Question For Barb & Anyone Else Who Can Help!

Hi Ladies :D

Just have an enquiry as far as breast pumps go ;)

When Ds was born, I expressed fairly regularly - I had a massive supply of milk, so much that while I was in the hospital, I fed both DS & also my milk was used to feed a premmie baby in the nursery who was struggling with a drug addiction after being born :(

I've been looking at pumps to buy this time round, and obviously, 12 yrs later things have changed a little ;)

I don't remember electric pumps being available back then (except for the one I used in the hospital) - is one better than the other (electric/manual) as far as whats best for your supply & general care of your breasts (with milk ducts etc?)

I didn't have any issues last time as far as the amount or length of time it took to express - hopefully I'm lucky enough to be the same this time round as well.

Just curious as to if one is better for overall care & to maintain a healthy supply ;)

Also another topic which perhaps needs its own thread - but while you're all reading this ;)
How do I go about looking into donating to milk banks?
Is it a fairly straightforward thing?

If I'm lucky enough to have the supply I had last time, I'd love to be able to help - although I helped the little baby last time, it was only for short time before she was moved to another hospial & then to a foster family... after that, a lot of my milk went wasted down the drain in the shower last time :(
I would love to put it to good use this time for longer.

Thanks in advance for your advice :D

I can't help with the milk bank babe... last time I enquired up here, it just wasn't possible.... :shakehead:

But I can with the pump!!! :lol: ;)

I used a Ameda Purely Yours, elec double pump.

And it was used up to 12 times a day, for just over 10 months, and not one minutes of trouble with it. :D

It is extremely easy to use, has controls for how hard to suck, and how fast to suck, so you can put it on soft but fast suck to get letdown, then adjust to stronger but longer sucks... just like what baby does when baby is on the breast.... just awesome..... :D

I think there is a milk bank in QLD & one in WA for some reason. I'm really not sure why I think that or if its right though. I probably very wrong, lol.
I do know that they only want milk from a mum who's bub is under 6 months. Once they hit 6 months BM looses most of the anti bodies NB need, so under 6 months is preferable.
You might not have quite the supply you had last time, but I still say go for it if you can! I really can't say how much milk you'll have, but I do know that I had way, way more with DD1 than I did for the other 2. I used to spray getting out of the shower, lol!
I'm not sure if its the same for everyone though.
Good luck!

BTW - sorry, I have no idea about breast pumps!

I can't help with the questions - but I can help with breast pumps - if you don't mind secondhand ones, PM me, I might be able to help you :D

First, to milk banks - I am donating to one at Tweed, not sure where you are but if you want I can PM you details - the co-ordinator might be able to put you onto somewhere closer to you. I had heard the same as bjrose, that they don't want milk past 6mths - but I asked her last time she picked up & she said they would still take it, it's not quite as valuable as the earlier milk but still useful.

As for pumps, I'm using an Ameda Purely Yours & I love it too :D although I have to say I don't know if it's worth grabbing unless you're full-time expressing (or planning to). I did have an Avent IQ (single electric pump) before AR arrived, planning on occasional expressing, but we ended up expressing FT & I never used the Avent. With DS2 I used the manual Avent & it was quite good.
It might be worth waiting to see what your requirements are WRT expressing before you fork out big bucks for a double electric pump... I was lucky my Avent was unopened & I was able to return it.

HTH :)

Holly, it really depends on why you are wanting to express and how often you will be expressing. For frequent expressing there is no doubt that the electric ones are the way to go, and one with a double kit is highly recommended. However, that's not necessary if you won't be expressing much.

WRT the milk banks, the PPs are correct - there is one on the Gold Coast that has just started running again, one in the process of opening at the Mercy in Melbourne and one in WA (I think that's still going). If you are not near those, then you will be unable to donate. You will need to contact the milk banks directly for more information. It's such a pity the Government didn't follow through on the recommendation to fund national milk banks which came out of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Breastfeeding. It never hurts to write to your local member though ;)

Hey Holly. Are you planning on expressing for the purpose of donating to milk banks or would you like to be able to feed your bub expressed milk? Or is it just to get yourself comfortable due to an oversupply?
If your worry is oversupply then you'd probably be best not to pump too much at all, particularly in the first few weeks. In which case, I'd go with a manual pump (if any - you could always hand-express excess milk). Expressing a lot means you're going to make heaps more, so the advice I've always received from ABA folk is not to express too much, particularly in the first 6 weeks, if you want to regulate your supply to your baby's demands.
If you're planning on feeding bubs expressed milk or doing a lot of donating (not sure that there are any milk banks around here?) then my personal opinion (FWIW!) would be to go for an electric. I've not used them before but they've got to be a billion times less boring than expressing a bottle-full from a manual pump. Ugh, soooooooo booooooooooring! LOL!
GL and if you'd like a 2nd hand manual pump for nuthin, look no further. :)

Thanks girls :D

I was looking at getting one of the electric dual ones as when I expressed last time as soon as I started pumping one side, the other side literally just spurted everywhere :lol:
Everyone told me this would settle down but I think DS was at least 4 months old before it settled down, and even then I continuously leaked from the side not being expressed.

Amy - thanks for the info about the ABA telling you not to express too much :)
I remember them saying the same to me too - I would love to donate to the banks but sounds like I won't be able to if there's none in Sydney :(

I wanted to express for that purpose - but also so I had some in the house for DH & DS to be able to feed bub every now & then for their own bonding purposes - and also to mix with the cereal etc once solids begin (and also if we need to leave bub with someone over feeding times etc).

I did also really need the pump last time - I hand expressed when I was in a little pain due to oversupply but apart from being slow & not so comfortable, just watching it go down the drain in the shower seemed like such a waste to me :( If I'm expressing it into something to store, at least it will go to good use (somehow ;))

I also really wanted to make sure that one type of pump wasn't better than the other as far as breast care went - because if one type wasn't so great, you can bet thats the one I would've gotten :rofl:

Don't take my word for it on the banks! Just cause I haven't heard of any doesn't mean there aren't any :) (Might be an idea to ask around the local hospitals? Maybe some of the more BF-savvy midwives out there might know what's about the place...)
I know, it is completely heart-wrenching seeing expressed milk go down the drain! Totally understand you there.
You know, I didn't even consider breast care when expressing... I'm pretty thoughtless though. Again, FWIW, the Medela Manual pump I've used has been fine. The pressure is adjustable, so if for some reason it feels a bit ouchy, I can just turn the suction down. (Though I reckon my nipples are made of steel these days. You should see the abuse I cop on a regular basis ;) ) Can't help with the electric ones though... But I'd think if you're going to do a fair bit of expressing and money's not really an issue, then they've got to be the way to go. Must be a million times easier to not have to pump it yourself (I had to swap hands constantly) and probably easier to be able to pump while feeding too...

Hey Hollybolly
I just got the Medela Swing Electric pump - it is fantastic. Very comfortable and works really well, quickly too! As for banks? I agree it seems such a waste! I too had oversupply but I was lead to believe here in SA they don't take it :shakehead: I am sure there are some bubs out there that need it! Anyway, goodluck I am sure you'll have a great BF experience this time too!
rach xx