Wow, glad to see there are more ladies out there like me!!
I had issues with attachment and amounts of milk with DD (suffered a PPH after her birth and was hooked up to IVs etc which made it hard for me to hold her for the first few days), she's always had a huge appetite and for the first week or so, until my milk came in, I literally had nothing to feed her so I was giving her formula and expressing like mad to get the milk supply in, then feeding her half-and-half formula/breast milk.
I picked up a manual pump by Avent from Priceline the day I brought her home from hospital, and then I was using it for fifteen minutes each breast every three hours. It was reassuring to me to see exactly how much milk DD was getting, with Bfing you can't be sure and I never seemed to satisfy her, so feeding her from a bottle I could say with absolute confidence that yes, she was getting plenty. (right from birth she was drinking up to 90ml a feed, every two hours, which is a LOT more than other babies, so I knew I was right to worry about her getting enough, everyone was like, 'No, no, half an hour on each boob she'll be right' but she would just cry and cry and cry for more.)
I didn't take any supplements apart from the Elevit vitamins I'd taken during pregnancy, for me expressing frequently was more than enough to keep the supply up - my diet wasn't real flash but I tried to eat lots of healthy, home-cooked food to help keep the supply going.
I ended up slowing down and stopped altogether at 6 weeks, I was just so exhausted from getting maybe two or three hours' sleep in any 24 hours period, as DD was waking every three hours for feeds and I had to feed her, put her to sleep then express for over half an hour... I couldn't keep up and I knew it would be better for all concerned if I just weaned her and fed her formula so I could get some extra sleep. I wish now that I had persevered just another week or so because DD started sleeping right through the night at exactly 6 weeks old so if I had kept going we would have been right - my sleeping problems would have been solved.
I'm due to have another baby in late May and I'm seriously thinking about expressing again rather than BFing - it involved a little bit more work than BFing, but I've always had problems with very sensitive nipples (I can't wear a seatbelt without wearing a heavily-padded bra because if the seatbelt rubs it drives me to tears) and attempting to BF DD while in hospital was the most horrific experience ever - I was bleeding and swollen and my boobs hurt more than my poor down-below, if you can believe that after squeezing out an 8+lb baby!
I do want to do the 'right thing' by giving DD2 the nourishment of breast milk (and mum checked out the bottles I had expressed and declared it to be 'amazing' quality), but I just can't grasp the logistics of proper attachment and BFing in public, things like that. There is very little support for new mums in my area, the Community Health nurses are extremely rough and very critical, which doesn't help a fragile, hormonal and bewildered mum, and there is no support for women who don't 'try hard enough' and decide to express or formula-feed from birth, so I'm pretty much going it alone. Somehow I'm made to feel that I'm not a 'proper' mother because I don't latch bub on to the boob, but I figure as long as she's getting breastmilk, it's the same thing whether it's direct from my breast, or from a bottle, right? It didn't impact on my bonding with DD at all, and it helped her to bond with other family members (DH especially, and my parents) because they could nurse and feed her any time they wanted to (or any time I needed ten minutes' sleep!!) without depriving her of BM.
I'm actually thinking very seriously of splurging and buying one of those electric or whatever pumps that basically do all the work for you? If anybody has any advice on those over manual pumps, I'd be very grateful as the manual pump obviously was a lot of work and I'd like to do anything that will help make the job just that little bit easier. For instance, with the manual pump I had to wait until DD had gone back to sleep because I couldn't hold her and pump at the same time, but hopefully the electric pumps will free up an arm for me so I can do things?
Last edited by Glamourcide; January 19th, 2009 at 04:04 PM.
GothMum...
I agree with you and think that would express again even if I didn't have too because it was great knowing that your bub had enough to drink! I always thought it would be hard to BF cos our boobs really need guages on them to tell us if bubs has had enough!!! It was hard due to lack of sleep(I think I only had 2 hrs per night for the first month or so) but it then became part of my daily routine and I didn't think twice about it!!! However having another little one around may make it a lot more challenging!!
