I am an exclusive expresser and have been now for 4 months due to attachment issues. Its a tough road but I feel so rewarded that I can give my baby soley breastmilk. I'd love to hear from other ladies in the same situation especially to find out how long pl have kept it up for. I do know of a lady through ABA who did it for 18 months and is still going!
I thought if you answered the following questions it would be a good start.
How long have you been expressing? Me 4 months (EDIT 15/3 have now reached 6 months- Edit again - finished up at 10 months)
How long do you plan to do it for/ or have done it for? Christmas was my aim so now 6mths is the plan and really now feel I can just keep going
How many times a day do you express? Now 3-4 (I am on moltilium which gives me a good supply) started with 8 per day though.
Do you enjoy it? Yes and no. Feel good about what I'm doing, don't love sore nipples and being strapped to a pump!
Do you have other kids? No...not sure I could do it with a second child.
If you feel comfortable sharing- Why you are expressing? I have flat nipples and giant (16h) boobs and Emily just couldn't attach. She was jaundice and sleepy as well which made it hard.
What type of expressing method do you use? I started with a hired lactina from ABA then bought my own Medlea pump in style.
How much milk in a day? 800-900mls
Best expressing tip? A hands free pumping bra for double hands free pumping! So worht the $$$
Oo that's lots of questions! Sorry, i just I wonder about others experiences a lot.
Thanks for sharing!
PS Mods I would love to see an exclusive expressers group if there isn't already one? If there is can you direct me please? I think there might be a few of us out there.
Last edited by ezymay; July 21st, 2009 at 07:43 PM.
oooh this is a great thread - I'd been wondering how many others were out there!
How long have you been expressing? 3 months
How long do you plan to do it for/ or have done it for? hopefully 6 months
How many times a day do you express? Varies... minimum 4 times, and more if I feel my supply is starting to drop.
Do you enjoy it? Varies by the day, but I'm determined to keep giving him EBM if i possible can (started on BF/EBM/FF and have managed to drop the formula entirely for the last month). Sometimes hate trying to juggle it with outings and when nipples are sore. People say I'm doing such a great job to do it... but honestly it's easier than BF'ing!!!
Do you have other kids? No...not sure I could do it with a second child (ditto!!)
If you feel comfortable sharing- Why you are expressing? I have inverted nipples and large (E cup) boobs, plus Xander is a mouth-breather... he'd attach then come off then attach, then come off... plus we were using nipple shield... milk everywhere. Never managed to get attachment without nipple shield. Stopped trying the boob for the purposes of feeding at about 7-8 weeks.
What type of expressing method do you use? I started with a hired symphony medela then bought my own Medela pump in style (double pumping is the BEST!).
How much milk in a day? ~700-1200mls
Best expressing tip? comfy chair, drinks on hand, don't argue with your DH while trying to pump!!! and foxtel is a saviour.. just sit & chill! (oh and lansinoh is very handy too)
My extra question - do you think your baby feeds more or less often than a BF baby would? Xander feeds on average 4 times a day (sleeps nights).. I think this is probably less frequent feedsn than if he was being BF'ed. He's also caught up from 25th percentile height & weight at 2 weeks, to be 75th percentile at 8 weeks... is this due to the ease of consuming EBM, it's easier for them to gain weight quicker?
How long have you been expressing? made it to 10 months
How long do you plan to do it for/ or have done it for? just till my milk dried up
How many times a day do you express? Every 4-5 hours till 9 or 10 at night then I stopped and then started all over again at 6 in the morning
Do you enjoy it? I didn't really think about it.. it was just second nature to do it
Do you have other kids? I had an older child who was 4
If you feel comfortable sharing- Why you are expressing? Isaac was a sick baby and the meds he was on made him sleepy and he just couldn't attach without a screaming fit and I really wanted him to have the good stuff
What type of expressing method do you use? I hired a Medela pump from a medical supply place
How much milk in a day? expressed 2 * 240ml bottles in the morning and on average one full 200ml bottle each time there after
Best expressing tip? a pump you can take out and about and the attachement for the car for expressing on the go,. not battery powered
Belfie I think they feed less often when fed EBM. Emily has five feeds a day about 160mls each time but I don't have anything to compare it too. We were always supplementing when I was trying to feed her on the boob to flush the jaundice. I think getting the good stuff has helped your little one grow so well. I agree with you on the foxtel and lanloin is great!
