up expressing because I developed thrush and breastfeeding was so painful. It felt like I had a piranha latched on. It was a right old faff spending time attached to a machine, washing and sterilising bottles etc.

Once I had got over the thrush and breastfeeding had settled down I found just feeding DD myself was by far the easier option.

I had to express after every feed to increase my breast milk supply from very early on. I never got very much at all (but obviously had supply issues generally) and found it all such a faff.
If you are fortunate enough to be able to EBF and don’t really need to express its really not worth the agro. If it’s what you feel you need to get you through it’s much easier with an electric pump. You can hire them in my area from the local children’s centre, so might be worth checking there rather than paying out a large sum first.
Good luck either way.