Colostrum collecting

[mcrsi]

I'm 37 weeks. How much colostrum would people suggest I try and collect everyday? Thank you 😊

Any at all is an achievement.

Don't get discouraged if you can't btw. I didn't produce anything pre-birth. It was only afterwards the colostrum came through, then milk on day 3. BF very successfully for over a year.

Just however much you can manage, if at all. Everyone is very different with this and as pp said, it has no bearing on ability to breastfeed. To begin with, I couldn’t even fill a 1ml colostrum syringe over multiple sessions but towards the end I could fill 5ml.

Whatever you can get is an achievement! Like pp have said, don’t be put off if it’s slow to start, it took me a week to get more than a few drops, and by due date ended up with lots. Good luck!

I think I had about 15 1ml syringes with my second, I will be honest it did actually help as baby lost a little weight at one stage in the early weeks (although this is deemed normal) the midwife was happy i’d collected colostrum as it’s all extra calories so I just topped him up with the syringes and he gained weight nicely.

Also, DC1 kindly gave baby chicken pox when he was around 8 weeks old so I made sure to give him the remaining syringes so that he had all the nutrients of the colostrum to help him recover from the chicken pox!

I’m a massive supporter of collecting colostrum, you may have issues with baby latching (completely normal if you do) in the early days so it’s nice to be able to top them up if required.

The advice I received was to try for 5-10 minutes 2 or 3 times a day.

Overdoing it can bring on contractions.

Any amount is great, don't focus too much on how much you get. I started with 0.2ml per syringe and worked up to 2.5ml. I had a bag of tiny syringes and we ended up using most of them.

It's good to have it while your milk is coming in.

How much are you currently getting in 10 mins? First baby I did well doing 10 mins once daily and would get 0.5ml every time so once I had what I thought was a good amount (17ml) I stopped doing it. Baby then ended up needing to be tube fed and 17ml disappeared down it in a blink. I wished I'd had more as we then had to use formula whilst my milk came in slowly.
Second baby I knew better and after 1 week of getting 1ml in 10 mins I switched to using a manual pump. By 1 week of this I was getting 5ml then 10ml a session which I kept freezing. By the time baby arrived at 41 weeks I had 240ml which made me feel very reassured. Only used about 12ml as top ups whilst I figured out latching though!

My tips- warm breasts with hot flannel first, gentle massage before and during, listen to the kind of music that makes you feel emotional, light a candle, aromatherapy diffuser, dim lights, hypnobirthing relaxation audio tracks- basically use it as a chance to practise your oxytocin boosting relaxation techniques for labour too.

I'd never heard of this with my eldest or my youngest two - my midwives all thought it a bit of a random fad. I had c sections and breastfeeding was established just fine even for premature babies in NICU

Hey! I am 36+4 today and started at 36 weeks and I have 7 x 1ml syringes so far. At least 6.5mls of that is from the one boob. My left boob is not getting the memo😅 I couldn’t get any pre baby with my first, this is my 2nd so don’t worry if you can’t get anything at all!

I’m not sure how much I am aiming for but doing it once a day, I am finding it’s definitely getting easier/coming out quicker.

I will get as much as I can and keep most of it in the freezer but I am unsure how much to take to hospital, can anyone advise?

As much as poss. Even if you have left overs use them for all sorts. And they are good in the freezer for a while.

For your nipples if sore, and cracked, babies eyes if they get sticky, scratches, if you had any tears, anything. It is liquid gold and so good for healing.

I want about it the first time regretted it as DC was sleepy foe the first couple days. And stressed so much as expressing when I should have been resting.
So this time I am! The tips I was giving was the relax, whatever relaxes and makes you deep good, gently stroke and massage the breast and use the ayringea only to start. Once/if supply increases to use the small cups to collect.
I can't wait to do it this time. My Midwife encouraged me last time but I was like naaaah. Silly me.

I'm so glad I collected colostrum, even though it was an absolute disheartening ball ache that made me worry to tears that I wouldn't be able to breastfeed (which I really wanted to), it was so worth it in the end!

I managed about 0.2ml the first couple of days in 15min attempts. But the more I got used to how to do it the easier and quicker it became and I ended up taking about 8 syringes to hospital, all of which were used in hospital as baby ended up unexpectedly in NICU separated from me. And because I'd harvested colostrum at home and knew how to do it, it gave me something helpful to do in the hospital on the ward while baby was in NICU.

So I would suggest - take it easy on yourself, don't be disheartened if it's slow going or hard work, but whatever amount you can collect would be totally worth it. Have a warm shower to relax before hand, too.

Good luck 🙃