Eej - glad you think so too re the EBM & frequency. I think my boy is a gutso, cos he'll usually have about 240mls per feed (and the other week took 300ml one day - I think that was 12 wk growth spurt!!). I was freaking out that I was going to run out (I don't have a lot in reserve yet, I'm trying to build up a freezer store).
And I forgot to mention, I'm also taking Fenugreek (had supply issues early) and X also had jaundice (60 hours under lights) but oddly enough actually BF'ed better then than he did later on.
How long do you plan to do it for/ or have done it for? My first goal was 3 months, then 6 months as DS had surgery planned and I wanted him to have the best stuff around to help him heal!! Now I have just kept going but I am cutting my pumping back and hoping to stop by the end of the month!
How many times a day do you express? Was expressing every 3 hours for the first couple of months then brought it out to every 6 hours...Now just twice a day
Do you enjoy it? Yes and no. I am so proud to have achieved my goal but it does mean you have to revolve your life around expressing!
Do you have other kids? No...not sure I could do it with a second child.
If you feel comfortable sharing- Why you are expressing? Taj was born with a bilateral cleft lip and just couldn't get a seal around the nipple! We tried hard at breast feeding but it just wasn't meant to be!!
What type of expressing method do you use? My lactation consultant was given a double electric pump by a brand called GROW to trial so she gave it to me (was free and very lucky to have been given it as they are expensive) It has been a godsend!!
How much milk in a day? 1 litre and now I am cutting down it is only 200mls...two EBM bottles and 2 FF bottles per day now!
Best expressing tip? To relax and enjoy the ME time while you express!!!!
How long have you been expressing? Stopped now but from birth to 12 months
How long do you plan to do it for/ or have done it for? I wanted to go on for as long as DS needed but our Dr's and other specialists wanted me to put him on special formula as he was still very sick and small
How many times a day do you express? 6 times a day
Do you enjoy it? Yes and no. I enjoyed being able to give him the best there was but I really wanted to BF - tried BF every day until 9 months, he just wasnt strong enough
Do you have other kids? No
If you feel comfortable sharing- Why you are expressing? DS was born at 36wks birth wt of 1.6kg (3lb 10oz) with very significant heart defects (six in total) requiring ICU care from birth and multiple heart surgeries. He came home at 3.5 months old after 6 operations and was on Nasogastric Feeds (tube feeding). Couldnt actually sustain BF as oxygen levels were too low. Had tube for 26 months!
What type of expressing method do you use? I used the Medella double pump for a few months then when supply was dropping off LC put me on drugs and another mum suggested I try the Avent Isis. I loved the Avent as it was softer and my let down was better with it. It didnt take any longer really than double pumping and was easier to carry when I needed to express while out.
How much milk in a day? Around 1000mls but variable due to stress. Funnily enough I produced more when DS was critically ill - my body trying to nurture him I think.
Best expressing tip? Quick breast massage before starting to get the ladies ready. Read a book if its all going ok or just look at your bub if you are having trouble with supply or let down.
Great questions by the way - thanks for setting this up.
I know its been a while since I was a full time expresser but it was one of the most significant parts of my mothering. I hope all of you who are doing it now are treating yourself with compassion and love for the amazing gift you are giving to your babies.
How long have you been expressing? I expressed full time for DS with no medications or formula supplements.
How long do you plan to do it for/ or have done it for? I just wanted to do it for as long as i could, but 6 months was my initial aim and we ended up with 8 months.
How many times a day do you express? expressed every time ds had a feed so in the first few weeks it was about 8 to 10 times per day, slowly decreased to 6 per day (wow thats a lot of work isn't it)
Do you enjoy it? I enjoyed the feeling I got from being able to provide ds with the best thing for him, but I didn't really enjoy the actual act of expressing because it took alot of quality time away from ds.
Do you have other kids? No, but if i did have another baby, i'm going to try harder to bf instead of expressing.