I used a brand called GROW because I was lucky enough to be given the electric double pump brand new. But you are looking at around $200+. Medela have a few good electric pumps single or double that you can buy! The medela Swing was another good one I was looking into! I know you can get those thru most baby supply stores!!
If you aren't sure you can ring Fisher and Paykel(sorry bout the spelling) and get onto suppliers for Medela!! I may still have the number floating around if you would like it!!
OOps forgot to mention my important point.... Using the double pump was great because it only took up to half an hour to do both boobs but you don't have any free hands to do anything else!!!!!
However only having the one baby it was ok....you will have to make sure your first child is occupied while you pump!!!!
Gothmum- Wow to express for 6 weeks with a manual pump. It would have been hard work. If you do decide to pump full time get an electic pump for sure! I recommend a double pump. I personally have the medela pump in style advance. I saw it on sale at toys r us the other day. Its cheaper now because Medela have a new one out called the freestyle that is hospital grade but the motor fits in your hand and you can walk around! Its $700 tho! I'd love one. I nearly got one from the US before i got my PIA but it wouldn't work over here.
You can pump hands free with the help of a special bra that has holes in it that you can sit the flanges in. Mine is a brand called easy expressions, I have the hands free bustier, FABULOUS INVESTMENT! Google nursing angel that's where I got mine from.
Last edited by ezymay; January 19th, 2009 at 08:19 PM.
Hi Gothmum, I actually used the medela electric, double pump for a few moths and then switched to the Avent Isis for the rest of the time - a total of 12 months exclusive expressing. I found the Avent Isis a better motion, more controllable than the electric pump - I got a better volume too. I also hired my electric pump from our hospital for around $15 a month. Look into that as an option - should be available from your maternity hospitals "Equiptment" or "Appliance" centre. All big hospitals have them. That way you can try it out without buying it!
Good luck and well done expressing for your little one.
Olives Mummy- I'm not sure about going back to work either. I'm due back in june so we'll see what happens then. I pump now when Emily is asleep, it was getting too hard when she was awake. i felt the same and didn't like not spending the time with her.
Belfie- I hope you like the bra! I bought some of the happy baby bottles and they are good thanks! They get a bit heavier cause they get so much fuller so you might need to keep a hand on them towrads then end of your pumping with the bra.
I tend to be 2-3 days ahead with my pumping and have a couple of litres in the freezer. I don't really get any extra these days.
Goth Mum- a good pump is a great investment if you are going to pump full time. You never know tho you might be able to BF this bub no dramas :-)
Eej - I agree that the happy baby bottles do get heavy, but sooo much easier than swapping containers I reckon. As for the bra, it's AWESOME! I love it! Just did my first pump with it (arrived this arvo right after I'd pumped!). Anyway, tonight as I used it, DH was laughing at me as I ostentatiously did many things (like picking up remotes, changing the channel etc heheh). Thanks heaps for the recommendation it's the best investment ever!
Deanne - welcome to the EE group! 8 1/2 months, well done that's an awesome effort!
It is really interesting reading your posts as I had such difficulty getting my daughter Holly to latch on. I was expressing for about 3 months as she was premature and had a tiny mouth. I'm not sure if this would work for anyone else but I managed to get her to latch on by standing up and feeding her. I not sure if it was the position or movement or just that her mouth became larger and it was a coincidence. I wish that I knew about this forum when I was doing this as i thought that I was mad sticking to it for so long. Holly loved breastfeeding so much that she didn't want to take formula until she was 12 months old. Anyway she is a healthy bouncy baby now!
Last edited by Hollysmummy; February 21st, 2009 at 05:54 AM.
Tiggerlinda - first off, congrats on your beautiful new baby! Secondly well we've just been chatting about the fact we don't really know how much they're supposed to have! Exclusive xpressers are a small (exclusive? ha!) group and not many professionals seem to be able to povide much guidance as to the recommended amounts. I think Daintree Dream has the most info, so hopefully she'll pop in & share anything relevant.
