Getting ready to express

[Blueeyes91]

Hey all.

I'm wanting to start expressing for my LO so my partner can help with feeds now and then.

Do anyone have any tips. I've done some research but I must admit I'm still feeling a bit lost...

It only worked for me using a hospital grade pump borrowed from the local children's centre

I did it with a basic manual pump.
Tips - try to mimic the way a baby would suck for milk,don’t just pump pump pump like there’s no tomorrow, do a mixture of short fast bursts and longer slower ones to get the most milk out. Take the pump off and re-position if noting is happening. Put a warm cloth over your nipples for a few minutes prior to pumping. Pump one breast and then switch to the other.
Don’t panic if you don’t produce loads of milk to start with - the more your feeding the baby and the more you pump the more your body will produce so give it time.

I was unable to breastfeed so I pumped for my son for 7 months and am pumping again for my newborn.

It can take a while to pump any decent quantity so don't be disheartened if you get hardly anything at first, just persevere.

I have 2 pumps, a medela and a lansinoh double (both electric) and I do 15 mins per boob or 15 mins overall on the double. I actually prefer the single medela as I can hold DD with my free hand.

I've always been told that you produce most milk at night and should pump at least once overnight but at the moment I don't do this.

I have a couple of bottles that I use to pump and wash them afterwards and stick them in the cold water steriliser. I keep the expressed milk in bottles in the fridge and heat them as needed. Hope that helps xx

A good double pump , the let down from one helps you produce more milk ...
a pumping bra (handsfree!)
Pump at the same time as feeds , (unless after 6 months) you produce milk on demand so if baby is damaging to be fed (at 12) you need to pump also as when your husband does bottle feed , you still need that 12 feed in you
If you are pumping do you can rest, bear in mind... night milk has sleep hormones in, makes them sleep, so you want to pump just before you go to bed , so you get sleepy milk.
You have lost milk first thing in the morning, I pumped 1iz each morning for a week then 2 is the following week , for when I started back at work , I have 100oz in the freezer out of date as he never took a bottle and I can't bear to throw it away

Cross post @OneForTheRoadThen .
I thought it was first thing you produce more milk?

I was told it was overnight @MoodyTwo by a midwife but could be wrong. I hope not as I used to set an alarm with DS and wake up to pump while he was asleep....

Gah ! I'm well over and done with pumping, but my midwife said to pump at 4am onwards as that when your up for the day
Oh another thing, I always played a video of my little one laughing , it squirted out then!

And make sure you pump for I think it was 15 mins so you get fore milk and hind milk (I think that's what it was called)

I went on to expressing at about 6months and I can highly recommend the Spectra double electronic pump, mine is brill. My MW told me your milk production is at its highest between 2am and 5am, I hope she is right as I express at that time for that exact reason even when DS sleeps.
I found great, I think it is trying to get a little routine on the go. Although , my DS is fascinated by the machine and when I'm expressing likes to try and pull the rubber tubes off ... But I express every 4 hours (when the day is going to plan ) or if I get a free 15 mins I jump on again, I make sure there is lots of fluid intake whilst doing it, and get an expressing bra so your hands free
Also with my spectra , as it has a light on it with 2 different settings I could use it as a nightlight for DS , and it doesn't have to be plugged in all the time, so charge of a night and then good to go all day. It also has different speeds and strengths so you can change rhythm mid cycle to help mimic baby's natural feeding rhythm.
Gosh long post ...sorry if that's a bit "wittery"

I used the Phillips Avent Isis Manual Pump, zero fuss! I am weird though because the thing that triggered letdown when I was at work and attempting to pump was letting my mind go totally blank (‘zoning out’) rather than thinking of DC 😂

Good luck, main thing is to remember it can be done in a variety of ways — sharing my successful experience with a small cheap manual pump for balance really!

Well done for making the commitment to pump