Colostrum and pumping

[mylittlenugget]

Hi so I've been leaking colostrum for a while now but only ever as a kind of "crust" ie never seen liquid. Every day i kind of squeeze the nipple to get the crust off but it's always been dry. Today I squeezed and a little liquid came out too.
My bump has also dropped in the last few days and I heard this can be a sign labour is soon. Could the fact that I'm now leaking liquid and have a lower bump, as well as painful what I assume to be Braxton Hicks every day be a sign labour could start within the next month?
I'm panicking slightly as this is my first pregnancy, baby is small, and I've still got just over 8 weeks until due date!
Also should I start pumping and collecting the colostrum?

Also I wrote the title first then let my thoughts wander and now the title is a little different to the main question and I posted without thinking about changing it sorry!

Call your midwife and ask for a collection kit and instructions. They should be able to help you.

I have leaked it both pregnancies since about 25 weeks, if I squeeze my nipples drops of gold and white liquid appear

Midwife tomorrow, will she have a kit in her office already or should I text asking for her to have one ready?
It was just a drop or so, not much at all but I don't want to waste it if it's true about all the health benefits!

I don't think you're supposed to harvest colostrum until after 37 weeks due to the risk of bringing on labour.

Nah don’t start collecting colostrum until the last few weeks as pp says.
Midwife will give you a kit and you can collect and refrigerate them, I did it and over a few weeks collected quite a lot of syringes!
You want to give boobs a good massage (downward motion) before gently squeezing, once you start seeing the liquid it will come through easily if you do it a couple of times a day.
But definitely do not start this until the recommended week - check with midwife!

Definitely not risking bringing on labour early so glad I asked! I'll ask her tomorrow what to do. Thank you!

Can anyone offer any information on whether the leakiness, painful BH, and dropped bump mean labour could be sooner rather than later or am I just overthinking that one?

I think you're just over thinking to be honest OP!
In both pregnancies I've had colostrum leaking (not just drops when fiddled with) from 25 weeks. Don't harvest it until at least 37 weeks as pp have said but then it's fine to syringe it and freeze it until needed but you don't have to.

I pumped colostrum for 5 weeks prior to being induced so I don’t think it necessarily means labour is imminent but this bump dropping is certainly a sign.

Thank you @TrixieFranklin I think I needed to be told I was overthinking. First baby (🤞) second pregnancy so I've definitely over thought some parts of pregnancy and just need someone to tell me sometimes 😂
@DoxxedFox hoping the baby stays in at least another five weeks to get us to 37 weeks pregnant do you think this is possible?
Might make another thread about bumps dropping and labour so I get more traffic

Yeah of course. Honestly a baby dropping might mean they’ve begun to engage but they often bob in and out of the pelvis anyway and you might find you have a much higher bump on a different day. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!

Thank you! Like I said, I'm just an over thinker but I'm glad I have somewhere I can ask these questions without feeling like a total idiot 😂

You're over thinking I would say. Baby could bob back up again at your stage. And head down doesn't mean the baby is engaged. It just means its head is pointing down. Being engaged is about moving lower into the pelvis - it feels very different. Your bump looks like the baby is engaged because most of the volume is now at the bottom. Baby's little legs take up less room than the head. My baby has sat low for ages. Head is pushing against my cervix and has been since week 33 with some contractions causing partial cervical opening - and then immediate closing to 3cm length. So basically, no action at all. BH could be due to dehydration so make sure you are drinking lots of water. Don't harvest colostrum yet. Definitely speak to your midwife if you're still worried.

Don't worry - my friend has been having Braxton hicks since 20 weeks which have been gradually increasing in intensity and frequency over time. She's 40 weeks now and still no baby!

He has had leaking again from about 20 weeks. I didn't have any but I've been expressing daily and storing colostrum from 35/36 weeks and no labour yet (39 weeks now). You're not supposed to start until 37 weeks if I remember rightly but there's limited evidence it actually induces labour for most women (if it worked that well there would be no need for inductions!)

Both our babies engaged and dropped down at about 36 weeks.

All sounds normal!

Why would you collect colostrum?

Sound like a pita to me. Not something that was ever suggested, and I’m very pro bf.

Ime any sort of messing around with the natural bf process in the early weeks just hinders, makes it harder and more time comsuming, baby finds it harder, less actual feeding affects supply.

Best thing to help with bf is to feed a baby :)

Collecting colostrum is done before baby is born, it means if something happens during labour and you are unable to breastfeed for any reason, baby can still have the incredibly potent colostrum via syringe or cup.

It doesn’t affect breastfeeding itself in anyway as when baby is born you stop harvesting and breastfeed.

In addition to all the above, if you're only getting a few drops I wouldn't recommend using a pump, as it's so sticky and such low volumes it will mostly just get stuck in the pump itself. Hand expressing and collecting in a syringe is the best option antenatally.

Should have said I've had BH since week 19 or so. Doctor said "good, that's great" when I told him.

blue I collected it because owing to PCOS and diabetes my milk takes a while to come in so my babies lose a fair amount of weight when first born (and consequently don’t then have the energy to feed well). It was a godsend actually.

The "lightening" of babies head moving down and Braxton Hicks are your body getting ready yes (but not with any speed, I've had that at start of 3rd trimester and still run past my due date).
Expressing can bring labour on a bit apparently, but I think it's more likely your producing the colostrum anyway and maybe because you've been getting rid of what's there that's why there's more.