expressing milk
in Baby
hello ladies,i just got a few questions on expressing milk,i had twins 3 weeks ago a boy and a girl,there still in hospital as there were 9wks early,ive been expressing milk and taking it up but my milk supply is the same i thought that it would increase and is it normal for onr boob to produce more milk than the other and iam expressing between 15-20mins on each boob is that enough or do i just keep expressing till no milk comes out? also expressin every 3-4 hours and how important is it to express in the night? iam shattered as i have a 21month old son so iam trying to spend as much time with him in the morning aswell as expressing inbetween this and on top of trying to do a little housework,then iam out of th house at 3 and dont get home till 8 then i sort my son out and then do tea for me and oh then i get to bed about 10:30 and iam just to tired to get up in the night to express,any tips or advice would be great
thanks
sarah
xx
[Modified by: fall3n-ang3l on 22 January 2009 13:53:32 ]
thanks
sarah
xx
[Modified by: fall3n-ang3l on 22 January 2009 13:53:32 ]
0
Replies
Well done for managing so far, and keep up your good work, remember though that your supply will increase the more milk you'll make!
XX
Good Luck- you must be desperate to get them home!
sarah
Congratulations on the birth of your twins. Like LinziMc I have a daughter who won't latch on, so I've been exclsively expressing for the last 5 months. I won't deny that it's hard work and if I wasn't so stubborn I would have given up months ago! I would say you need to be expressing every 3 hours during the day to ensure a good supply, and I was getting up twice in the night for the first 2 months, then once a night since then, even now (my daughter has been sleeping through the night since 7 weeks)
I have always found that I get a lot more milk from one boob than the other, sometimes twice as much. I would say always express until the milk stops, otherwise your body thinks that it doesn't need to produce as much and will cut down the amount. I made this mistake early on and have struggled ever since to produce enough. If you find your supply is low, all is not lost as you can get herbal supplements - I used Nettle extract and it worked really well, I now have a freezer full of milk!
I found in the early days it took me around 10-15 mins each side but now the milk flow seems to be more efficient and it takes less than 10minutes most of the time for both sides (except night expresses which take approx 20mins)
I found the easiest way to keep going was by reassuring myself that I was giving my daughter the best start in life by giving her my milk and it's benefits. My hubby is very supportive and he keeps me motivated (but I'm not offering for you to borrow him though!!)
Good luck and I hope it all works out well for you soon
Corinna x