Advice for expressing empty boobs

I would like to express some milk to have on hand when I go out from time to time. A friend gave me her medela electric swing pump to try. I know it should be my best chance of expressing if I knew what to do.

Dd is now 7 months old, my breasts have well and truly settled. I have only the minimal amount of milk to feed her, she drains both boobs fully at each feed, and feeds often through the day and night. At no point in time do I feel full of milk.

Expressing after a feed has no result. I don't want to express between feeds because I'm worried she would go hungry.

Is there anything I should know, or is expressing just not an option for me?

Well apparently your breasts refill withing 20mins of a feed. So I would express between feeds, there will be enough for her at her next feed.

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Well apparently your breasts refill withing 20mins of a feed. So I would express between feeds, there will be enough for her at her next feed.

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Yep, I tend to agree. The more you pump/ feed the more you should make :) so your DD shouldnt go hungry at all. Buuuuuut do you have supply problems, is that what you mean by having the minimal amount to feed her?

Well I don't know, I seem to feed her very often and she always drains me, so is that supply problems? Possibly, in that no matter how often I feed her I don't seem to build up supply. But we make it work by just feeding more often. I don't think my supply is running out if that's what you mean, I'm just not much of a dairy cow.

I tried again about an hour and a half after a feed while she's asleep and got about 40mls. The pump was good for stimulating let down, but I had more luck hand expressing.

The thought occurred to me I might need a different boob attachment. Where do you buy them?



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40ml is a great amount to get! you can combine milk from different expressing sessions, as long as they are the same temperature.

try expressing in the morning, your prolactin levels are highest overnight and prolactin produces the milk so should be more there in the am. The flange ( the bit that sits on your boob) might be too big or too small, you may be able to get different sizes where they sell the same brand pumps.
Good luck, 40mls is great!

Expressing is a learned skill, so it can take quite some time to get your technique down (and may also require changes in equipment). It will also take time for your body to get the message that more milk is required.
You don't need to fill up - your breasts will make milk as required. Waiting 20-30 minutes after a feed can work well. Other mothers find it's easier to feed one side and express the other (at the same time).
Your baby won't go hungry if you express milk - you'll just make more :)

I've wondered the same thing about expressing when you have a short time between feeds - DD1 was a four hourly feeder so expressing at the 1 1/2 - 2 hour mark worked fine. But DD2 is more like 2/12 - 3 hours, I haven't tried it yet but to me it does seem like it will be trickier to get it all done with enough time to build up for the next feed. I have thought perhaps when the need arises to express I would either express overnight (when she has a longer stretch) or express at about the 1 1/2 hour mark, then feed her again normally when she next demands it. If she is satisfied with that feed then woo hoo, some EBM to put in the freezer, and I've added an extra 'feed' that my body feels it needs to supply milk for. If she isn't satisfied I could give some of the EBM back to her, but hopefully there would be some EBM left that I could slowly collect up, and it would also be putting that little bit extra demand in there that should result in more milk being produced after a few days. Does that make sense?

I think the best thing to do if your DD feeds at predictable times is to add another "feed" in where you feed the baby rather than the pump, and try and do it at the same time each day - after a few days your own milk production will have upped to match the "demand".

I would try expressing after the first feed in the morning, i always found i got the most at this time, but 40ml is a great amount, remember expressing is not an indication of how much milk you have. i always started every expressing session by hand expressing till the milk was coming out then got on the pump, i found this worked much better for me. If you get 40ml for a few days that will add up to a whole feed or two in the freezer. your body should adjust after a few days to the extra 'feed' the pump causes

Hi,

You have to get cunning at this age. Remember, breastfeeding works on supply and demand - the more you use the more you make. It's not like you are given a certain amount each day and that's all there is. When your breasts are empty they are making milk quickly. When they are full they have cut off milk production. From that point of view it is perfectly fine to express beteen feeds. Your body will make more milk - and quickly. My other hot tip is to feed one breast, express the other and then let your baby finish the one you expressed - you will find you have plenty of milk.

expressing is a learned skill for sure.
I found expressing one side in the morning, and the other when DD had her nap (and switching every day) and would freeze in 100ml lots.

Thanks everyone, your advice is received. It remains tricky for me for dd has absolutely no routine. She's a crap day sleeper (and not the greatest night sleeper) and between her and my veeeery demanding 3yo I don't have much time in the day where I can sit, relax, stare lovingly at my baby and express in peace, just doesn't happen. Mid morning is my best bet when dd is most likely to sleep.

I've called medela re: correct breastshield size and they suggested I talk to a lactation consultant who can abvise me on what I'm doing which I realise now I probably should do because expressing has always been a challenge for me, I wore myself ragged trying to express when ds was a baby and I wasn't ever going to do it again, but I do need some freedom so I'd like to make it work.

to be honest, I feel so disheartened when I hear other women talk about expressing 280mls or more in 1 sitting. Nothing in my life is ever that easy.

Women who express a bucket in one sitting are expressing instead of feeding their baby. I went back to work, had to express once at lunchtime (instead of the 3 or 4 feeds DS would have had if I had been home), and would end up with a couple of bottles full. In your case that's just all going into your baby.
If you google "nursing angel" you will find a rough guide to breastshield size too.

You may be better off just hand expressing into a clean cup whenever you can. Put the cup back in the fridge and squirt some more when you have a minute!

I'm going for a shower, but I'll be back to read this thread - I'm currently going through this problem myself. I'm lucky to get 10mls nowerdays :(

Some other tips for getting more out are to put warm face-washers on your breasts before you express, gentle breast compression while expressing, switching sides after each let down, and for some mums, distracting themselves by watching TV or reading while expressing really helps.