DD has never been BF (personal choice which I don't wish to discuss, so if you are offended please don't read on, or make negative remarks) and my boobs are still leaking milk. Like, if I lie on one side at night - I wake up covered in milk, if I lean over the bath while bathing, i leak, if I let her cry too long - I leak!!! (I'm sure you get the picture..)
This never happened with DS, I stopped leaking after a few days - so I'm just wondering if I should be expressing this milk and giving it to her? Like, would it be worth trying? It's been 5 weeks and I still obviously have something in there, but I don't know anything really about the ways of milk, so thought I would run it past you knowledgeable folk..
If you are okay to express then absolutely my love. It will be still full of all your goodies for her. If you express you will produce more milk as you know so be aware that supply may meet demand - so express as much or as little as you are comfortable with. Good luck.
Mel, there is no reason why you couldn't express and give it to her if you want to do that. Any bm is of benefit to babies, so it would be good for her. It is really up to you. The liklihood is that you won't maintain your supply just by expressing, unless you are really committed to doing it every 3 -4 hours, but while the bm is there, if you want to give her what you have, that would be just fine.
It's never too late. One of the mums in my Baby Buddies group has recently re-lactated (I think she started at about 3 or 4 mths!)
If you are not wanting to be getting into the habit of expressing then I probably wouldn't start. I would probably only express if it was really uncomfortable. Like Flowerchild said with supply and demand. The more you express the more you will produce.
But no it's not too late
Good luck
LOL Mel I'm so with you on the leaking - poor Bear gets his back bathed in warm milk every night! Must be doing wonders for his skin! PMSL
yeah if it's there, why the hell not! go for it
If you wanted to express then that's fine, it's not that expensive to buy a pump. If you only express once a day it shouldn't cause problems with increasing your supply to a ridiculous level and it would just take the edge off the leaking.
If you still leak, you could try something like Lilypadz, which are sticky breast pads that create pressure so you don't leak. That CAN affect supply in the early days, I have heard, but that isn't an issue here so go for it.
And this has just reminded me I saw an interesting thing at the chemist yesterday - they have these nipple shells, they are kind of like nursing pads, but they are hard plastic shells and they actually collect the milk that leaks! So you could keep the milk that leaks and not have to bother about expressing or building up a supply you don't want.
They were called Avent Nipple Shells....
I have those too! They're great but for use ONLY when you're leaking and to be emptied straight away because stagnant milk around your breasts is a no-no. Also they look well weird under your top and if you lean over they leak. Great idea but only if you're leaking at the time, not for constant use. I found them great when feeding because I'd collect what was leaking then use the milk for DS's food later.
Hehe, sounds like you've got a good supply mate. Give it a shot, it's not like breastmilk will hurt her, doesn't sound like you haven anything to lose!
Why not indeed Mel? It's certainly worth trying if you're comfortable with it, it will only be good for her If you have any particular questions about the mechanics of doing it all, then fire away..........we're all here to help, not judge
well yeah, I do have questions...lol... like.. obviously I'll need like.. a pump.... I sms'd my sister with the idea and she thinks its not worth it because you can't express for longer than three months because your supply will dry up anyway? I'm not looking to do this for all feeds, but i figure even one bottle of BM a day has got to be better than none whatsoever right?
This was my plan from the beginning, to express as long as possible with her, because I knew I couldn't BF her (then she's had all these sucking issues anyway and would have driven me bloomin barmy...) but I sorta chickened out when my milk came in and the LC at the hospital asked me what I was going to do. I didn't really like the LC she wasn't very nice, and I didn't get a good vibe, so I was too scared to say that I wouldn't have minded trying to express her feeds...
I found it easier to express with a pump, but you can just express by hand if you don't want to buy one.
In the first few weeks I found I could express quite a lot by hand in the shower. (Agh, when I think of all that went to waste! LOL! But it was purely for comfort in those early days.) You can just use your hand and express into a cup or a wide necked bottle.
Mel hun if you want to then do.. just remember the more you pump the more supply you will get.
You can most deff do it past 3 months, my cousin has been doing it for over 1yr.
Mel, I had no idea this was what you wanted to do, I'm so sorry that LC wasn't nicer to you, and scared you off.
Right, given that you do feel that this is something you would like to do, how would you feel about rining the ABA helpline? (You don't need to be a member). I promise you they are NOT breastfeeding nazis who will give you a hard time. Rather, if you explain your situation, and that you are not BFing but would like to express for your daughter, you will likely find the counsellor to be a wealth of information. Re. how to express, when to express, how to store the milk, how to heat the milk, etc etc etc. It really is quite easy.......once you know what you're doing! (Like anything in this parenting caper ). The ABA is about mum to mum support, they will make suggestions, but leave the decisions entirely up to you hun. Also, they have booklets available on relactating (which is essentially what you would be doing) and expressing.
If you don't feel comfortable doing that, then keep using us here at BB for information (and ignore your sister LOL, plenty of women express long term - yes, it's not easy, but it is doable).
When do you feel your breasts are at their fullest? In the early hours? During the morning? That would be the best time to express, as you should get a reasonable amount. Just a tip.....don't be distressed if your first attempt doesn't leave you with a heap of EBM. Expressing can be a bit of an art, and can take a little practice. But it sounds as though you have a pretty good amount of milk there, so you shouldn't have a drama Do you know how to hand express? If so, have a try in the shower, just to get used to handling your boobs It feels a bit strange at first, but you get used to it very quickly! I will PM you a link to a site that has great info on hand expressing.
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Is 5 weeks too late to start?
I didn't really like the LC she wasn't very nice, and I didn't get a good vibe, so I was too scared to say that I wouldn't have minded trying to express her feeds...
). The ABA is about mum to mum support, they will make suggestions, but leave the decisions entirely up to you hun. Also, they have booklets available on relactating (which is essentially what you would be doing) and expressing.
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