Colostrum

[LateNightTalk]

So I'm 37+5 and have been trying to harvest colostrum..

Tried hand expressing which was epic fail I got about two drops

I've got a manual pump (Madela) and got 1ml first time and then 0ml the next! Yesterday I got 3ml and was so happy and today back to 0!

Planning on pumping and BF baby too so any help advice on where I'm going wrong would be a massive help!

Tia

Is your baby likely to be poorly when they are born? They won't be prem? If you are planning to breast feed I am failing to see why you can't just breast feed them the colostrum, unless they will be too poorly to breast feed at first?

If you are planning of pumping I would get a good quality electric pump. So much faster and less effort. I pumped at first, because I was struggling with getting a proper latch, but I honestly wouldn't plan to pump, unless you are going to need time away from baby, it's so much easier just to breast feed.

I'm just over 39w and have managed to get 3 syringes and a bit now - sounds like you've done really well! I tried hand expressing a couple of times with no luck before my midwife showed me how to get some and now have the hang of it.

Tbh I'm thinking whether I bother getting anymore, I saw something online saying it's good to bring at least 3ml to hospital. I think baby might need 5ml on the first day but I don't think I'd find it tough to hand express there if I needed to and it is meant to be a back up.

Sounds like pumping is working for you though I had seen to avoid it for colostrum and stick to hand expressing, can't remember why and someone on my due date group got about 20ml from pumping so it obv works for some people!

Could you ask your midwife if there's an amount you ought to bring to the hospital and then leave it there or are you really keen to keep extracting more?

Some people just don't produce loads before baby is born. I never got more than 0.1ml a day before my son was born, but milk came in quickly with good supply after he was born - so don't worry too much, lots while change once your hormones shift x

Colostrum harvesting has become a trend in the last few years and unless expecting prem babies or you have GD, you probably won't need it. Both my pregnancies ended before I expected (35+6 with twins then 36+4 with singleton) so I hadn't tried to harvest either time. And I've never needed it as could hand express as required. None of them ever had anything but my milk up to 6m so don't let it worry you. One tip I heard was to watch "nesting" programmes as they fill you with the right hormones- so house decorating etc. I'd say though more important is to do something like the La Leche league breastfeeding online course so you know what to expect in general. And be confident you can breastfeed. Colostrum harvesting is no indication of whether you can successfully breastfeed