Breast Feeding discussion

Karnam

flea72 wrote:

i am just wondering why, if you are BF, then why cant you live without a pump? Are you replacing most of your BFs with expressed bottle feeds, or are you increasing your milk production by double feeding? I dont really see the need for a pump, if you can achieve the same affect, through using breast shields and just BFing your baby.

Expressing only really serves a purpose, if for some reason you are unable to feed your baby when you body feels ready to produce milk, so you are stopping the chances of engorement and discomfort. but then again i wouldnt try and express a full feed, just enough milk to release pressure, as feeding and expressing increases you milk supply and can lead to further problems and discomfort, espec when weaning. It can turn into a bit of a viscous cycle whereby you are engorged, so you express to relieve tha pain, but expressing increases your supply, so you then express again, iyswim

Flea

i express every day when the little one has the bottle i expressed the night before. its a nice little routine, which means my body doesnt think its skipped a feed, my OH can give a bottle and i dont have the problem of my little one never taking a bottle when i need to go to uni. i have a really good milk supply and often end up with more than 7 ozs, so i end up throwing away some/freezingsome but by pumping when she has the bottle, i dont mess up how much milk i produce.

i also intend on increasing the number of bottles she has when i begin weaning so that slowly and surely, she'll come off the breast and onto bottled breast milk/solids.

its a lot of effort, but i enjoying expressing and my OH enjoys giving a bottle. i think it just makes sense to have regular bottles so they get used to it (my little one had her first expressed bottle at 3 weeks) so i do use my pump every day, making it more worth while for me to buy one, plus i hope that bottles will make weaning slightly easier

thriftmonster

If leaking is a problem, then the heel of your hand pressed hard into the nipple for a minute or so usually stops it. Both my kids went straight on to a cup and I still managed to get out occasionally - if they couldn't smell milk on OH they never bothered till I came home.

I would wait for a week or two to see what you need

flea72

Karnam wrote:

i express every day when the little one has the bottle i expressed the night before. its a nice little routine, which means my body doesnt think its skipped a feed, my OH can give a bottle and i dont have the problem of my little one never taking a bottle when i need to go to uni. i have a really good milk supply and often end up with more than 7 ozs, so i end up throwing away some/freezingsome but by pumping when she has the bottle, i dont mess up how much milk i produce.

i also intend on increasing the number of bottles she has when i begin weaning so that slowly and surely, she'll come off the breast and onto bottled breast milk/solids.

its a lot of effort, but i enjoying expressing and my OH enjoys giving a bottle. i think it just makes sense to have regular bottles so they get used to it (my little one had her first expressed bottle at 3 weeks) so i do use my pump every day, making it more worth while for me to buy one, plus i hope that bottles will make weaning slightly easier

so from what you are saying, you make a decision on when you want to BF or express at every feed time, so you arent infact giving expressed milk in addition to BF, you are expressing a feed early, so it is there ready to go in a bottle?

However, if you are are producing more that you need, can you not see, that you have increased your milk production to a point that is more than your child requires. Really, if you want to make weaning easier on yourself, you really should try and cut down your milk production. Be that by expressing less often, or in lower quantities. Your body only produces as much as your child needs, if you are pumping 7oz and your child is only drinking 3, then perhaps try only expressing how much they need.

Sorry, if im being a bit ....., but having followed a similar routine to yours with my first child, by expressing regularly, due to going back to work and OH wanting to give feeds, the struggle of trying to decrease my milk naturally was a right nightmare

Flea

jellyhead

does your baby take more than 7 oz when it's from you, and only 7oz when it's in a bottle? sorry, i'm just being nosey lol!!

if your baby is under 6 months old and you have a large milk supply (larger than you need, i mean) you might like to consider donating some to a milkbank for prem babies. i don't know where they are, but have read that somebody local freezes her milk and somebody drives over from birmingham (an hour's drive!) to collect it.

SammyD_2

I think it varies so much it is hard to tell what you will need...with baby one I used an avent hand pump - found it very fiddly and got sore hands using it, then switched to a Medela for baby no. 2. In both cases, I have found it very difficult to get my milk to "let down" with pumping....it seems the real thing is needed for me! In any event, neither baby would take a bottle, so the whole pumping thing was a bit academic anyway.

Re breast pads, the luxury ones are great for the first couple of weeks, but then try the avent washable when things settle down. After a few months you will probably find you can make do with the "push hard and hope for the best" method outlined by other posters...

Charzie_2

Hi There,

Just looking through & thought that I'd add my thoughts/experiences for you to think over.

I breast fed both of my kids & it was different with each child.

ESSENTIAL KIT FOR HOSPITAL....

* Breast pads (don't buy the really cheap ones though)
* Nursing Bras
* Nipple Cream.... there's a pure lanolin one that used to be in a purple tube, (ask your midwife for the name as I've forgotten it!) it's expensive at around 18 quid, but trust me...it really is worth every penny.

***A warning about nipple cream, don't buy cheaper ones as they don't work, so are a waste of money in the long run***

OTHER KIT FOR HOME....

* Seriliser (You're going to need it anyway)
TIP... get a coldwater & microwavable one so you can use it if you ever go away.

* Basic Hand pump
This was essential for my first child as I was producing so much for a couple of weeks.
I didn't use it very often for the 2nd

* Bottles (Maws do a steriliser & bottle pack for about 22.00

*Bottle brush (If not included in the steriliser/bottle pack)

NICE TO HAVE, BUT NOT ESSENTIAL...

* Breast shells
(They do help slightly if you are a little engorged)

Freezer bags (sold in mothercare) or Icecube trays

Cabbage Leaves... they really are excelent!

REMEMBER, IT'S HARD WORK AT FIRST, BUT ITS HEALTHIER & CHEAPER, & EVEN IF YOU BOTTLE FEED, YOU'LL NEED MOST OF THE KIT ANYWAY.

Good Luck.

onesocklizzie

Just wanted to second the Kamillisan cream, its great. Also i found Johnsons breast pads great - again, a little more expensive but the didn't show under tops like cheaper ones did, the outline looks like you have enormous nipples - not a good look!!!
Good luck , its the best thing in the world if you persevere x

Karnam

jellyhead wrote:

does your baby take more than 7 oz when it's from you, and only 7oz when it's in a bottle? sorry, i'm just being nosey lol!!

we offer her a full bottle of around 6ozs, and then freeze v small amounts, maybe an oz a time, so that when she has baby rice/purees, we can defrost smnall amounts of milk.

expressing works for our family and as one of my fears was not producing enough milk, id much rather produce too much and have frozen bits and pieces (and even throw some out) afterall, i gave birth, went through the pain of BF and gave up a year of uni, a little leaking when i sleep leaning on my breast doesnt matter!

roadsidetree

Hello,

From a first time mum of a beautiful baby girl

i have been searching for tips to boost breast milk supply but haven't managed to find a really helpful one. I will have to check with our health visitor when she turns up - was off sick last week.

Meanwhile can some one provide any tips to boost BM supply please?

btw - our baby is one month old today :j

Many thanks in advance

black-saturn

Express milk even when your not feeding the baby.