Fleur - you've done such a wonderful job. I too mixed EBM and cow's milk, slowly shifting the ratio to more cow's milk as I started to run out and he did start taking it with less and less EBM, so hang in there, hopefully little Pie will start to get used to it soon.
Belle - as Fleur said, I can also relate to finding it so stressful and it was SO not working for us. So saying, I'll be quite honest and say if I had my time again, I would have tried more as DS got older/bigger and hopefully better at feeding. If you can manage it, finding a good LC can be a huge help, and there are many strategies that can help ease the stress for you both. Your bubba is still little so you still have time to try later (I hope this doesn't feel like a lecture, I just want you to feel that you have options). With 20:20 hindsight I didn't realise just HOW much work it is to express - so that's just some food for thought. Some of the things you can do is to bath together or just have skin to skin time without there being pressure to feed - enjoy being able to bond and snuggle as IF you decide to try BF'ing again, that closeness is not wasted. And even if you don't try to BF again, well you still get to enjoy snuggling your beautiful bubba.
Equally, given bubba hasn't been attaching, you also need to find a way to feed your baby that works for you both!! I can totally understand you feeling redundant, there's a lot of grief in the realisation that you can't feed your baby (at this stage) the way that you had hoped to. Depending on the timing, you may find it's better for you to express after you put bub down? that way you can be involved in all those activities and then just express for the next feed after bub is asleep - I think it's really important that you still get to feel like mummy! As surprised said, dont' be afraid to put your foot down. It can be really difficult when extended family come into the mix with their opinions and judgements (I had many snide comments about my desire to express!), so stick to your guns - your body, your baby! And as always, the other ladies have given you some great info & advice (double pumping is sooo much more efficient).
surprised - ooh well done to you!Do you mind if I asked from when you'd been trying to BF, and from what stage it really started to work? Like Fleur, I'm really interested to hear about the journey from someone who made it "back" so to speak!
starangel - I didn't ever use a manual pump but I always got HEAPS in the morning and then it trailed off during hte day, so I wouldn't be surprised that you get more just from a timing perspective. Sounds like you have a good set-up for you, well done
Kmn - as always, you have such great info & wise advice
Quick update from me given I'm not EE anymore! Bubba #2 is arriving next month and I'm GD+insulin again... so this time I'm approaching it quite differently. I've already engaged an LC, we're trying to express colostrum pre-birth (as GD bubs often get given FF from a bottle - happened with DS). We're hoping that even if she doesn't attach then she'll get my colostrum before my milk comes in... there'll be a sign on her crib - no bottles, no dummies - as hopefully that will improve any chance of her attaching. Maybe it won't make a difference, but I feel the need to try it. I don't know if I could EE again, with an active little 2yo fellow in the scene, so my goals are two-fold.
1) do my darndest to BF.
2) enjoy my baby.
I went to an ABA BF'ing class the other day and got some great ideas - looking back there was some things I didn't do with DS that I'll do this time, in particular really trying to keep that closeness/skin-to-skin/baths (without pressure to feed) and not getting stressed to the point I can't face BF'ing... but to keep the door open in case we can get better at it as she gets bigger.
look at your ticker! Sounds as though you are off to a great start, and I really do think you will have the advantage of hindsight this time, I know there are so many thing I would do differently if I had my time over, (in fact if I think about it I start to get a bit sad about it & that's really pointless, lol). But YKWIM, as you said there are already things that you know you can try this time. I am wishing you all the best & feel very positive for you 
Watching the pump was another thing that actually slowed my letdown.
So I've come crawling back to the world of exclusive expressing after my 4th bout of mastitis while breastfeeding. I think I just need to accept that this is the way for us, because I can't keep getting sick.
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