expressing breast milk

[fatsowhale]

Hello - posting here because it looks as though nobody ever visits the breast pump thread (unsurprisingly).

I have a few extremely basic questions about expressing. I can see how the machine works - milk straight into bottle - but what happens then? The bottle goes into the fridge or freezer, but does it get stored in the same bottle into which you've just expressed? Or do you decant into a feeding bottle? Is there a difference?

Also, how do I warm the milk if I don't own (or want) a microwave? If I get a steriliser, will they warm the milk or simply sterilise the bottles?

Do I need a bottle warmer as well, or if I get a steriliser will that be enough?

Sorry, I'm completely lost on this. It's all so expensive I don't want to shell out a load of money on a bit of gadgetry I'll never use. Am 30 weeks, by the way, so plenty of time to make all these tough decisions!

Very grateful for any tips!

Hi
I'm marking my place because I want the answers too. I have been given some breastmilk bags for storage after expressing and was told that otherwise yes the milk is decanted into a sterilised feeding bottle for storage. Other than that I'm as in the dark as you are so hopefully some experienced guru will be along shortly

You can get breast milk storage bags. I froze the milk in these until I needed them.

IIRC I used to decant the milk into a bottle then stand it in a jug of hot water for a couple of minutes to warm it up. For frozen bags I used to let them defrost in the fridge first.

I found bottle warmers a faff TBH.

You store the milk in pre-sterilised storage bags, in the fridge or freezer. The easiest way to warm the bottle is put it in a jug of hot water, no need for a microwave (I was told not to microwave milk anyway as it can create hot spots). I wouldn't buy a bottle warmer to start with, we were given one and it was quite useful but we could have got by without.

This isn't meant to be a rude question, but do you need to express? (there's a massive marketing budget to persuade BF women that they need lots of equipment - if it didn't work they wouldn't spend it!)

I'm not an expert, but as far as I know...

You can store the milk in the bottle you've expressed into if you want to. Or you can decant it. Either into a different bottle, into storage bags, or any other clean/sterilised container of your choice (if you want to sterilise and your container doesn't fit in the machine, you can always boil it). Some women like to use ice-cube trays so they can get out as much as they need as/when they need it.

Whether there is a difference between the bottle you pump into and the bottle your feed with will depend on the brand of pump you have and the brand of bottle you intend to use. IIRC I had a Medella hand pump and the bottles that fitted the machine could take a teat - but I could only ever persuade DD to take milk from a cup so it was all a bit irrelevant for me.

A steriliser is unlikely to warm your bottles. Easiest way is to put the bottle of cold milk in a jug of hot/warm water. But you can use a bottle warmer if you find it easier. Or your DC might like cold milk.

To be honest, unless you know what you want to use, I'd save your pennies at the moment. Advice is often to not try and express or bottle feed for 6 weeks or so to give BF a chance to get established (assuming you plan on BF) and your supply a chance to build up (a baby is a much better stimulator than a pump, although women can and do pump from day 1) - although some women who know they want their DC to take a bottle have found it easier to introduce them at 2 weeks or so.

If your planning on BF as plan 1, go with that and see how you get on. Have the numbers for the help lines to hand so you can get support if you need it. There are so many different things you can buy, but until your LO is here and you've started to find out what their preferences are you run the risk of buying a lot of things that you'll never use - I've got a box full of swaddling cloths that DD hated and a huge selection of bottles/teats that she refused to drink from...

Good luck :)

Brilliant, thanks.

So the milk can just be warmed in a jug, but would you buy a bottle steriliser? Or just boil them in a saucepan of water? Or even just send them through the dishwasher.

Thanks so much, this is really helpful.

ps - I'm not sure where the breast pump thread is, but the breast and bottle feeding forum is usually quite well attended and you might get more advice there :)

Hi Tangle, thanks for your reply.

I wasn't planning to express, but have a friend who has just had her baby and is emphatically telling me I won't be able to get by without.

Then I got an invitation to some event in August and my husband slightly plaintively suggested that if I were to express some milk, he would be able to spend the afternoon looking after the baby. So now I think I ought to, so as not to hog her all to myself when he'd like to have a go!

I think you're right, though, and I will start off without. I suppose the reason I have so many seemingly obvious questions is that I hadn't given it a thought until now, as I was planning to breastfeed her exclusively myself.

