Questions about breastfeeding

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My baby is two weeks old today. She’s my first so I’m new to breastfeeding and I have few questions. First of all,

• do I need to express? Will it increase my milk supply? (I do have and use electric breast pump)
• do I have less milk for my baby after expressing ?
• how do I know my baby gets enough milk from the breast?
• how many millilitres of expressed milk should my partner feed my newborn at night (per one feed)?
• should I bf only on demand even if she doesn’t wake up for 4 hours ?
• can you drink (small amounts) of alcohol while breastfeeding ?
• is it worth getting expensive, double breast pump (like Medea)?

Thank you in advance !

I can't answer all as I can't remember some but:

Pumping will increase your supply. Your body will keep producing milk so when you express it makes your body think your baby is drinking more and it produces more as a result but in the immediate, if you empty both breast, you will need to wait until you've refilled to feed the baby again. You can pump one, and feed off one.

If your baby is putting on weight, you can see their temple/jaw moving, they act satisfied when they come off the breast, they are taking enough I'd say.

You don't need to wake a 2 week old baby of they sleep longer than 4 hours, iirc.

You can drink alcohol when breastfeeding.

Double pump not necessary I'd say unless you're exclusively pumping

Congratulations on your baby. Breastfeeding works on a supply and demand basis. You don't need to express, but if you want someone else to bottle feed your baby then its helpful. I personally only did it when I went back to work as it was a huge hassle to express and I hated it.

The Kellymom website has a lot of very helpful information to give you confidence breastfeeding in the early weeks. kellymom.com/hot-topics/newborn-nursing/

You don’t have to express. I don’t
You might have a bit less for your baby but your body will then make extra to supply what the baby needs and what you are expressing
If they are weeing and pooing ( the latter might be infrequent but that’s normal) and they are gaining weight, growing out of their clothes they are getting enough.
30-60ml per feed ( I had to top mine up due to various issues and that what the hospital said was one feed for a newborn)
If she is at or above her birth weight you don’t have to wake them
Yes. But I don’t because I co sleep
No in my opinion Try a Hakka type pump they collect let down. You can rent pumps the hospital grade ones are good

Pumping isn’t a must, it’s sodding horrible to pump after hours of breastfeeding- do you have worries about supply?
Your baby will determine the supply (all being well), this means they can cluster feed and you may think you aren’t producing anything as they have sucked for hours (literally) but it’s totally normal- box sets and snacks!!!! Remember babies tummies are tiny, they feed constantly to grow and thrive (ignore any husband or partner who suggests “you aren’t producing enough” or “let’s try formula”)
Don’t bother with a pump unless you want to express for any reason.
Yes bf on demand, when v little they usually just fall asleep on the boob (again fine), when they get older they pull off when full.
I never had to wake my first for a feed, my second slept longer but unless worries about weight gain or your baby is jaundice I personally wouldn’t bother waking for a feed. Most newborns don’t go hrs without a feed.
You can drink, I personally wouldn’t and didn’t with newborns, only reason is I was so exhausted I felt alcohol would make me sleep deeper and I worried about falling asleep whilst feeding.

Hiya I've been consecutively breastfeeding for just over 3 years now so hopefully I can help.. No you don't need to express. Baby will be boosting ur supply with what she's needs that's why in the early days there is lots of cluster feeding. It isn't advisable to pump until after 6 weeks when supply is established.
You will know baby's getting enoigh milk by the quantities of wet and dirty nappies this should be around 12 per 24 hours.
Expresss milk when I started I used to do roughly 4 ounzes per feed.
I think it's advisable to feed every two hours until birth weight is reached.
You can drink small amounts while breastfeeding.
I've not really much experience on electric breast pumps but I have the medala manual one and it's really good. If you do express don't worry if u can't get much milk it does not reflect your supply, nothing is as effiebcent as getting milk as baby.
I hope this helps but your health visitor should be able to answer any queries and there is also the national breastfeeding helpline which is really good!

do I need to express? you don’t need to - only if you want to. It can be useful to have a stash of milk so you can leave the baby with someone else now and then.

Will it increase my milk supply? (I do have and use electric breast pump) yes - the more milk you remove by feeding or pumping, the more you produce.

do I have less milk for my baby after expressing?

Sort of - you shouldn’t express immediately before a breastfeed or you will remove the milk your baby would otherwise have. Better to express at the end of a feed. Or if your baby only feeds from one side at a feed, express from the other side.

how do I know my baby gets enough milk from the breast?