If you feel comfortable sharing- Why you are expressing? hmm much the same reason as you, my nipples are way too flat and my boobs are HUGE (more so now after having ds), but i think that if i perservered longer, it could have worked with nipple sheilds.
What type of expressing method do you use? the day i left hospital i searched all over town and then bought the only available pump there was, Avent isis IQ.
How much milk in a day? on average about 1050ml
Best expressing tip? A double chamber pump would be the way to go, it would have saved me heaps of time.
Wow guys! I am really impressed. I had issues as well with flat nipples/large breasts but managed to get an attachment and comp fed. I contemplated expressing full time but was finding it hard with the little amount that I was expressing. Well done to you all ladies.
I'm inspired to keep going with it as long as I can by these lovely ladies.
Sirenz-I think I maybe could have perservered and worked it out too but at the time I was stressed, tired ,anxious and experiencing signs of PND so it was the right thing for us to do. By expressing my nipples have changed anyway so I might be able to BF off the bat with the next bub...we'll see.
Not sure if I am quite exclusive yet as I still try and BF once a day and can handle a small amount of comfort sucking but pump the rest of the time. My hope is to one day go back to full time BF.
How long I've been pumping - BF first 3wks then pumped for 2 then BF for 3, now still pumping (Olive is 13wks)
How long do you plan to do it for/ or have done it for? 6mths or until I can BF. Want to make it to 12 but 6 sounds more achievable.
How many times a day do you express? after every feed - about 6-7 times. I don't take any supplements but will try natural stuff if supply drops.
Do you enjoy it? Yes and no. Like everyone else I feel proud that I have made it this far and can feed Olive BM but hate how time consuming it is. When I got behind a couple of weeks ago I was expressing every 2hrs, not fun.
Do you have other kids? No...not sure I could do it with a second child. (ditto)
If you feel comfortable sharing- Why you are expressing? I have had cracked nipples since DD was born (still do) which caused mastitis, staph and thrush. Then it was discovered that Olive was damaging my nipples every feed as she has a high palette and a short fenulum and this was causing them to not heal and the germs to get in. The LC and peadiatric speech pathologist think she should be able to feed once her mouth grows a bit more. She didn't take to nipple sheilds at all and so we ended up expressing.
What type of expressing method do you use? Tommy Tippee manual pump up until last week when I hired an Ameda electric from the ABA. Manual pumping was hard work! I'm still getting used to the electric though, it's alot harder on the nipples and not as quick but at least I have a hand free and can get on BB while pumping and don't have RSI from pumping.
How much milk in a day? about 800
Expressing tip - I'm still learning from all of you! but mine are pretty much the same as everyone else. Relax, relax, relax. I can't express when the baby's crying either. Also accepting what a huge part of my life expressing has become is sometimes hard for others to understand so have a comeback ready when people say "why don't you just give up?"
What an amazing and inspirational thread. I take off my hat to each and every one of you. What an amazing thing to do for your babies when feeding at the breast was not possible and often there were so many other challenges.
Gothmum, it's normal for you to be concerned about breastfeeding after your first traumatic experience. It must be so hard. I wonder if you had considered doing an Australian Breastfeeding Association class?
They are fabulous. Knowledge is certainly power - but the intention is for you to clarify your ideas and thoughts. They are held in most areas of Australia
eej & leesha, i too have felt the same in public when feeding ds his ebm, some mothers would give me the evil looks and i just felt like i was a horrible mother because i couldn't feed ds properly, but then as time went on i learnt to ignore the negatives and focus on the positives and that was i was doing what was best for ds. One thing i did learn through it all is how judgemental ppl can be, including me because before i had ds i think i was probably one of those ppl who would think "oh look, she isn't breast feeding" but now i know better, its not as easy as it looks and you should never EVER judge someone by how they feed their child!
