Expressing advice please

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  pumpkino

  Mar 27, 2010 5:17AM

  Hiya
  
  You can express any time but they say the best time is in the morning because you produce your milk overnight. I usually do it straight after the first morning feed.
  
  Don't worry if you don't get much the first few times you do it - for the first week or so I was measuring how much I got in drops!! It will work itself out eventually so persevere with it. It shouldn't affect your LO's normal feeds at all.
  
  How long should you express for - how long is a piece of string? You won't have any idea how much your LO is taking when BFing but a rough guide (according to my MW) is to take your baby's weight in pounds and multiply it by 2.5 and 3 to get a range of fluid ounces per day. eg a 10lb baby would typically drink 25-30 oz per day. Then divide that by the number of feeds per day to get the amount for a single feed. I usually try and have an oz more than I think he needs just in case.
  
  You may or may not be able to express a full feed in one go. It still takes me two expressing sessions to get a full feed for some reason - my LO is just way more efficient than my electric pump! However I have friends who can express 5-6 oz from each breast in one go, so who knows!
  
  Milk storage - at room temp just a couple of hours at most (less if it's particularly warm in the room), you pretty much need to feed it to your LO straight away if you can't put it in the fridge or freeze it.
  
  In the fridge - advice varies but you can definitely store it for 24 hours (don't put it in the door of the fridge, put it on a shelf towards the back). Some people say 48 hours is OK, some even longer. I personally stick with 24 hours just to be really safe and then if I haven't used it I put it in the freezer.
  
  One good tip - if you have breast milk in the fridge you can add to it as you express more throughout that 24 hour period before putting it in the freezer or feeding it to your LO. Remember you only have 24 hours from the first expressing session though.
  
  In the freezer, again advice varies from 1-3 months. I did read somewhere that the composition of your milk changes over time to suit what your LO needs, so two month old milk, while still perfectly fresh, may not actually suit your LO anymore. This is unlikely to be an issue for just one or two feeds though!
  
  Thawing frozen breast milk - just stand in a bowl of hot water until it's thawed. Never microwave it (this apparently can affect the composition of the breast milk although I am a bit sceptical - a better reason not to is that microwaving can create "hot spots" which would burn your baby's tongue).
  
  Other tips - you generally need to be relaxed for it to work, at least initially. Wait till your LO is down for a nap or being looked after by someone else for at least half an hour so you can express uninterrupted. Put the TV on or some music - at first I was always staring at the pump worrying about how much was coming out and I don't think that was very helpful. Some people like to have their LO nearby, or just a photo of them, to look at in order to stimulate the milk flow. If you are having trouble getting the milk to flow, try massaging your breasts before you start. Having a warm bath or applying warm flannels to your breasts can also help.
  
  That's all I can think of right now - Lawso exclusively expresses and I'm sure she would be more than happy to answer any other questions you have.
  
  Good luck!
  
  C

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  blondefriend

  Mar 27, 2010 8:40AM

  My LO was in SCBU when first born so I expressed right from the start. Charlotte is right, it is so disappointing when you first start and only a few drops come out but within a couple of weeks I was expressing 3-4oz per breast at a time.
  
  Once established my routine was as follows:
  
  7am - BF followed by express
  10am - BF followed by express
  1pm - BF
  4pm - BF
  7pm - EBM (I would express separately)
  10pm - EBM (I would express separately)
  4ish am - BF
  
  I really struggled to produce enough milk to feed Abby in the evening so moved to a EBM feed at 10pm from about 2 weeks as she was feeding from about 7pm until 3am constantly - I was exhausted and both of us were crying.
  I then added a EBM feed at 7pm at about 4/5 weeks in order to get her to sleep through the evening.
  My supply was really good in the morning so expressing then was obvious but it might be different for you. Try it when your boobs feel most full. My mw suggested that when you start to express you should do it for 5mins on each boob about 30mins after BF. No longer than 5mins as it can cause sore nipples when first starting. I soon moved onto doing it immediately after or even whilst feeding Abby on the other boob as I wanted to be getting on with something else. Also once Abby's routine was established I would empty the boobs knowing that they would be full again by the time she next needed a feed. It can be difficult to express if you feed on demand as you might empty yourself just before they want a feed, but others might have other experiences.
  
  Abby was exclusively BF until introduction of solids at 5 months and didn't have her first bottle of formula (except for 1 at 10days because I was exhausted ) until 9 months, and that was only because I was working full-time. I couldn't have done that without expressing, it was my god-send! )
  
  As for storage I have used BM up to 5months after storage in a deep-freeze but I wouldn't trust a front-opening freezer for that long. I usually defrosted in a bowl of water but found that some BM bags can split so preferred to let it defrost overnight in the fridge. Microwaving in an emergency can be useful but it will cause denaturation of the antibodies (destroys them) so don't do that too often. As Charlotte says be careful of hotspots. Give it a very good shake and test yourself before giving to baby.
  
  Good luck,
  H xx
  
  [Modified by: blondefriend on March 27, 2010 12:42 PM]
  
  

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  annebop

  Mar 27, 2010 4:05PM

  Check out this website, has lots of great tips:-
  
  http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html

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  xxLadybirdxx

  Mar 27, 2010 5:57PM

  Thanks everyone, that is really helpful )
  
  I'm going to give it a go this weekend x

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