Im going to start expressing milk to store in the freezer from this week. So just a couple of questions, sorry if they're silly!

1) When should I express? After/before a feed? Or at a completely seperate time?

2) How much should I express at a time?

3) Bearing in mind Seth is now 4 wks, and we might start using the milk from 5/6 wks in bottles, how much am I expecting him to take in each feed? I figured that if I stored 1 feeds worth in each bag, then when it came to defrost and use I wouldn't be wasting a couple of ounces if I did it that way. If that makes sense...

Thank you

xxx

Hi Linzi, i hope this helps.

1) You'll find you get more milk if you express milk from one side while feeding Seth from the other - If this isn't possible it may also help if your holding him close to you while expressing the milk (This stimulates your breasts and increases the flow)

2)Try not too worry about the amount you express, as sometimes very little may happen and othertimes you may produce more. Just express the most you can but always remember to put the date you expressed the milk onto the container before freezing, that way you can defrost the milk from that day and add it together to produce a feed.

3) It's normal for a baby 5/6 weekes to take between 5 and 7oz of breastmilk in one feed, if you are using the sterile bags they have the measurments on the side so you know how much is in each bag and can defrost what you need. It will take a week or so for you to figure out how much your baby needs so just play it by ear really. It's best to prpare a little too much in a feed than too less until you know whats right for him.

I hope this helps you and if you need anymore advise just PM me and i'll be happy to help you.

Milk is at its highest production *usually* in the morning hours. I feed Sharlotte, then pump off the extra on one breast, then pull a bit off the other... but that's me. If you need to have a steady supply, it wouldn't hurt to get your production up so you can pump your supply each morning.

Well, that depends on a lot of things. Some women can't pump AT ALL... and the average woman can pump 1-2 ounces at a sitting. So it might depend entirely on you and what your body will allow you to pump. If baby takes 3-5 ounces in a feed and you only produce 2 ounces pumping, you're going to have to pump a couple times a day depending on how many times you want to pump-supplement feeding per day. Breastfeeding via pumping is extremely hard to maintain especially beyond 6 months because at that growth spurt, it's hard to tell the breasts to make enough milk via pumping... Baby really needs to be doing all the production cues for themselves.

In my situation I don't really need a vast supply of milk lying around. I'm available for feeds 99.9% of the time. I do like having some on hand though if DH and I wish to leave for the afternoon or evening or whatever. It gives me, and the caregiver I leave her with (wether that's gramma or sister or whatever) some peace of mind. So with that said, 3-4 times a week I pump the extra off both breasts (leaving one breast half full or so for the next feed) in the morning. This amounts to a total of about 3-4 ounces. I currently have 3 bags of about 3 ounces in storage. I started pumping last week.

DH and I went to dinner this weekend, and we left her with my mother. Breasts do not come with ounce markers, so I had no idea how much milk to leave with her. I fed her well and we left... I gave mom 3-4 ounces of milk on top of that just in case we didn't get back and she needed to feed.

We were gone an hour. Sharlotte had raised hell to be fed in that time, and devouered the entire 3-4 ounces I had left. So that leads me to believe that my little booby baby is taking 5-8 ounces of booby juice at a time. Sometimes more sometimes less... so if I need someone to give her a 'whole' feed, I have to leave two bags of milk. (I'd better get pumping huh )

That makes good sense in theory, but our babies are too young to be storing food in anticipation of their appetite... it changes daily. Besides, I'm willing to bet you won't be able to pump an entire feed, statistics are against us on that one. So you'll be storing feeds in two bags, maybe three. I would think in the long run this makes more efficient sense anyway because your feeder can put the first part of the feed in the bottle Seth can eat, then burp (essential for bottlefed babies), if he's hungry for more, prep the next bag. It only takes a second to defrost in hot water, then it's up to temp too. Continue till he's full. You may have to save an ounce for the next feed (you can save BM for 24 hours refrigerated after pumping or defrosting).

Hope that helps!

BTW Cherylanne had great advice... pump one breast while feeding, that WILL help pull more off the breast. I also do something distracting while pumping... (putting make up on, reading a book, surfing, whatever) If I'm watching the pump, my boobies just clamp down on the boobie juice, and won't give it up... if I am distracted or feeding, I can get my 1-2 ounces from each breast.

Also something to consider... I try to pump after I've fed so I can get a great proportion of hindmilk in that feed. This hopefully helps satiate baby when I'm not there, if she's not getting as much as usual.

Thank you for all the information from both of you ladies

Im not going to solely bottle feed, just if we decide to go out and there isn't anywhere to BF (as I don't feel comfortable doing it in public) or if we need to leave Seth with anyone for a few hours.

Thank you again, its very helpful

xxx

Thanks for the information ladies! Bella is going to have to have a bottle for at least one feed on Tuesdays and I've got to start pumping for those.

We tried to introduce the bottle yesterday, she wanted NOTHING to do with it! How do you get them to take it? My mom was the one giving it to her.

Just keep at it... they'll eventually take it... but either way remember she's not going to starve if she misses one feeding. When I left Sharlotte with my mother, I made sure I fed her quite a bit before leaving. And mom made sure she started feeding her well before baby got insanely hungry and crying.

Hope it works out for you!

Holldoll, Like Margerle said it's just a matter of keeping at it. My daughter wouldn't have anything to do with a bottle a first, she'd just push it out of her mouth and start screaming and she couldn't control the flow either.

Keep at it though and she'll get there, it's just something new that she needs to practise at.