Why can't I express breastmilk?

[BabyTalbot1]

My DD is 4 months old this week and exclusively breastfed. For the first 3 months, I had an oversupply of milk and could not express at all as I needed my body to work out the supply-demand. I was able to catch fast letdowns and my partner gave our DD a bottle here and there and she took them with no problem. I need to express a backup bottle for this evening whilst I nip to an appointment. But, I can't express anything! I have tried for 2 days now. I have tried as soon as she has finished feeding, the other breast if she has only drank from one or an hour after a feed. But nothing! If I express with my hand, I can get milk. When DD feeds, she stimulates fast let-downs in both breasts at the same time.

Is it normal to not be able to express? Would this affect DD's milk intake? Is it supply starting to slow down/reduce?

Let down is a very personal and intimate thing - if you'll pardon the comparison, it's like saying why can I orgasm one way but not another!

When you feed directly, you have the sight and smell of your baby and the sound of gurgling etc. The touch and sound of a pump is less nice!

It might help to have something that smells of your baby and think of her strongly, or look at your baby or a picture of her, to try to get the same kind of hormones flowing that you would with your baby on your lap. Be conscious of your body language - sit back, deep breaths, shoulders down etc.

Don't approach it as 'come on body, we've got five minutes, go go go!' - you basically spook your boobs and they won't go along with it!

I bf both of mine, one for 15 months. Never managed to express anything.

Same here, I could get literally a few drops, not even enough to cover the bottom of the bottle.

I breastfed DD to 26 months, couldn’t express a drop and didn’t use a single breast pad. She was fed from the breast only that whole time. It’s not that unusual.

My nipples are watertight I think! Baby managed to feed but nothing else was getting it out.

BF DD until she was 2 and never got on with expressing.

I would just get the premade formula for during your appointment.

I have a big supply but never express more than 2oz
I have to be super relaxed to be able to.
try having a warm shower and expressing might help
i never expressed after a feed either.. felt like I was empty even though I’m definitely not!

With my first son, I expressed from day one, and had litres and litres of the stuff in the freezer. It took him a while to get the hang of breastfeeding.

With my second, he got it immediately. Couldn't express a drop when I started trying to, but persevered and eventually managed a bottle or so a day. He was a milk monster, and what I could express was no indication of what he was getting.

Try not to worry, and persevere

Thank you everyone.

I am a first time Mum and naively thought if I am breastfeeding then I must be able to express too.

Thank you for the reassuring words.

I could never get more than a few mls out when I attempted to express. Ds was ebf though and did very well!

I exclusively breastfed all my children. I've never been able to express more than 30mls or so.

So frustrating! One of my best friends was like a fire hydrant- I would have given anything to be able to express a bottle.

I had the most success with a hakaa. But electric and hand pumps never worked for me.

OP like you I EBF but could hardly get anything from a pump.

However I found with a haaka pump on one breast while DD fed from the other I could get about 30-60ml (sometimes 90ml!) per feed and build up a stash.

Really recommend trying one, it's best to YouTube how to use it properly to get the best suction. But it's really gentle, and caught loads of let down.

Definitely use a Haakaa on the other breast while you feed if you get letdown in both.

Do the electric pumps you've tried simulate the sucking pattern a newborn uses to trigger letdown? My Medela pump did - a baby sucks rapidly but somewhat less hard when they latch until they trigger a letdown, and then they suck slower but deeper once the milk is flowing. Once I got used to that pattern I could actually simulate it myself using a hand pump. I also got good at hand expressing and could get a fair bit that way, although it was hard work on the hand. Some people also swear by looking at a picture/watching a video of their baby or sniffing something that smells like their baby. But some people just don't get along with or respond to pumps, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Expressing is a whole different ballgame to breastfeeding. I bf for one of my boys and never got a drop of milk then I expressed exclusively for youngest DS and literally could have opened a dairy, had to donate 30litres as had no storage.

The difference is in the first 6weeks when your milk is regulating, with expressing you express 3 hourly day and night to build supply and the idea is that you put your body in to oversupply mode and end up with more milk so you can reduce pumps quicker. With breastfeeding you make what your baby needs (plus obviously more available when the baby is cluster feeding to support growth).

Check your flange size too...if your flange is too big its not going to stimulate a let down properly and too small will cause trauma to the nipped. Some people find a manual pump more effective too.

I think it's quite common (well obviously it is looking at other replies!).

If it's just a one off need for a bottle then could you try a manual hand pump on the other breast while she's feeding?

I always got a lot more from a hand pump than a electric pump.

I've only ever managed to express a bit when forgoing breastfeeding for a while - so once when my first was in hospital for a procedure so didn't feed for quite a few hours, then once a day when I went back to work.

Have you tried looking at a video of her whilst you are expressing? I couldn’t really do it either but I did letdown if I saw a video of my baby being cute smiling/laughing.

Also I think the flange on my electric pump was the wrong size but I didn’t do anything about it. Maybe check that.

My understanding is that if baby is happy, content, growing, using nappies, then your supply is ok. For me my milk stopped leaking around 3 months, and my supply has always been ok. I think my body just learnt how much it needed to make.

I tried an expressed bottle a couple times, otherwise EBF. Took me too long to get one bottle worth of milk only for him to reject it.

Sorry I just saw your appointment is today. My comment is not useful.