The more I think about it, the more I wonder whether I should have a contingency plan in place in case I can't, or she can't, or the whole thing spirals out of control!

A dishwasher should be fine as the rinse cycle is 82 degrees but I think the formal recommendations are to sterilise either by boiling (for 5 minutes?) or in a steriliser of some sort or by using something like Milton. I wouldn't spend loads on a steriliser if you don't know you're going to need it that much, I would just get some Milton tablets. They do cold sterilisation with Milton in SCBU around here so I'm sure it's safe.

I think if you're only 30 weeks now then you may find August is a bit early to leave the baby for a whole afternoon whatever you decide to do re expressing.

FWIW I expressed with DD1 and not at all with DD2 and there hasn't been any difference in DH's bonding with them, in fact he didn't really enjoy bottle feeding that much.

I wasn't planning to express, but have a friend who has just had her baby and is emphatically telling me I won't be able to get by without.

Why not? I don't know your circumstances (do you need to express to go back to work?) but I've never needed to express for any of my children (5 so far). In fact the only people I know who have expressed (I run with a very crunchy gang, everyone breastfeeds ) are those who've donated their milk. I wouldn't waste money buying all the gumpf that goes with expressing - wait and see if you actually need any of it (breastfeeding is incredibly cheap - you don't need to buy anything).

DD1 was 9lb 12 at birth and considered herself starving. I BF her with no problems at all - exclusively for 6 months, but we were still going when she was 2. It worked well for me, it worked for DD, and it worked for DH (he got plenty of bonding in other ways).

I do know a lady that expressed - she had twins and found it easier to cope if she expressed and bottle fed. She called her Daisy the Cow act. I'm in awe of her!

I'd be cautious of assuming you'll be able to leave your DC for a whole afternoon in August. IIRC we'd managed to get DD to accept milk from a cup by the time she was 4 months old. That said, BF worked well for us and I had no need to get her to take milk from another source so it wasn't something we focused on. We never got her to take a bottle. And if I didn't feed her or express for more than a few hours I was in pain!

I've heard both sides of the contingency plan side of things. Its good to have an idea of what you'll do if plan A doesn't work, but equally, the less belief and conviction you have in plan A the less likely it is to be successful in the first place. Its a fine balance. There's a list of all the breastfeeding support lines here. Its good to know that BF can be hard, that some women do struggle and that it can hurt - but I'd be asking your friend not to tell you that you "won't be able" to do it unless you do it her way. Its great that expressing works for her and her baby - that doesn't mean it will be the right thing for you and your baby. Most, not all, but most women can BF their babies - particularly if they have good support. If you want to BF then I'd focus on establishing that support now so that you know who to turn to if you do have any questions :)

(Just a stray thought, but what were you thinking of doing with the dishwasher? I'm feeling blond and was reading it that you were going to heat milk, and then read the other replies and thought that made much more sense !)

I don't mean to make things even more complicated but as I understand it there is also an issue with introducing a bottle (even with expressed milk) too early since it can disrupt breastfeeding (both in terms of the baby getting used to a bottle and also a pump is not as efficient at stimulating supply). I was advised to wait until at least 6 weeks until giving DD a bottle. Of course she then rejected the bottle completely but not sure if this was about timing. I'd recommend the breast and bottle feeding thread for advice from people going through it currently.

Thank you all so much, this is really helpful.

Tangle - I was only thinking of washing the bottles in the dishwasher, but you remind me that my parents went through a terrifying phase of poaching salmon in it when I was quite young. Crazy!

I have no need to express (not going straight back to work), and if I can get by without then that's what I'd rather do. It's reassuring that you all seem to think it's possible.

Thanks very much for everyone's input

X

Agree with all the advice so far but did have a tuppence worth to add. My DD1 was really sleepy when she arrived and took about 2 weeks to get the hang of feeding. Frustratingly I had loads of milk. I would have been lost had I not been able to express and syringe / cup / breastfeed her till we got ourselves sorted out. I had a really basic avent handheld pump which you can pick up for about £15. I am now expecting 3rd after an 8 year break and am intending to reinvest as a contingency.
I had to be away for a couple of half days during 1st 3months and DD1 decided she would rather starve than take milk from DH - not the best bonding experience for either of them! Mind you she is now a proper Daddy's girl and just as strong minded as when she arrived.