When to start pumping?

[GemGem97]

Hi all, first time mum here, 24+4 weeks got a manual breast pump today and I was wondering if/when to start using it... can you use it before birth to make sure you're producing milk, ready for baby's arrival? As I've read that some mums milk doesn't come in time for birth and I want to give breast feeding a good go!! Thanks and soz if stupid question haha

You can express colostrum in late pregnancy but best to hand express, not with a pump. Google the instructions. You’ll need tiny plastic syringes to collect and freeze (you’ll need to suction up the drops). I tried because I had diabetes in pregnancy and wanted to have some colostrum frozen in case baby had low blood sugar. I got NOTHING and I was so disheartened. But when baby was born I had plenty for him and some to hand express to.

Don’t worry though about doing this if no medical need (unlike me - midwife gave me a leaflet). But when baby is born make sure they’re at the breast LOTS. Much more than you think possible. It will stimulate production.

Good luck. And if it doesn’t work out exactly how you plan please do NOT beat yourself up.

I've never heard of pumping before milk production. It's normal for your milk to not come in at all for a day or a handful. Babe survives on the colostrum you produce which is great for anti bodies anyway.
And why is so normal for babes to drop their birth weight in the first two weeks.

You can maybe call a bfing nurse or group and get some more info on it?

I really wouldn't worry about it. It's Completely normal for the baby to feed on the colostrum until the day your milk comes in. And your milk will only come in after you've given birth not before because it's triggered by a drop in hormones once the placenta has been removed. Anything from a couple of days after birth maybe a bit longer if you have a slightly more traumatic delivery. I had an emcs and my milk.came in on day 5

Don’t pump yet, you might want to collect your colustrum later on but that is only from
36 weeks because of a slight risk of early labour.
I just started doing it this week, took a couple of attempts but I’m getting a little bit at a time, you need to do this by hand because the amounts are so small (talking 0.2 ml at each time) it’ll be likely that the colostrum would just get caught up in a pump.

Milk doesn't come in at birth, it takes 2 -3 days (and sometimes up to 5) to come in. Until then, you'll have colostrum, which is produced in tiny amounts and baby only takes 1-2ml of it per feed (so really, really tiny amounts!) most babies are fine on just colostrum for 5 days - to make sure, check baby is weeing and pooing frequently and their mouth is moist. If those are the case, then you are fine!

The below is something I wrote on another thread, it'll help you understand what is normal and ok for a breastfed baby.

• milk not coming in (before day 3,4 or 5).
• baby being fussy, latching and unlatching and screaming at the boob (they do this to stimulate milk production and let down and will likely continue in varying degrees until your milk supply is stable)
• feeding very frequently. This is normal in breasfed babies due to stomach size in the early days and also as a biological method of stimulating increased supply.
• cluster feeding as a sign of not having enough - again cluster feeding for the first 6 weeks and then during growth spurts is normal. It increases supply to meet growing babies needs.
• not being able to pump any or hand express therefore thinking they don't have enough milk - this normal. Most babies are very efficient at feeding, the natural suckling mechanism is hard to simulate with a pump or hand and so the amount you can express has limited bearing on the amount baby receives - check wet nappies and weight gain from day 10 as signs of sufficient supply.
• not sleeping well. - breast milk is more easily digested than formula (so they poop less too) and they take less volume at one time therefore are more likely to feed more frequently than a formula fed baby. Plus some babies, regardless of feeding method just don't like long stretches of sleep.

I suggest reading the Kellymom website for more in depth information on breastfeeding.

If you do want to try and get some colostrum to store, then hand express and ask your midwife for syringes -you won't get enough for the pump to be of use and you only need it in tiny amounts.

What sandstorm said

Milk doesn't come in until about day 3 or 4. Colostrum is all a newborn needs for the first few days.

I expressed with a manual pump 3 weeks before baby was born. I was really lucky and could collect a lot of colostrum (about 50ml in total over the weeks).
It was so helpful to take it to hospital with me. Because when baby was born he struggled to latch and became tired and lethargic. So we syringe fed him some colostrum and that really perked him up enough to latch onto me eventually