Thanks for your replies. I do try with Jude next to me so I can watch him but he smells the milk and wakes up very upset that I'm messing with his milk supply and not giving it to him.
Hmm I've tried different times of day, the only success I can get is if my breast is quite engorged with milk. I usually wake up when Jude wakes me up crying for a feed, if only I could pre-empt him I could probably express some milk in the morning, but I don't think my boobs are producing enough milk to feed him AND express. Maybe I need to wait until he weighs a bit more than 2.8kgs and my boobs are producing more milk??
I can't do it while I'm breastfeeding I'm just too uncoordinated, but I suspect it would work if I hired an electric pump, however having spent the money on the manual pump I don't want to spend any more money on it.
I too have some trouble getting a good seal. I must have weird shaped boobs, too. Who are these lactation consultants and where do you find them? Do they come to you or do you have to go hunt them down?
Argh, why can't it be easy for me like it is for so many other women? I'll try the yoga position, MatildasMummy, and see if it helps.
The sterilizing is not something you have to do every time - just rinse your pump with cold water and put it in the fridge. Then once a day give it a hot wash and a sterilize if you want to.
Distract yourself with a book or CD or something - a watched bottle never fills!
Do you have the correctly sized snozzle for your nipple - you can get bigger snozzle-bits for bigger nipples.
Lactation consultants are found at some hospitals and maternal and child health centres. There are also some in private practise, who will come to you for a fee. The ABA helpline might also be useful.
On the bright side, the pumping (even it it doesn't make much come out), will add to your milk supply.
I had to express when my DS was born 6 weeks prem, I found that once my milk came in I was getting quite a large amount in the early days, using the hospital's machine. I bought a Medulla Swing when I had to leave my DS in the SCN and I was d/c home. It was around this time we also began to BF. DS had nasograstric feeds for the first week. So I would BF one side and express from the others. I would get anything from 60ml in the morning to 10 mls by the evening. After DS came home I continued with this regime for a short while, but had a reasonal supply in the freezer, so I started to ween myself from it. I still occasionally express, but after a dismal attempt a few weeks back I started to feel expressing was not working anymore. The suck of my DS is so much stronger than the machine. On Wed morning I chucked a hissy fit as DS was being unsettled and between him and my cat I was not getting much sleep, I left him in bed with DH (DS prompltly went to sleep) I got up to express and managed to get about 120ml.
I think the time before, where I had low supply was becasue I wasn't drinking enough water. I have since made an effort to increase my water intake. I have also found I don't get as much milk from expressing as to what I'm sure DS is getting from BF.
Also your bub is still quite small so you probably don't have a large supply yet.
I wash my bottles and pump in hot soapy water and sterilise ever day or so.
I recommend you express with every feed, cool it all in the fridge before combining them, then freeze. You may only get 1 feed per day, but you will slowly build up a supply.
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