Forum : Pregnancy

I breastfed and expressed for the first 6 months with my daughter. My husband gave the evening expressed feed before bed and I also was lucky enough to be able to express extra so that if I wanted an afternoon off there was always expressed milk available. It is hard going but well worth the effort. I used the Tommee Tippee electric expressing machine which Asda usually do 50% off during their baby events. Good luck!

Hey, i breast fed my daughter for 10 months but from 7 months used formula in the day and just a breast night feed (and also solids)

I didnt express purely as there was no reason to, i didnt have a supportive involved partner etc.

This time round i still want to breast feed but my daughter and partner (different one) wants to help.

I have brought a steraliser and am waiting for a decent electric breast pump to go on sale. I have also brought bottles so my partner and daughter can help with feeding. Re bottles i was advsed to buy tommy tippee bottles as these are shaped more so like breast than other bottles.

I have read that you shouldnt express for th first 6 weeks so that you can establish a good feeding routine.

Re breast pump, i have been advised to use the medula pumps, but like you would like some feedback. xx

hi, i breastfeed dylan, i bought i steriliser, manual breastpump, nipple shields, nipple cream, breastpads and some bottles before i had dylan just incase i needed them, they will all come in handy when you decide to express, they advise to breastfeed only for the first 4-6 weeks until feeding has been established before introducing a dummy or bottle, just to stop confusion, after that i would try a bottle during the day when he/she is not very hungry but getting ready for a feed and take it from there if they take the bottle, dont want to try it 1st at night when you are tired and baby is as they may not take to it straight away. i used an avent breastpump with no problems so no need to go for the posh expensive things, they all do the same job,
just take it how it comes and follow your instincts, all babies and parents are different
in your birth to five book you get, all the information with storing breastmilk is in there, hope ive helped a little bit xx

Thank you guys that helps! I am trying my best to be organised and the way time is flying at the moment I've not got all that much time left, I have 12 weeks left at work and about 15 till peewee arrives! I've seen that Amazon have got stuff on sale at the moment which is good just have to wait till pay day now which sucks!
Amy I do hope Dylan is ok now and coming along well! xxx

Hi,
I breastfed my DS until he started refusing the breast which was at 10 months (he preferred his cup). . I only expressed once in this time so that my OH could feed him but he hated the bottle so I didn't try again and he never had a bottle, he went straight from breast to cup.
I am now breastfeeding my DD (7 weeks old).
I personally wouldn't express as i find feeding straight from the breast is so much easier but if my OH did want to help I would definitely only let him do the day feeds as when your LO wakes iin the night he/she will wake you any way and doing it straight from the breast is so much quicker and more convenient
Lea xx

Hi Ann-Marie how are you feeling? I agree with Lea definitely do breastfeeds in the night, much easier and also will stop you from getting engorged. Max had a bottle of formula every evening around 7pm from 2 weeks old but I always gave him a breastfeed at bedtime and through the night.
I wouldn't buy a breast pump until you've got feeding established just in case it doesn't work out, I had the medela swing and it was really good but expensive and in the 4 months I breastfed I probably used it less than 20 times. I found expressing more uncomfortable than feeding and it would take ages to get a small amount out so really wasn't worth it for me. Some people manage to express with no problems though, the main issue for me was having the time to do it once hubby went back to work. Definitely get steriliser and bottles etc but I'd leave the actual pump until baby is here xxx

My boy didn't want to be breastfed, we had had real difficulties getting him attached for the first 3 days and by then he'd lost 10.4% body weight. I wasn't shown how to feed him properly before I went home and I'm now feeding him expressed breatsmilk only. Am filling up a whole Tommee Tippee bottle every 3-4 hours, which corresponds with his natural demand, which is really exhausting but it's worth it knowing that he's getting the best milk supply even if he doesn't want the breast. I would have liked to persevere with him but when I was offered help by the midwives in the hospital, rather than those at the birthing center where he was born, he was already 6 days old and I had been very ill on day 5 and quite frankly we were so exhausted we decided it was easiest to do it this way.

We enjoy the fact that we can share in the feeds but it does mean there's a lot of work when it comes to sterilising and it has taken a few days to get a routine with the washing. Now I'm about to try freezing some because I'm producing that much we're running out of space in the fridge, running out of bottles and throwing some away! My boobs are like rocks and I'm expressing to ease my pain at every feeding time anyway, so it doesn't really mean I can get some more sleep while my partner feeds him.

I'm using a Medela electric pump, as suggested by midwives, same as what they use in the hospital except it's a hand one, not a machine on a tripod...thing... which makes a LOT of noise and isn't as strong as the ones they have in hospitals so it isn't fun at all. We also got a hand expressor before but were told we wouldn't be able to keep up with all the hand pumping.... to be honest I'm finding it easier, MUCH quieter and more effective at drawing out the milk, so in a way that was _60 on an electric pump we didn't need.

When we got home we realised the sterilier we were given was actually broken so 5 pints of sterilised water leaked out all over the kitchen side and onto the floor and my partner got into a bit of a rage, so we just use a washing up tub with a plate laid over the bottles to hold them down in the water, kinda what we used in the hospital - and what our mothers suggested to use - so we have got away with not buying a steriliser! Of course we have to leave things in there for about 25 minutes until they're ready but we're on day 11 now and we seem to have things settled.

The plan is to keep going with expressing breast milk as long as possible before moving onto formula, but because it is such a tiring method of feeding I'm aiming for the end of the month and then I'll see how I feel about going on for another month.

I know for sure that with my next baby I'll ignore the midwives and get on top of establishing breastfeeding myself, because without knowing at all what I should have been doing my boy was left too long without that initial bonding and he was always in hysterics when he came to the breast, so neither of us were relaxed.

Good luck with whatever you do, just remember to be comfortable and make the decision for yourself, not for the midwives.

hi
i breast feed all 3 of my children and once my milk came in i hand expressed in the shower (heat helps) and my partner used that that once my milk was more established i used a boots own hand pump to express i did try an electric one but it wasnt for me (most community hospital you can hire them so you can work out which is best for you before going out to buy one)
if you have excess expressed milk it can be frozen down (use milk At room temperature for up to six hours. In a cold box with ice packs for up to 24 hours.In a fridge (at four degrees C or colder) for up to five days.In a fridge_s freezer compartment for two weeks. In a home freezer (at -18 degrees C or lower) for up to six months.) it dose seperate though but all you have to do is give it a shake. and you shouldnt defrost or reheat breast milk in the microwave.
good luck and hope it all goes well for you
xxx