It hurts!!

[~Saram~]

Heaven - oh man I could feel just where you are when you said you were scared to try baby led attachment. God I used to have to sit there and get the courage up to pop the boob out - absolutely dreading every feed time!

Hun you don't have to give her the milk you express if you don't want to the other boobie will make more to compensate! Having said that both my babies have had no issues swapping between bottle and breast, I know others have but just letting you know it doesn't always confuse them. In fact it can even help with using the shields as they get used to the artifical thing in their mouth.

Also with the sheilds if you put the sheild in her mouth and pour EBM into the shield it can help them get the idea of it.

Hope you are hanging in there!

[Arcadia]

Oh I know the feeling about bottles. I felt so strangely emotional when my DD first had a bottle.

Don't forget hun, that you're still in the very early post-partum stages. I cried every day in the second week pp for no apparent reason (when the sun went down I would loose it every night). Its okay to be emotional...you're baby needs you to be like this so you just want to stay home and pour love into her.

As Saram said - you don't have to give her a bottle, just feed from the right and express on the left. Maybe get some freezer bags for milk so it doesn't go to waste..then you'll have a lovely store for when you want to go out!

You are doing such a great job hun. Your dd is so lucky to have such a great mum.

[Shanti]

Sara,
You are *almost* going through what i've been going through myself!!!! Have you been reading my posts in my BF thread?? I have had to express on one side while the nipple healed remember? And I've had to give bottles (EBM & Formula) to DD since she was only 2.5wks old, i didnt have a choice she had to have them as she was losing weight and not gaining and not taking from the breast each time therefore my supply dropped etc etc (vicious cycle it became).... although Grace seems to be sucking fine, Ava was a lazy feeder which effected my milk supply so i had to build it up again.

Anyway, don't feel bad about expressing and giving it to her in a bottle but iykwim its upsetting I cried the first time I gave her a bottle, i cried the first time i gave her a dummy and i cried the first time i gave her formula!!!!!!!! This mothering is HARD WORK but you can do it.... I'm doing it so i know you can.... keep persisting it gets EASIER XXXXXXX
I always thought i'd just give her Bfing and never have to worry about bottles or expressing etc.... how wrong i was!!
ps expressing shouldnt hurt.... as long as you have the right 'flange' to fit your nipple if its too tight it will damage it (or may) and may hurt so make sure its the right size for your nipple and you'll know when it pumps does it hurt? if its comfy and not sqeezing nipple too tight then you are fine.
I had the Medela Mini Electric but it wasnt for high usage AND it hurt my nipple so i had to end up getting medela Swing (for every day use) from my LC. its great!!

Which pump did you get? Hopefully you won't be expressing for long.I've been doign it daily for 3 weeks but don't mind it now.....I thnk i'm going to keep doing it for a bit longer even if i don't have to.... i kinda don't mind it now just finding time is hard. However i had to do it for building my supply as well as healing my nipple.

[Heaven]

Quick Question!!

Ren- I got a medela manual one. I was scared of electric coz it might suck too hard, lol. And I can control it myself with manual.

I'm just in the middle of expressing the sore one and it's not hurting, phew. But how much should I be getting? I've only been going for about 10 mins and I have 60mls and my boob feels soft. It was like rock hard coz she just slept for 4hrs!!

[Shanti]

Sara, thats fantastic. That's great!!! remember, whatever you express is no indication of how much milk you have... you kinda can't compare it.... some women have plenty of milk yet can never express anything!
I'm lucky, i can express up to 150ml in just 20mins (between both breasts) and i've started freezing it!!

You are doing great! You're brave using a manual!! I'm too lazy I went straight to electric and i love mine! Although i have been expressing every 3-4hrs so i have to have electric i dont have time to use manual LOL

[Shanti]

Like Anna said, get some freezer bags (from chemist) and start freezing your milk, it can store for up to 3mths in a freezer. I've started doing this so I have it there incase I ever need it!!! Can't hurt.....I've frozen 1L so far (i express ALOT lol)

[Heaven]

Thanks Ren. I've ended up with 80ml and stopped now. My boob feels empty which is good. I don't think it has for a while bc I couldn't handle her being on there for that long!

[MantaRay]

80mls is fantastic work Heaven. An experienced expresser would be happy with that - for your first time it is really awesome. That's great that it didn't hurt also - that means that you can express from that side for a little bit to give it a chance to heal. Good work.

