Exclusive Expressers

[DaintreeDream]

I am currently sitting with DD on my lap and a pump on my boob and I stumble across this thread!

How long have you been expressing? 8 and a 1/2 months so far EBM - no formula needed yet!

How long do you plan to do it for/ or have done it for? As long as my milk will allow - I would happily go to 2 years.

How many times a day do you express? 4-5 hourly

Do you enjoy it? Yes. It is now part of my life.

Do you have other kids? No, not yet. We are going to start trying this cycle for #2.

If you feel comfortable sharing- Why you are expressing? My DD has Pierre Robin Syndrome which is the main reason she cannot breastfeed, she also has a NGT (feeding tube).

What type of expressing method do you use? I hired a pump then I have used my grow electric pump since she was 10 days old and I love it!

How much milk in a day? 800mls these days... I used to get 1400mls those were the days.

Best expressing tip? A good book or BB to help keep you relaxed during expressing sessions.

Well done to all of the current and past full time expressing Mums! You have given your babies the best start to life

Deanne.

[belfie]

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!

[DaintreeDream]

When I want to heat it up and ask for hot water they ask why they can't put it in the microwave? Cos You Will Kill All the Goodness you idiot I feel like shouting!!!

OMG yes Leesha... I say, it took me a long time to pump that milk I am not loosing all of the nutrients by putting it into a microwave.

[leesha]

Well I have made it to 8 months exclusively expressing this Wednesday!!!

I am so proud but also ready to wind right down now and think about stopping as my milk is slowly dissapearing!!

Gone are the days where I would get 150mls out of each boob each time I expressed! ( I believe was a cow in a past life!!)

I am now down to 100mls each pump(50mls each boob) It is starting to get time consuming when it takes longer than 15mins!! I guess I know I had it good and now it is starting to dissapoint me!
Ds is also only having about 3 bottles per day so I am making the night time one a formula bottle which he doesn't have any problems taking.

I gave him the best start in life and he made it through his surgery unbelievably well so I am happy!

It is such an independant decision to express and I hope whoever reads this sticky gets inspiration and reassurance to continue if they are feeling despair! You do whatever is right for your situation and be proud of your choice!!

xoxoxox

[ezymay]

Congrats Leesha! Well done to make it that far! You have done the best thing you can for your little man.

Bel-I'm glad you love the bra, it certainly makes things easier.

Welcome DaintreeDream thanks for sharing. I have read a little bit about your daughter's story you are doing a great job given what you are dealing with!

[Hollysmummy]

Hello Everyone;

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!

[Hollysmummy]

Best Wishes to you all!

[Nettie]

Wow. Glad to see this thread now!

How long have you been expressing? I expressed for around 3 months but had to comp-feed for around 1 month of that time (a couple of weeks at the start and finish).

How long do you plan to do it for/ or have done it for? Would like to have done it for 6 months, but couldn't risk taking the medication full-time because I'm already a high-risk for breast cancer and the drugs can increase your risk. So the three months were as long as my body could produce the milk. I stopped when I couldn't get a whole feed in a day.

How many times a day do you express? at the beginning - 2-3 hourly (including nights). Then tapered off to around 5 a day, down to 3 a day in the end.

Do you enjoy it? Not really. Always felt like I should be doing something other than sitting around. Was always hard to fit it in to life in general...

Do you have other kids? No

If you feel comfortable sharing- Why you are expressing? My son was born with a cleft palate and couldn't attach (no suction).

What type of expressing method do you use? Hired a breast pump from the ABA - Medela lactaset (I think). Started single pumping, but went to double before long!

How much milk in a day? probably around 600 mls? Was never huge amounts...

Best expressing tip? relax!!

[belfie]

Nettie - hey, welcome to the thread - it was great to see your story! Sounds like you did such an awesome job

Hollysmummy - I see you've changed your posts. Good on you for managing to get your daughter to latch on standing. I'm not sure I ever could have managed that, but it's always worth a try with #2.

Eej - I still love my handsfree bra to bits! It was truly the best recommendation ever . Lol is it sad that i love it so much? teheh. Hope all is going well with you.

leesha - oh I am so impressed, congratulations on reaching 8 months!!! I think you should be so proud of what you have achieved

I gave him the best start in life and he made it through his surgery unbelievably well so I am happy!