If your baby is gaining weight and has plenty of wet nappies they are getting enough.

how many millilitres of expressed milk should my partner feed my newborn at night (per one feed)?

Not sure, I’ve never done this.

should I bf only on demand even if she doesn’t wake up for 4 hours?

At two weeks I would wake her for a feed after 4 hours. Once she’s a little older (4/5 weeks) you can leave her to sleep for as long as she wants.

can you drink (small amounts) of alcohol while breastfeeding ?

Yes. You would need to drink a lot of alcohol for it to get into your milk.

is it worth getting expensive, double breast pump (like Medea)?

Very personal decision. If you plan to express a lot it may be worth the investment. A hands free pump really frees you up and gives you more time with your baby.

1. You don’t need to express unless you want to. Reasons such as wanting to give baby a bottle of EBM, or donate breastmilk to a hospital are common, for example. Expressing at 2 weeks old probably will increase your supply as it is still regulating itself at that point. However, if baby is feeding regularly, directly from the breast, with no issues around weight gain you don’t need to express to modulate your supply - your daughter will do all of that for you.

1. Breasts have some storage capacity, so immediately after a pump there will be less milk available then immediately before a pump. But the majority of milk is produced in response to nipple stimulation (either via suckling or pumping), so the difference will be pretty small.

1. DD is getting enough milk if she is gaining weight, producing regular wet and dirty nappies and is generally content between feeds.

1. You should feed responsively at 2 weeks, so there isn’t really an answer to how much milk you should express for a bottle. It’ll depend how much she drinks!

1. As long as the above points are met (gaining weight, wet/dirty nappies), you haven’t been told otherwise by a GP/midwife/health visitor and she isn’t on any kind of feeding plan then you don’t need to wake her for feeds.

1. Alcohol is fine in moderation.

1. It’s worth getting an expensive, double breast pump if you plan on doing lots of expressed bottles, you are going back to work before the introduction of solids and don’t plan on giving formula or you have been told by a health care professional there is a problem with your supply and you need to pump to increase it. Otherwise I would wait and see how things go.

Disclaimer: Not an IBCLC but a medical professional who’s also very interested in breastfeeding. Hope that helps.

@User57892

do I need to express? you don’t need to - only if you want to. It can be useful to have a stash of milk so you can leave the baby with someone else now and then.

Will it increase my milk supply? (I do have and use electric breast pump) yes - the more milk you remove by feeding or pumping, the more you produce.

do I have less milk for my baby after expressing?

Sort of - you shouldn’t express immediately before a breastfeed or you will remove the milk your baby would otherwise have. Better to express at the end of a feed. Or if your baby only feeds from one side at a feed, express from the other side.

how do I know my baby gets enough milk from the breast?

If your baby is gaining weight and has plenty of wet nappies they are getting enough.

how many millilitres of expressed milk should my partner feed my newborn at night (per one feed)?

Not sure, I’ve never done this.

should I bf only on demand even if she doesn’t wake up for 4 hours?

At two weeks I would wake her for a feed after 4 hours. Once she’s a little older (4/5 weeks) you can leave her to sleep for as long as she wants.

can you drink (small amounts) of alcohol while breastfeeding ?

Yes. You would need to drink a lot of alcohol for it to get into your milk.

is it worth getting expensive, double breast pump (like Medea)?

Very personal decision. If you plan to express a lot it may be worth the investment. A hands free pump really frees you up and gives you more time with your baby.

This was almost exactly what I was about to type out so I'm just quoting instead!

I expressed a decent amount for DC1 as I had a hen do I wanted to go to for the day when he was 5 months old. Found it massively tedious. With DC2 I had no such impetus so never got the pump out or bothered with a bottle at all.

Just came back to temper point 1. Yes, pumping is often prescribed alongside direct breastfeeding to increase supply. But actually, some women find that too much time attached to the pump (ie not directly breastfeeding) overall reduces their supply. There is nothing more efficient at removing milk then a healthy, well latched baby and removing milk is what stimulates supply.

1. Do you have concerns about your supply? Why? I’ve never expressed and I ebf from

6 weeks to 6 months and I’m still feeding nearly 2 years later.

