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expressing question

Hi ladies,

My LO is now just over 4 weeks so I started expressing as my HV had told me to wait. I have a few wee questions.

I'm only expressing so OH can give her a feed after her bath at night. So far I've been expressing in the morning after her first feed. She usually only has a short feed then, so I have been emptying the breast she has snacked on and then do my other boob and I get about 4-5oz and that's more than enough for her bath time feed. Is it okay to do this??


I have been looking online at advice and it says that I should be pumping more than once a day, it says 10 times a day, so should I be?? I can't freeze it just now as our freezer is out of action.

What are you ladies doing??? So confused!

Also any tips on getting LO to take the bottle, she hates it and gets really grumpy! The other night she finished her bottle and was screaming so gave her some boob and then in 2mins she was sound asleep. Her daddy found it quite stressful as she hated it!


xxx

Replies

  • I only express once a day and usually get 4 or 5ozs, but haven't done so for about week as have a stack of milk in the freezer. What your doing sounds fine to me.
    As for lo hating the bottle, my lo was the same and DH struggled to get her to take it but with a bit of perseverance she's better with it now, still takes her an age to finish the bottle though.
    I think the reason bf babies are so reluctant to take a bottle is the texture of the teet, not nipple like at all really image I also think that my lo struggle when DH fed her because he didn't smell right, so as silly as it sounds I give him a top that i've worn to put over his shoulder so that lo can still smell me and that seems to help her take the bottle.
    Hope some of this helps and keep trying.
    Karen x
  • 10 times a day surely isnt possible!! How would you do anything else lol! I~ also express once a day usually in the evening around the time Grace is having her bottle to keep my boobs in her routine if you know what I mean. I get quite a lot of milk off usually 7 ozs but I have had 8 or 9 a couple of times which suprised me as with DD1 at this stage I could only erxpress 3-4 oz. I only put 5oz in her bottle and freeeze the rest as she usually only takes 4.

    I've had exactly the same problems with bottle feedin g though. She gets quite stressed by it and either fusses about and doesnt want to take it at all (but will still bf straight after) or she glugs it down and gets tummy ache (and still wants a bf!). Either way is stressful for me and DH and we dont look forward to that feed. I have just bought the MAM bottles with the silk teat though as they were high;y recommended in the bf chat forum and our first go with them last night was prob the most successful feed we've had. She still had tummy pains after but took the bottle well and settled much quicker. Still had a bf within the hour though so we're not there yet...
  • Thanks for the replies ladies!! That's what I thought when I read about the expressing lots!

    I expressed this morning and only got 2oz, is it normal to differ from day to day?? have I not eaten enough or something or is it normal to differ?? I'm drinking plently about 2.5l a day!

    Thanks for the bottle advice too, i'll be getting some MAM bottles I think, she took it a bit better last night but then went on the boob for a while after as well. She took 4oz but wouldn't take any more and then was making such a fuss I put her on the boob as she was throwing a maddy!

    XXX
  • i find that i leak from one side much more than the other while feeding. so if i feed from the leaky boob i get more expressed from the other boob after. i thought its connected to less being wasted.
  • The amount I express definitely differs from day to day - I get anything from 4 to 9 ounces! And it doesn't seem to be connected to what I've easten or drunk that day or how I'm feeling.
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