We're going well here. I had been madly expressing extra to cover a day away (day surgery) but managed to make it through which was a big relief (thread about this elsewhere). As of Friday I've just cut dairy out of my diet to see if that makes a difference to DS's eczema. The biggest nuisance is that the 750ml I have in the freezer as back-up is all from when I was ON dairy... so I'm keen to try get some extra that's current & dairy-free.. or just make it through the next 3-4 weeks... then we'll test dairy again and see what happens. Oh goodness I've just realised that I can test dairy without even going back on it - I could just use some freezer stock!

I'm looking forward to reaching our 5 months milestone on Weds and feeling very confident about 6 months. As for beyond that well, it's looking pretty good. I got DS a highchair (preparatory for solids) and have managed to feed him (reclined) and double express at the dining table which was very effective when I was in a rush. Probably could have used the highchair earlier.

Anyway, I'm waffling now - hi to everyone & sending happy relaxed expressing vibes.

Oh and odd question for the day - what colour is your milk? I always thought BM had a blueish tinge, but mine is really quite a pleasant creamy colour (if I may say so myself! lol).

[Crystalwings]

I was wondering fellow EE, do you pump when you go out? Up until now I have bf Olive when I go out if she has already had a bottle but I can't do that anymore. So yeah, do you take your pump into parents rooms and express?

My other question is in regards to supply. When did you have to start taking drugs for supply? Do they have any side effects? Has anyone tried Weleda breastfeeding tea?
Do you leak lots once you increase supply? I'm keeping up ATM but I think that may be because I have also bf 1-2 feeds up until now.

Belfie - My bm is also a creamy colour when shaken but once all the cream goes to the top can look a bit bluish.

Hi to everyone else.

[Nettie]

OM - I decided to stop taking Motilium because I read in the warnings that it works by increasing your hormone levels - which makes more milk. However, increased hormone levels can increase your risk of breast cancer (and related cancers) and as I am in the absolute top category of risk already - I couldn't chance it.

Only some breast cancers come about because of increased hormone levels - so the risk isn't huge, but it's still there.

I've heard good things about that tea - but didn't try it myself. I did try aktavite milkshakes (aktavite, milk powder & milk in a shake - yum!) which DID definitely increase my supply! However, I never had a big enough supply to leak...

Hope that clears things up a bit for you!

Oh - and my milk was always a creamy colour too!

[ezymay]

Well we have made it to 6 months!!! I never thought we would get here!!! I feel really really good about it. When I think back to how hard it was i the begining I really didn't think I could keep going. I remember one night at some unearthly hour of the morning pumping away while DH was feeding a tiny Emily and I was in tears saying, I can't keep doing this, it's too hard....but we did!!!! WOW. I have such a healthy chubba bubba to show for it. I think keeping up the EBM has helped my get through some PND too, I think I would have been racked with guilt and anxiety if I had gone straight to FF because i felt so strongly about wanting to BF and I was devasted we couldn't quite get the hang of it, so I feel like we have done the next best thing.

Thanks for all the contributions to the thread, I know it has helped me and hopefully helped others.

[belfie]

Congrats EEJ! That's fantastic I'm so thrilled for you, it's just a fabulous effort! you should be soooo proud of yoursel!

OLIVESMUMMY- how are you going? I've been following your story in the other post, and have been thinking of you! Such a frustrating situation for you and I think you're doing just amazingly.
Also, in answer to your question, I guess i've never had to pump when I was out & about, but I don't do day trips either. On days I'm at my IL's or something like that I've taken my pump, but never to shopping centre or anything like that yet. I also took the pump to Tassie for a family holiday. Also, after the recent fire woes in Vic, i now make sure i have the pack of 10 batteries required to use the pump if i don't have power.
I've tried a different brand of BF'ing tea (one with RLT in it) and i think that's really helped. I also used to have plenty of milo, but currently I'm doing a dairy free diet to see if it helps DS's eczema - it does seem to be helping too, so no milo atm for me. Plus I can't eat Aktavite cos of one of the ingredients in it. Anyways, all my back-up in the freezer is from a dairy diet... so need to pump some extra I think. We're gonna trial some dairy back in, in a few weeks. I also take fenugreek. I used to leak early on, but rarely do now unless I've had a big sleep-in and have been slack about pumping!

NETTIE - i've not tried motilium, I have a sneaking suspicion I'm allergic to one of the active ingredients.