1. You know your baby is getting enough milk as long as you are responsive feeding, your baby has enough wet and dirty nappies and is putting on weight in-line with their centile

1. No idea about about of expressed milk because I never did it. You need to pace feee if combi feeding.

1. Yep as long as she has regained her birth wait and is not unwell then you can wait until she wakes up. If your boobs feel uncomfortable then you can wake and feed. Some people like to wake every 3 hours during the day in the hope of decreasing night feeds.

1. If you drank enough alcohol to kill yourself then your bm would have the same amount of alcohol as orange juice. Just make sure you are sober enough to look after the baby and no cosleeping after drinking.

1. I spend a fortune on a pump. Hated expressing and couldn’t really get any milk so I’m no expert. You can hire hospital grade pumps.

www.laleche.org.uk/signs-effective-feeding-early-days-2/

Your doing great. Try and relax and follow your baby and your body.

• do I need to express? Will it increase my milk supply? (I do have and use electric breast pump)

You don’t have you, your breasts are generally brilliant at regulating their own supply based on demand

• do I have less milk for my baby after expressing ?

If you increase the ‘demand’ on your breasts by pumping then the supply will increase accordingly, not literally immediately though.

• how do I know my baby gets enough milk from the breast?

You can sort of feel the breast empty and pop them on the other one, or if you’ve already done that stop. Or your baby may feed to sleep and/or naturally come off your nipple.

• how many millilitres of expressed milk should my partner feed my newborn at night (per one feed)?

I can’t answer this, may be a little trial and error until you figure out how much is right.

• should I bf only on demand even if she doesn’t wake up for 4 hours ?

Never wake a sleeping baby they say! Your baby will let you know when they are hungry, if not no need to feed them. Unless you are trying to extend your sleep by waking them for a late evening feed in the hope or a longer period of sleep for them afterwards which some people do

• can you drink (small amounts) of alcohol while breastfeeding ?

Mixed views on this you’ll find, you need to decide what you are comfortable with, you can always ‘pump and dump’ which is what I did, and feed expressed milk if you’ve recently drunk (like that evening). I would definitely not breastfeed until the alcohol was out of your system (I think it’s one unit an hour from memory)

• is it worth getting expensive, double breast pump (like Medea

A good breast pump is worth its weight in gold if you can. Doesn’t need to be a double that’s your personal preference.

Well done, and good luck! You got this!!!

I won't add much as lots of comprehensive answers here! But in reply to your question about how much milk per feed. At 2 weeks old, a baby's stomach has grown enough to hold anything from 80 - 150ml per feed, so make sure you have plenty to offer for a feed, but as PPs have said, just do paced feeding responsively and your baby will know what they need. One PP said 30 - 60 ml, but while that is correct for a younger baby, by 2 weeks your milk has transitioned to mature milk and babies of that age will need more.

RE waking baby etc: have they regained birthweight yet? If they have, no, enjoy that time, if not, then you do need to.

Nobody has mentioned here already, that until babies are 6 weeks old, if BF, there needs to be 2+ dirty nappies as well as wet ones to ensure they're getting enough.

And for a BF newborn, they sure as hell shouldn't be needing 5oz i.e. 150ml- the milk doesn't change that much til 6 weeks and their stomachs are still really tiny.

@Harrysmummy246

RE waking baby etc: have they regained birthweight yet? If they have, no, enjoy that time, if not, then you do need to.

Nobody has mentioned here already, that until babies are 6 weeks old, if BF, there needs to be 2+ dirty nappies as well as wet ones to ensure they're getting enough.

And for a BF newborn, they sure as hell shouldn't be needing 5oz i.e. 150ml- the milk doesn't change that much til 6 weeks and their stomachs are still really tiny.

No, really @Harrysmummy246, at 2 weeks, a baby's stomach has grown significantly and taking between 80 - 150 ml per feed is usual by then. Things change a lot between the first newborn days and 2 weeks old. Milk has transitioned full to mature milk by then. A quick google search of any trusted resource will state this

Fully

150ml is the upper end of this though. But how much a baby consumes will vary a lot. Some will feed little and often, so will take rather less than this. But a baby's stomach at 2 weeks is about the size of an egg and can take the amounts stated above. I think people don't realise how quickly things change in the early days. The amounts that women can express in the early days will reflect this too. It begins at about 7 - 15ml in the first 24 hours and increases daily from then on. By the end of the first week, it'll be about 30 - 60ml and by 2 weeks, anything from 70/8oml upwards.

Sorry, from about 5 - 7ml in the first 24 hours x