BF Gurus - Expressing tips please!
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Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
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Topic: BF Gurus - Expressing tips please!
Posted By: Joscia
Subject: BF Gurus - Expressing tips please!
Date Posted: 20 January 2010 at 2:50pm
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Hi ladies,
From next month DS is going to be with a nanny 2 days a week while I ease back into work. (He'll be 8 months) He'll be with another wee boy at my house, and, for the first while at least I intend to be working from home, so I'll be there too. This means that I'll be able to continue with BF'ing as usual for the beginning. At the moment he's still feeding 3hrly (9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm) with the odd top up. I'm also doing BLW, so solids are still a wee bit haphazard at this stage. Eventually, when I need to go into the office for one, maybe both days, I will obviously need to express enough to cover at least a couple of feeds. (Looks like the nanny will be here 9am-4pm) So my queries are: - How much do I need to express? Is it as simple as weighing DS before and after a feed to get an idea of how much he's drinking? - Is it worthwhile to take a supplement (blessed thistle or something?) to increase my supply a bit to get a stockpile of milk in the freezer? - I guess I'll need to express the missed feeds when I'm at work to keep my supply up. Once I do this, will it provide enough for the next day?? Any tips / advice would be most appreciated. I'd really love to keep BFing for as long as possible, but am feeling pretty nervous about this  ------------- http://alterna-tickers.com"> 
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Replies:
Posted By: Mamma2N
Date Posted: 20 January 2010 at 3:39pm
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Hiya Joscia,
I work once a week and am away from DD for up to 10hours. I express every morning with the boob that hasn't been fed from, usually get between 60-100mls. I still demand feed DD and DH tells me she rarely drinks more than 350mls during the time I'm away. So her last feed from me is about 9am and her next one is around 7pm (bedtime). I make up bottles in 100ml lots. And he gives them to her whenever she demands them. During this time it isn't possible for me to express (working in a restaurant), I just find that for a day or two after DD may feed a little more to build my supply back up again. If I were able to though, I would definetly express. Also I only have a manual pump, wish I had an electric as it seems my boobies are very used to DD, not the pump ie.. get home from work and can only express 10mls! Then DD jumps on and drains them in 5mins flat 
Never hurts to take things like blessed thistle to increase supply. If you manage to get a stockpile then great! Don't feel nervous, just relax while you're expressing and don't worry to much about the amount you get the first few times you try. When I stopped working for 5 weeks and didn't express at all, I found i could barely get out 10mls for the first few days to a week! |
Posted By: lovingmummyhood
Date Posted: 20 January 2010 at 9:26pm
Good on you for wanting to continue while back at work 
I can't really add to what Mamma2N has said. A supplement definitely wouldn't hurt (and good thinking about stockpiling now). If you are able to express the missed feeds while working then great, but if not your supply will adjust. Try to relax while expressing - some people find having a photo of their child, or visualisation (waterfalls etc) helps them. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: mummyofprinces
Date Posted: 21 January 2010 at 11:04pm
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Dont be surprised if you cant express as much as your baby needs for a feed would be all I would add.
I can express at night and get 50 - 120 ml and if I have missed the bedtime feed then I can get 100-200ml. If I am away for a feed during the day I can only manage to get a max of 60ml. Perhaps try expressing while you are still working from home and having the nanny bottle feed for a couple of weeks before you will be heading back to the office to see how much you express and how much he takes.... -------------   
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Posted By: Joscia
Date Posted: 22 January 2010 at 9:57am
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Thanks for the advice everyone!
Melnel - good tip - that's what I reckon I'll do. He's still slightly iffy about the bottle too (loves playing with it, not so efficient at actually drinking out of it yet)- so it will need to be bit of a gradual process. ------------- http://alterna-tickers.com">
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Posted By: Stogglebox
Date Posted: 22 January 2010 at 12:38pm
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I expressed milk at work for 16 weeks before 'giving up' - but I learnt a few things along the way....
- Try and stockpile before you go back to work, because inevitably there will be days where your mind is on your work and you can't express much. Then you have a back up. - Photos of your baby are good, but I also found NOT thinking about my baby helped too. I went through a period of buying random magazines and just reading them while I was expressing, which I guess got me relaxed and not so worried about - will I get anything today?). - Start by massaging/hand expressing to get the juices flowing. -Get an electric double pump. Definitely worth it. -Freeze your milk in varied amounts - then if your baby has a growth spurt or something you can combine bottles/give a big one rather than a small one etc. Good luck! ------------- Mother of Natsumi Sarah born on 23 January 2009 |
Posted By: Stogglebox
Date Posted: 22 January 2010 at 12:40pm
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Oh, and your baby will always be able to drink more from you than you can get from a pump, which is why it is quite good to express from both breasts rather than just one. THen you know you will have enough. And whatever you express, your body will get used to making that amount. ------------- Mother of Natsumi Sarah born on 23 January 2009 |
Posted By: Stogglebox
Date Posted: 22 January 2010 at 12:41pm
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AND, I found that my baby always used to drink only enough from the EBM bottle to tide herself over, and then drink lots from me as soon as I was home! ------------- Mother of Natsumi Sarah born on 23 January 2009 |
Posted By: kaybee
Date Posted: 25 January 2010 at 1:33pm
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I just want to add that all employers now need to provide a place for women to breastfeed or express milk while at work as well breaks for this purpose.
I don't know how feasible this would be for you, I did have a boss once who would express milk while at work and her nanny would come pick it up half way through the day, it worked well for her
http://www.ers.dol.govt.nz/factsheets/infantfeeding-for-employers.html ------------- 
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Posted By: Mamma2N
Date Posted: 25 January 2010 at 1:39pm
Absolutely! And so they should However for me this just isn't feasible - (not that my employer wouldn't let me) but I work in a fast-paced restaurant where there is no way I would be relaxed enough to express a drop
It is good to see that it is a requirement for lactating mothers though
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kaybee wrote:Posted By: HoneybunsMa
Date Posted: 25 January 2010 at 1:39pm
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Also, feed baby then express while your still at home, this way you start the stock pile and you also up your supply. ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker"> 
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