Forum home Archived Birth Clubs My baby was born in Feb 2010
🚨 Advance warning 🚨 This forum will be closing on 1st May – please see our pinned thread for more information.

Expressing

Any tips on how to express without ending up with giant rock hard boobs?? I was expressing a bottle for my OH to give DS in the morning while I have a lie in (he's good like that!) but I overstimulated my milk production and ended up with rock hard boobs that were really sore. I was worried about getting blocked milk ducts and getting an infection or something so stopped expressing but it means that my OH can't feed DS unless he gives him formula which I am trying to avoid for now although I want to combine feed eventually.

Last night was horrendous, he wouldn't settle and in the end OH took him into the spare room at 4.30 so I could get some sleep but he had to wake me up for feeds, I want to be able to express again but worried I am just going to end up engorged again!!

Going to post this in b/feeding too.

Replies

  • No idea hun but didn't want to read and run. Niamh's feeding is so messed up with her being jaundice and losing so much of her birth weight. She has had milk from the breast, EBM via a syrine, cup and bottle and also had to be topped with formula as per doctor when she was dehydrated. She must be so confused as I certainly am

    When expressing I wastold to only do it for 15 mins per boob?
  • I only express at times that the baby normally feeds. I havent started expressing to give in bottles yet as i would rather wait till im in more of a routine so i dont end up expressing then baby decides hes starving.

    If you are engorged lie in a hot bath and get a flannel and lie it on your boobs, and squeeze downwards. Its weird as it looks like your boobs are on fire, but it works a treat.

    Another thing you could try is feeding and when Felix is full express whats left out of both sides. My routine in a few weeks will be get up in the morning at 7am, feed then express whats left so it will be mid morning feed for when we are out at toddlers etc.

    Hows it going anyway, havent chatted since our bundles arrived?

    Gemm x
  • hi hun. memory is shot. how old is DS now?

    I only ask because I was talking to midwife about this this morning and she suggested not expressing until engorgment has settled down (I am on day 2 of rock hard engorged boobs - hoping they might have settled down in a few days). Anyway midwife said that once they have settled atfer initial engorgement then expressing one or 2 extra bottles should be ok.

    MN+Imogen (5 days)
    xx
  • He is 9 days. That makes sense, my engorgement has settled now so I am planning to try again. We are going to visit family for a few days tomorrow so I want to be able to express for when we are out and visiting family.
    I think I just overdid it, I expressed 7oz in one go and split it into 2 feeds and I think it just overstimulated everything. I am going to do it a little at a time and hope that helps.
  • I have only expressed around 3 oz at a time and have not had any problems with engorgement...

    Good luck! image

  • I have been expressing again today and yesterday, I expressed 3 and a half ounces and so far so good. He is such a greedy thing though thats not enough for him, we went out for lunch today with our NCT group and I gave him EBM and he polished off the entire bottle then I had to feed him to top him up. I will have to express a little at a time and keep adding to it to make up a full feed for him.

    Cath what time do you express? I am still feeding from one side at a time and swap for each feed so each breast is going roughly 6 hours between feeds, if I feed him from my left and express from the right at the same time then where do I feed him from at the next feed?
  • Miss I, i always have expressed in the morning once ive fed. With DS2 i did it every day cpoz even tho he is a big boy, he could pretty much be fed from one side so i would express the other. Just started doing that again yesterday when i only managed 2 oz, but today i did 3oz. With my last son, i could express 7-9 oz no probs eventually

    Gemm x
  • I soon learn during a feed to change over boobs half way through then the boobs are ok.

  • Hi

    I am feeding from both breasts every time these days. I express from the breast he feeds less from. I don't do it at any set time, just when I think my nipples need a break!

    xx
Sign In or Register to comment.