Struggling to express milk

[Turkishmumma]

Hi all,

Hoping you can all offer some tips!
I have my first baby free night out this week.
DC has been exclusively BF but we have started purees for the past few weeks, which is going well.

I seem to be having a lot of periods at the moment which is making expressing really hard, no matter what time of day, it takes me over an hour just to express 1 ounce! I've tried swapping boobs but one is basically redundant when it comes to expressing.

I have a few pouches frozen but I doubt they will be enough as they are only 3oz each and DC seems to be cluster feeding at the moment.

Any suggestions on what I can do to increase the flow?

I'm considering getting a few ready made formulas for the night but I'd rather steer clear.

Many thanks!!

How long are you out for? Feed plenty before you go and baby may be ok with just a little top up or none at all if its only a few hours.

Can you express while feeding on the other side? I found having baby there made the milk flow better. Alternatively something that smells of them.

Enjoy your night out

How old is your little one?

If over 6m I wouldn't worry too much unless you're going to be out for 5hrs+
They'll probably just feed loads when you get back.

Oh sorry, he will be 5 months tomorrow. He is a screamer if he isn't fed and its dad's first time alone with him 😬

Your baby is a little young for purees tbh, I'd leave it til 6m and then go for BLW with family food.

RE expressing, have you tried pumping while the baby is latched on the other side? This was the only thing that worked for me.

I'm not sure you're going to like my answer but I was never really able to express much ever. Up until about 5 months I could catch the leakage from the non feeding boob which was up to 4oz but when I tried to express more it just didn't happen. After that just nothing. Even when boobs were very very full I couldn't get anything out - only baby could.

Like the pp suggested, if you're only going for a few hours give baby a big feed before you leave. There is always the option of the ready made formula in a pinch.

They are a bit young for puree.

Dad will manage; he'll have to learn to at some point. From DH's experience (2 x Ds) they are much easier to settle when the food source isn't around.

Similar to other pp I never managed to express much either. To top it off when i did both ds would refuse it.

You might have to express to relieve pressure when out. I remember getting very uncomfortable if I didn't feed while they were cluster feeding.

@shayisgreat thank you, I have tried this but is there a knack to it and it doesn't make any difference? I've usually already started pumping and then he will need a feed once I've started..

@user0ne thank you for your help, the puree comment isn't needed as he was ready to have this introduced (showing interest in foods etc) most people I know including myself were weaned at 4 months and we are all OK :)

@sayitagainwhydontyou - thank you for your help too.

Ideally I would like to keep the discussion to help with expressing not opinions on weaning x

How are you expressing? I found the small machines pretty useless, and got almost nothing with my first two. Used a hospital grade machine with my last which was fab but not a cheap option. I found hand expressing was better than a cheap machine.

Are you watching videos /looking at photos when trying to express?

@Turkishmumma the issue with the purees is that they have far, far fewer calories than breastmilk and they're harder to digest, so filling your baby's stomach with them is really counterproductive if you're trying to get him to go longer between feeds.

Put the baby and the pump on your boobs at the same time. When he triggers your letdown, pump!

Whoops presses send too soon! That really helps. You need to get the hormones flowing.

@peajotter I'm using a medela - flexi swing i think its called. Where would I look to get one of these bigger ones? I haven't quite got the hang of hand expressing, I read some tips online but I dont think I'm doing it right and I've given up on that

@Sayitagainwhydontyou - thank you, I am aware, I have researched a lot and sought advice, let's leave it there on the purees.
I've never been able to tell when my let down is, when I've googled it, it mentions a feeling which I haven't got since week 2 - how else can I tell?

@BumbleNova I'm normally with him, but at the start I tried this, especially with videos from when he was first born so is crying and it still doesn't make it come out...

Thank you again everyone for your help, much appreciated x

@Turkishmumma when he starts swallowing

As pp have said if you feed lots beforehand he might be okay with the 3oz frozen milk you've got.

The time that I get the most is first feed, pumping whilst baby feeds from the other side. I am one of those women with a good supply but never been able to pump loads so don't feel disheartened if you don't get loads even if you follow all the tips.

@Turkishmumma www.medela-rental.co.uk/shop/symphony-double-breastpump-hire

Not cheap though- £47 for the first fortnight and £47 per month afterwards. I guess that’s only a couple of pounds a day, but I only did it as I had to express multiple times a day.

I preferred the avent manual as it happened. Expressing first thing if he goes a while at night can help and make sure you are well hydrated.

A couple of spoons of purée won’t artificially fill him! Bit of an odd comment.

I never got much from expressing. The Haakaa worked better for me.

That said, neither would drink expressed milk. I just timed my new tome around their feeds. Was it restrictive? Yes, did it last forever? Nope.