expressing breast milk - how long does it take you?

[miniegg]

I just tried expressing for the first time - my baby is two and a half weeks old and i've been having problems breast feeding and am having to put him on some bottle feeds but i want to try and keep my breast milk supply up.
i was quite dismayed by how long it took me to get any milk from the express machine - i have the medela swing model which is recommended by the NCT. It took me about 20 minutes to get about 20 mls! looks like i'll be there for an hour just to get half the amount he's supposed to have per feed. i'm wondering whether to persist or not...
at the time I did it the baby hadn't fed for a few hours so the breast should have been full.
how long does it take other new mums to express? I suspect 20 mls in 20 minutes is not normal...
i had the machine at "maximum comfort level" setting so it's not because i don't have it on a strong enough setting...

Miniegg: I'm not a huge expert and i didn't have a great supply myself, but in my experience, it can take aaaages, especially at first, and will get better if you keep trying. Best time to try is the morning or at night, but obviously fit it in round feeds, as they should take priority. I got nothing the first few times, and it's very disheartening. It does improve!

AGES!!!
DD was a greedy little thing and took all I could give. I could express 2oz a day extra if I was lucky (several goes).
When DD was older it was much easier.

At first its really normal to only be able to squeeze out a little but it does improve once you get the hang of it. I was just doing a tiny bit the first few days then after a while it became easy and I was filling a bottle. I must admit some people prefer different pumps so it may be that you are not getting on with the pump. I personally hated the medela ones. There are lots of companies that you can hire different pumps from.

I'm told that you need to keep doing it, at the same time each day, to get your body used to it and stimulate the extra supply. So do persist for a while, anyway, to see if it builds up.

Also, if you can work out a position to do it in, expressing off one boob while feeding off the other makes a huge difference. I used to feed DD1 lying down (and therefore fairly hands free), with a pump on the other boob. Glamourous? No. But I got 4oz at a time instead of the miniscule amounts I could manage alone.

All the best.

Try expressing at night, especially if you aren't breastfeeding then. I believe that the hormone (prolactin?) that stimulates milk production is at it's highest at night.

(My DD2 was in NICU, I expressed for her and the Infant Feeding Advisor told me to set my alarm and pump at night to get the best output).

Also try and get some direct, experienced help with the breastfeeding if you can, as expressing is bloody hard work, especially if you want to get enough to make up a feed. I expressed (with no breastfeeding as DD2 was unable to) for 9 months and it was very demanding and took a lot of my time.