Hi

After 10 days of trying to get LO to latch on and stay on long enough to get enough food have come to decision to stop trying to feed him naturally as I'm in complete agony and neither of us are getting any enjoyment out of it at all. Have been pretty much exclusively expressing for past 5 days, and hope to continue doing this as long as possible, supplementing with formula when necessary.

Have been reading Mrs Calopa's thread with interest but had some questions about early days - did you stick to a very rigid expressing routine to ensure supply was adequate? Have been trying to do it 9 times a day but overnight and this morning I hardly got any out (~40ml) when normally I can get upto 80-90mls so had to give him some formula to supplement. I'm pretty sure I'm not draining each breast so it may be a pump issue but not sure as has been OK before.

Any more advice about how to get through early days would be much appreciated, am gutted that cant BF him so this is next best option and want to give it best shot possible for his sake.

Thanks
Chubs





[Modified by: chubs113 on 18 March 2010 09:53:18 ]

Hiya

I found that when I first started expressing I wasn't getting much but have noticed over time it increasing alot and have even managed to get a freezer supply built up. On the first day I started exclusvle expressing I managed to get 340 ml in 8 sessions and this started to increase each day. I have been doing it now for about 4 and half weeks and yesterday I managed to get 1110 ml in 5 expressing sessions! I did notice that when I started taking pregnancy care for new mums my supply increased!

I try to have some kind a routine to when I am expressing just so I know where I am up to and also can plan my day.

What pump are you using?

Also have you been to a breast feeding group? They will be able to give you help to get your LO latched on. They think my LO is tounge tied and thats why she is not latching on properly and we have an appointment to sort this out tomorrow.

It does get easier - and I never thought I would hear myself say that!

Lawso is a excellent one to pick someones brains about exclusively expressing. I also found lots of information on the Kellymoms website x

please try to find a bf group or counsellor through the nct, Theyre magic! I was the same as you with my 2 year old but this baby is being bf since i went to them at day 4... in tears! Harry started with me using nipple shields at each feed as he couldnt latch on, but a week later he hardly needed them, and its only on the occassional night that we need them now. I cant thank those ladies enough so would def recommend.

good luck x

please try to find a bf group or counsellor through the nct, Theyre magic! I was the same as you with my 2 year old but this baby is being bf since i went to them at day 4... in tears! Harry started with me using nipple shields at each feed as he couldnt latch on, but a week later he hardly needed them, and its only on the occassional night that we need them now. I cant thank those ladies enough so would def recommend.

good luck x

Hi there and well done on getting this far. If you would prefer to BF rather than express I'd definitely suggest you get someone to check over your latch. Also keeping putting your LO to the breast now and again, as they may get more efficient over time and return there fully at some point.

As for expressing, it's hard work but definitely worth it. To answer your questions, yes I always stuck to a rigid time scale for expressing, I religiously do it 5 times a day for 15-30 minutes a time, at set times (give or take an hour if it clashed with LO feeding, etc). They do advise that you express as often as your LO feeds but I couldn't sustain that at home when my LO was on 12 feeds a day! Make a decision on what suits you, stick with it and your supply will increase over time. We did have to supplement with 1 formula feed in the early days but this soon dwindled down over a few weeks. If you think you've a dodgy pump, do get it checked out and I believe that most hospitals will let you borrow one if needed.

Also wanted to add, when you express, you should let all the milk come from the breast and continue to express for a few extra minutes as this will stimulate further supply. It does take time to increase though and you'll have to be patient.

One tip, have tummy time with you and your LO both naked, for a few hours if you can do it, as this is supposed to help increase supply. Also make sure you eat and drink plenty and try to be relaxed. Stress really does affect the amount you get, could that be why you've been getting a bit less this morning?

Any questions please don't hesitate to ask. I've been exclusively expressing for 13 weeks now and just love meeting others going through the same thing. Wishing you lots of luck xx

Thanks for your replies, its really helpful to know others are doing it and all advice is so much appreciated

We've been to the BF clinic at the maternity unit twice and spent hours there trying to get him latched but he just falls off. Also tried during all MW visits with same outcome. Tried the nipple shields when still in hospital on day 1 but he doesnt take enough into his mouth and just ends up making me even more sore with his vice like suckling! MW did tell me to keep letting him suckle to increase supply and today he did two small 10 minute feeds from me, although it took a few attempts to get him latched on so he'd stay. Seems to work fine mid afternoon so am going to try and do that at a similar time every day once I've expressed and see if we can build from there.

There's a local support group once a week that I may go to next week once Dh back at work - I can keep going to hospital clinic but not sure how much more they can do to help more than they have already??

I've got the TT electric pump but I do think its knackered as I got out the manual this morning and have got off about 300mls from 4 sessions. Actually find the manual pump much easier - can do it whilst holding LO and seem to get a similar output, means should be able to do it in middle of night in bed and not worry about waking DH!! The hospital did lend me one of theirs for the weekend - was a double and whilst it was good in that it worked them both at the same time I found it unbelievably difficult to use and DH ended up having to turn all the controls for me when I needed them adjusted! Not sure if its me doing it wrong or not though.