Hats off to all of you and we should give our selves a big pat on the back because exclusive expressing is a full time job let alone being a full time mum, cook, cleaner, chaufer, personal shopper (geez the list goes on what we women do for our families)
^^ I will definitely have a look into that Barb, thanks for the advice. It might actually be easier for me to BF this time around because when DD was born, we were living with my mother and, darling though she is, it was very inconvenient and frustrating for me to try and establish feeding (I gave nipple shields a go for a week or so) because it seemed that every time I'd organise myself, get comfy and try to latch bub on, a visitor would come bearing gifts and want to see the baby and my mother just refused to ask them to call first or come back later... *she* didn't want to be seen as rude, and carried on like *I* was being ungrateful and rude because 'Shirley and James drove all the way in from Calliope just to see the baby and you're 'feeding'?! Just give her a bottle of formula so they can hold her!'
I know she meant well, but yeah, it was a pain in the neck sitting in my room trying desperately to get DD attached and Mum standing in the doorway hurrying me to get dressed and bring the baby out for the neighbourhood to play with. I guess she just doesn't understand what it's like because, unlike me, mum had two c-secs under general anaesthetic (so basically she just went to sleep and woke up with a baby) and formula-fed both my brother and I from birth... so I think she just doesn't *get* what I was going through.
That being said, I'm keen for any help I can get on the matter, but not terribly worried - if all fails, at least we now have the ability to express milk for bubs! Thanks to everyone for the advice on electric pumps, definitely something I'll remember when I start shopping around for one
Actually, I was just thinking today, it's actually a really, really strange sight around here to see mums BFing - I don't know whether the majority of mums express or just FF from birth (actually, I'd be inclined to say a lot just FF, most of my friends were horrified at the thought of BFing and had already bought formula etc before they went to hospital, there was no other choice as far as they were concerned), but yeah, I just don't think anything of it when I see babies being fed from bottles out and about. There definitely needs to be more support for women in my area at least, the general consensus is that the midwives in hospital would rather you FF than take up a bed for more than 24 hours, so if you haven't established feeding by then, they throw you out anyway and you're on your own but for resources like the Community Health Centre.
oh wow, firstly, thank you so much to Eej for starting this thread, and thanks to Mantaray for making it sticky! Yay!
Secondly, question - does anyone know a brand of bottle that's compatible with the medela pumps and is bigger? I need something about 250ml for my morning express (yes i'm getting heaps woo hoo!! personal record of 420ml the other morning ) - I tried buying a tommee tippee one the other day but it doesn't screw in properly.
Also, I know exactly what you mean re being self-conscious with the bottle... I don't want to sound judgemental to those giving FF, but I SO want to make it clear that I've got EBM in there... after all, I worked hard to produce it!
Gothmum - re your question on pumps, well I find I vastly prefer to double pump (I also use Medela Pump in Style), which means no hands free but a) you get MORE milk usually and b) it's in a quicker timeframe. It used to take me 30 mins doing one side at a time, and now I can usually be done in about 12 mins and actually get more. You can buy online pretty cheap usually - look at SoulMothers or NursingAngel dot com (I think I went with SoulMothers). So saying, I will also be trying to BF with my next - I think exclusive expressing is something to do as a second choice rather than first choice - definitely easier if you can get that BM straight into bubs, so give yourself all the support/help you can find. I think my MIL also found it hard to understand (she never succeeded BF'ing) so kept saying "the bottle is easier" which I think she meant to remove pressure from me, but I just found it discouraging. The culture we're in has such a huge impact, but remember all those people out there who are BF''ing even if we can't see them... sometimes it's easy to feel very alone trying to do it.
Eej - re the easy expressions bra - does that work if you're massaging? Since DS's 12 week growth spurt, I've tended to massage the breast as I pump, and I definitely drain better & get more out. Can you still do that with the bra? I've wondered about them, but hadn't shelled out for one... but it sounds like it's great so love to hear more about it.
Oh and my multi-tasking double-pumping best effort so far... I managed to double pump, drink a cup of tea, answer a phone call and rock DS in his stroller with my foot... hehehe. The mantra in our household as I grab my pumping stuff is "pump it hottie!".
Exclusive Expressers
and foxtel is a saviour.. just sit & chill! (oh and lansinoh is very handy too)
- I think that was 12 wk growth spurt!!). I was freaking out that I was going to run out (I don't have a lot in reserve yet, I'm trying to build up a freezer store).
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