My DS was getting EBM from about 10 weeks old - but prior to that was on a mix of EBM/FF/BFing (also problems attaching). At the time I went on how much they should have if on formula - sorry I don't know the recommended is for a newborn. All I can say is that retrospectively I've discovered that EBM is definitely a bit richer than FF and I've got a pretty big chubba boy from it! So saying, we also pretty much provided milk on demand, I was happy to give whatever he wanted. He would soon let me know if he was full & don't want anymore.
Incidentally I just looked up the karicare site, and its formula said for 1wk - 1 month old...100ml boiled water + 2 scoops (mebbe 10g?) = so probably about 110ml, given 6-8 times a day. But honestly I'd probably try to check with an LC, as well as off the fact she's a) not still hungry, b) getting plenty of wet & dirty nappies every day and c) gaining weight! Based on my experience the fact she's having less than the formula isn't necessarily an issue.
I think it's fantastic that you're doing everything you can do give her BM, and it sounds like your supply is great. I did see your other post in the BF'ing section, and I do heartily agree about seeing an IBCLC re attachment also. I must admit that while I got to a point of supreme frustration with our BF'ing (it just got worse not better) I also retrospectively sometimes wonder if I could have tried harder/longer to resolve our attachment issues. So while I totally understand if it's not working, for your own sake, don't leave a stone unturned, because it can haunt you when you're struggling to fit in expressing, feeding & everything else (as I'm sure you're already aware!). And no matter what, you're doing an awesome job for your little bubba!
And on the other hand, if you do continue expressing, get yourself a handsfree bra (easy expressions is a brand a few of us use) & double pump if you can (or haven't already) - it is just invaluable!
Good luck with it all! I'll be following your journey with interest
Belfie
Hi everyone! I have a 5 week old DD Chloe and after many attempts have come to the conclusion that she isn't going to bf, so am now feeding her ebm via bottle full time. im so glad to see that there are others in the same situation as i am....any tips on how to make this situation easier and less stressful would be greatly appreciated! Im new to all this (including motherhood!)
How long have you been expressing? 5 weeks
How long do you plan to do it for/ or have done it for? my aim is 3-6mths or however long I can keep going and remain sane!
How many times a day do you express? 6 times...am hoping to cut it down but im not sure how to!
Do you enjoy it? i love the fact that i can still give my baby breastmilk and that DH can help with some of the feeds, but im struggling with how time consuming expressing is and how hard it is to do when your out.
Do you have other kids? No, this is our first!
If you feel comfortable sharing- Why you are expressing? Chloe has had attachment problems since we had her and now she has become used to having the bottle. we have tried to get her onto the breast (have been to lactation clinics, physios and had private lactation nurse) but the best we can achieve is a weak attachment with a nipple shield...a very messy experience and Chloe was hysterical!
What type of expressing method do you use? I am using a hired Medela pump, bought two kits so i can dual express... im looking at purchasing a mini electric medela for when im out and about.
How much milk in a day? 900 - 1100mls
Best expressing tip? to try and do it before chloe wakes up, that way i can give her milk without having to worry about heating it (saving myself a step in the process), and it is a lot less stressful expressing without a screaming child!
Your experience (what I have read so far) sounds very similar to ours. Arlea has become so used to the bottle that I really don't think she will ever BF. A lot of the LCs we have seen told me 6 weeks was the 'magic mark' where a lot of babies all of a sudden got it together. But atm the best we can manage is a bit of a go on the shield, and she isn't happy even then , she wriggles & sqirms the whole way through & I am convinced she just doesn't want to work for it. Why should she? If she carries on enough she gets the bottle
So I am glad to have someone else to share this experience with! there really aren't very many of us, are there? adn Belfie is nearly done
I haven't been doing this very long but the best thing by far so far was cutting holes in my old bra to convert it hands free pumping, woot! I eat a lot of meals while pumping & even being able to use the tv remote or read a magazine is great. If I keep this up I might invest in a 'real' pumping bra.
Setof3 - will be interested to see what the swimming lessons are like, I am thinking about them for Arlea...
it's the best investment ever!
hands free pumping, woot! I eat a lot of meals while pumping & even being able to use the tv remote or read a magazine is great. If I keep this up I might invest in a 'real' pumping bra.
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