Does expressing leave less milk for baby?

[Beckabub]

I have been attempting to breastfeed since baby was born 6 weeks ago. He was premature, had tongue tie and I struggled with my milk coming in so we had to formula feed and express to satisfy his hunger and ensure weight gain. My supply is still low I think (expressing average 50ml every 3 hours or so) but over the last couple of days we have been successfully breastfeeding more. I wonder whether I should still pump between feeds or if that might take the milk away from the breast for his next feed due to my low supply. He also feeds for an hour each time every 2 hours (max 2 hours between feeds). This time seems excessive? Any advice appreciated!!

Theoretically, your production will respond to increased demand so expressing shouldn't empty you out.

It's possible that your supply is better than you think - some people don't get much when they express even though the baby feeds well (the only times I got more than a bit was when I had baby on one breast and pumped the other).

Is the tongue tie sorted? If he's latched on well and feeding that should encourage your supply to increase.

It's a while since mine were little, but I remember several weeks of having very little space between long feeds. It's not what all the books say but some babies seem to do that (possibly other people will tell you how you can change it, I never tried).

Oh, and congratulations!

Feed more to produce more.

The amount you express doesn’t reflect what they get. I’ve never pumped more than an oz, even with a hospital grade pump, but my baby did not go hungry.

The only way to check is weight gain and regular wet and dirty nappies.

No. Your breasts make milk on demand.

The more milk is removed, the.more milk is made. Its how they keep up with the demands of a growing baby.

Expressing won't take away supply, it will build it up, your body will get used to producing more milk, it may feel like it is at first but your body will adapt. With my baby I pumped milk every time I was feeding him and I always got more milk out that way. With newborns they do feed for long periods of time but he may also just be doing it for comfort. If your supply is low to where he isn't getting enough milk then your doctor will be able to give better advice, hope this helps

Max 2 hours between feeds is also totally normal for a tiny baby and really good for building your supply.

Both my babies were between the 50th and 75th centile for weight at birth and by 6 weeks were on the 98th. And yet I found pumping really difficult and hardly ever got more than about 40ml.

He will be much more successful at getting milk than any pump known to humankind so don't let the fact that you are pumping 50mls worry you. Anything you do pump will not detract from your supply. Congratulations on the birth of your son.

I agree with everything above. Time between feeds is measured from the start of one feed to the start of the next and if you are trying to re - establish supply after a slow start and using formula then you should be feeding every 3 hours so if you start a feed at 12.00 your next feed should be 3 hours later at 15.00. If you are going to ebf then you don’t need to pump too. Only pump if you are still topping up with formula.

If he is feeding for an hour out of every three then you need to change nappies, feed yourself, sleep and cuddle your baby in the other two hours. I personally wouldn’t put pressure on yourself to also express. If you need to give a formula top up once a day that is not the end of the world. Are you able to get an accurate measurement of weight gain?

Thanks everyone for the advice! He was only 4.5lb when born and gaining weight amazingly - he is 7lb now! His tongue tie has been sorted a few weeks ago but it's only the last couple days that he has been latching and feeding and not falling asleep after 2 minutes!! I was just concerned I was pumping out everything he needed when sometimes he wants a feed just after I finish pumping. I will continue just breastfeeding for now as I know that's the best way to get the supply improved. I'm just so pleased to have finally made some progress as it's been a long six weeks trying and I was on the verge of giving up!!

Brilliant, sounds like you have a good plan and well done sticking at it you haven’t had the easiest time.

You've done amazingly well @Beckabub, good luck in your breastfeeding journey together.

@EasterIsComing @bloodywhitecat thank you