Flossy, I had a very sick DS who wasnt able to BF at all. So I expressed from the start. I expressed exclusively for 12 months. All DS got was my EBM down his nasogastric tube. It had to be mixed with a booster to give him more calories but made it to 12 months with no formula.

Because I knew before he was born that he was going to be so sick I went to our hospt and had lessons from the LC on how to use the breast pumps and got that all organized before he was born. I had to go on Maxalon to keep the supply up and I tried a few different pumps until I found the Avent Isis hand pump which was great.

I think getting a LC was really good for me as it helped me feel more in control of getting this expressing going. Also I tried BF with DS for months but he was just too sick. I had a private LC outside the hopst for that and she was very encouraging. The ABA wasnt much use to me unfortunately as my DS was very sick and so the normal BF support wasnt what we needed.

You can express full time for as long as you want. As someone else said the next baby might just be completely different and you may not have any issues. I am pg again and I really want to be able to BF this next one. Wont have the nasogastric tube this time but I am prepared to express and bottle feed. I know how to do it now!

Good luck and ask away if you want to know about expressing full time for a longer time.