[Heaven]

Thanks MR! I couldn't believe how much came out. She must be getting heaps when she feeds, no wonder she's putting on so much weight, lol.

I just gave her some and cried She hated it and screamed the whole time. I think it was coming out too fast for her. She only had 10mls. But she'd already had 30mins on the right breast. Then I stopped coz I couldn't handle it and put her back on the breast and she had a little bit and fell asleep. Hopefully my right breast will just make enough for her, I don't like giving her the bottle so hopefully I will just have to give her little bits here and there like I did. I think the right breast is already making more than the left bc I've been using it a lot more anyway.
I hope the crack heals quickly!!

[~Saram~]

Oh well done! You are such a fantastic lady doing wonderful mummy work! Good on you, it will only get better from here!

[Olive]

sara your doing a great job

[MantaRay]

Heaven, you should be able to feed her from one side only for now as long as you are expressing from the other side to prevent engorgement. One breast is capable of sustaining a baby - just like it does for twins!

If you do want or seem to need to give EBM top ups, you can try using a cup rather than a bottle if you would feel better about that. Newborns can drink from cups quite well.

[Snacks]

Natty was only on one of my boobs for our last couple of months of bfeeding. She always got plenty
WOWEE, 80 mls is spectacular, particularly from a manual pump! Go you! If you are not too tired, I'd be expressing pretty regularly from your LHS to keep the boob stimulated and making enough milk ready for when that crack's all healed and you're ready to put her back on that side.

If you do want or seem to need to give EBM top ups, you can try using a cup rather than a bottle if you would feel better about that. Newborns can drink from cups quite well.

Yeah, or alternatively you can buy a medical supply tube and feed her with your (clean! or gloved) finger - you put your finger in her mouth with the tube and she can suck on that like a straw (with your EBM in a bottle or something on the other end). That way she can control the flow a bit better than with a bottle. But it sounds like you're doing great just feeding from the RHS, and you'll have her back on that healed LHS before you know it!

[Shanti]

Sara,

You probably don't need to give her the bottle as she is getting plenty from one side as it is. And like you said, gaining weight nicely.... if she feeds from your 'good' side only, that's fine, just make sure you express on the 'sore' side after she feeds from the other side to make sure it keeps up. This is what i had to do for 5 days while my damaged Right nipple healed, remember? And it all worked out fine. I had to give the bottle as she needed top ups to put on weight as Ava wasn't getting enough as my milk supply had dropped (different situation to yours).

So don't give her the bottle if you don't want to.... just keep feeding from the 'good' side. And expressing on the opposite while it heals. Mine took a few days but it was badly damaged.... perhaps yours may only take 1-2 days?

You can always feed Grace with a little plastic cup too... that's what we did in hospital with Ava. (but that was more colostrum, not milk)

[Heaven]

Thankyou everyone!! I have been just trying to feed on the right. It feels really empty though because she goes for ages on it, coz she's not getting the other one. But there's still milk there even if it feels empty right? Just when I think there's no more I hear her gulp so she must be getting it still. And I can still squeeze some out after she's finished.

I am going to try the cup instead too. I feel better about it. I hate it when I try and give her the bottle and she screams coz she doesn't like it and she wants me but I can't do it Hopefully it won't be long and it will be all healed. It's looking a lot better already, phew.

[MantaRay]

Wow Sara that's great. You are right, there is always milk there even if it feels empty. You are doing all the right things hun, and using the cup sounds like a great solution for you all for now. Hopefully you'll be back to feeding on both sides in no time!

[Shanti]

Sara,

Great work just use one of those tiny measuring cups for medicine you can get them at the chemists.... we got ours from hospital before we left.

With the bottles, my LC advised me to get the Y teat with the Pigeon Bottles. They have the peristaltic action that works similar to the nipple. If you are using a teat that is too fast that may upset Grace. The Pigeon bottles with Y teats you can get from BigW or chemists but cheaper in BigW!

[~clover~]

OMG! I'm so happy to read all this.
You sound so much happier & less stressed. You've come soooo far in the last few days!
You are amazing! Don't look back hunny. Do what you need, be it using a cup for EBM or freezing it & saving it all up for later, you are doing great!

Honestly it just made my day to hear this! I can tell how much better you feel!
You go girl!!!

BTW - 80mls is fantabulus! My first go I got 20mls!