[Crystalwings]

CONGRATULATIONS EEJ!!! YOU ARE DOING A FABULOUS JOB.

Belfie - I'm doing a bit better this week. I'm on my second course of AB for a breast infection resistant to most normal AB but i'm able to give Olive bm again after my doctor intially said I would have to pump and dump and give formula supplements which I reluctantly did for 5 days. I used most of my freezer supply and continued to give Olive one bm bottle per day as well. I rang Rodney White at Monash university and Mothersafe and they both said that it was ok but I don't want to feed her any longer then another few days while on this drug as there hasn't been enough tests done on it and it can cause ligament damage so I don't want to put Olive at risk of that.
My nipples still haven't healed but i'm hoping that when they do i'm going to see a lactation consultant and get my attachment checked again and if it doesn't work this time I will express until 6mths then I will probably wean. I just can't keep getting infections and getting sick. Some of my family were pressuring me to wean with this infection but I was so depressed and just wasn't ready. I really want her to have bm and it is so important to me. I put her on the breast lying down yesterday as I was very tired and she remembered what to do so I felt great about that. Nearly 5mths of cracked nipples wears you down, I just want them better. I always have to wear a bra with breast pads to protect them even when DTD (sorry TMI) so it's not very romantic. I don't want to complain to much though as it is my choice to do this and I know I have kept going when alot of others would have given up so feel very proud of myself.
I'm also off cows milk but i'm about to go and try a soy milo, thanks for that.
Happy expressing everyone.

[belfie]

hey Olive's Mummy - I just want to clarify - if you're off dairy you shouldn't be having milo - it's got dairy in it. I can't have it at the moment either. Sorry!

[Crystalwings]

Belfie - yes, that would have sounded weird. I'm not strictly off dairy, I just find that if I have a big milky drink it upsets Olive and when I had thrush I went off dairy and decided that I would just keep having soy in cuppas/milk drinks. I still have cheese etc, just not very much.

[Shanti]

Hi,
I'm so excited to know this thread exists.... wow you ladies are amazing!!! Some of you have been exclusively BFing for months, well done!!!
I've been seeking help from a LC since DD was 2wks old and we've had BF'ing issues from the start!! Here's my story.....

How long have you been expressing? Since DD was born....day 3 onwards.

How long do you plan to do it for/ or have done it for? hoping to build up my supply so I can exclusively BF my DD again.

How many times a day do you express? Taking Maxalon that is helping. I express 3-4hrly but trying to do it 2hrly but with a newborn its VERY hard!!

Do you enjoy it? Not really. I would much prefer to be just BF'ing my daughter but at this stage I don't have a choice.

Do you have other kids? No. DD is my first.

If you feel comfortable sharing- Why you are expressing? I have had attachment issues since DD was born, sore cracked /bleeding damaged nipples that couldnt be used at one stage and took 5 days to heal, my milk supply dropped few times due to DD not being an effective feeder, DD gets lazy and tired at the breast easily so affects my milk supply. Also my L nipple is a flat nipple and LC says it shouldnt affect b/feeding but it sure does, DD doesnt attach too well on that side and constantly pulls off.
I have a BFing thread going in the BF support area if you like to read it.
Also feeding DD top ups of formula & EBM and still BF'ing occasionally throughout the day but for short periods like 10mins each side. I've often wanted to just give up and throw in the towel because of lack of sleep and time consuming etc, pumping is hard as after I feed DD it can take up to 1.5hrs for play time and settling her to happen and then by the time i sit to pump its nearly her feed time again.... its been hard.

What type of expressing method do you use? Electric pump - Medela Swing.
How much milk in a day? 70-90mls per express..... express 3-4hrly throughout the day but night time I have a break for 6hrs. (need sleep!!!)

Best expressing tip? Staying relaxed..... if DD is crying I get stressed and can't express any milk out or not much.

[ezymay]

Welcome Renstar, Thanks for sharing. I have read your other thread and as I said there I have been in a similar situation as have many others in this thread. I hope you can get to BF exclusively but if you end up EEing you are doing the next best thing.
Flat nipples def make it harder to BF! My DD just couldn't form my flat nipples to be able to effectively BF. I think the full time pumping has drawn them out so next time the flatness won't be a prob! I did try to put her to the boob the other day but she had no idea what it was for :-(