Breast feeding question

[nori]

Hello ladies,

Im not sure if this is the right place to post this as i STILL dont have a baby. Feel free to move it mods.

I was reading a certain book (dont think i can mention its name as im sure someone got told off for it before) but it advises you to express your breast milk (after about 2 weeks i think) twice a day so your boobs actually produce more breastmilk than the baby needs. This will then cause less problems when your baby has growth spurts.

Has anyone done this atall? I was under the impression its best to wait about 6 weeks before you mess around with expressing?

Oh and Valentine... i hope you are ready for me!! lol

Claire x

 

[mum's the word]

I think that if you fancy feeling like a milk machine then go for it! there's no way i would have had the time energy or inclination to do this-i'm sure SOMEONE will have tried it successfully tho!

 

[*Star*]

hmm no i wouldn't do that. you could suffer from engorgement if baby doesn't feed, and in my opinion, unless you are going to freeze it for later, or donate it, it's a waste.

and tbh, i wouldn't have found time to express twice a day inbetween all the other feeds and getting baby settled on the breast.

i personally wouldn't. after 6 weeks if baby is more content with feeding and such then i would think that would be fine, but really your body will react so quickly to baby having a growth spurt and will produce more milk quickly that it seems like a faffy thing to do.

 

[LisaJ1986]

What Star said! Your body is a wonderful thing and soon adjusts to growth spurts!
If it's not necessary then don't bother.

 

[purple13]

as above - your body responds so quickly to what the baby needs - its a remarkable thing

connor had been down to just a few feeds a day until he got poorly earlier this week and started feeding almost constantly. my poor boobs didn't complain once though, and were very accommodating. growth spurts (and poorly spells) are tough, and you will feel like your baby is a newborn again and permanently attached to your chest; but it passes eventually and your body will adjust accordingly.

 

[Squiglet]

Hello ladies,

Im not sure if this is the right place to post this as i STILL dont have a baby. Feel free to move it mods.

I was reading a certain book (dont think i can mention its name as im sure someone got told off for it before) but it advises you to express your breast milk (after about 2 weeks i think) twice a day so your boobs actually produce more breastmilk than the baby needs. This will then cause less problems when your baby has growth spurts.

Has anyone done this atall? I was under the impression its best to wait about 6 weeks before you mess around with expressing?

Oh and Valentine... i hope you are ready for me!! lol

Claire x

That person has clearly never had to breastfeed a newborn... Where would find the time if you are fully feeding too.. ?

 

[nori]

Hello ladies,

Im not sure if this is the right place to post this as i STILL dont have a baby. Feel free to move it mods.

I was reading a certain book (dont think i can mention its name as im sure someone got told off for it before) but it advises you to express your breast milk (after about 2 weeks i think) twice a day so your boobs actually produce more breastmilk than the baby needs. This will then cause less problems when your baby has growth spurts.

Has anyone done this atall? I was under the impression its best to wait about 6 weeks before you mess around with expressing?

Oh and Valentine... i hope you are ready for me!! lol

Claire x

That person has clearly never had to breastfeed a newborn... Where would find the time if you are fully feeding too.. ?

Apparently you express on one boob whilst feeding on the other?

 

[Sherlock]

Apparently you express on one boob whilst feeding on the other?

Give me 8 arms and I might manage that but otherwise Is this woman able to hold a fussing baby, help position his head and hold him to the boob and then somehow magic a breast pump onto her other boob and have it held there by some invisible force while it pumped. And how invasive for the bonding experience between mother and baby while feeding If I had tried to express while BF'ing LO in the early weeks I'd have never even gotten close to coping. I needed both hands to help hold him in position as he was a big baby and I needed to get his latch and position correct or else he hurt me like hell.

Seriously, there is no need to express like this. As others have said, baby is great at letting you know and your body will respond. Expressing from one boob while feeding on the other sounds like a recipe for disaster if like me you have a baby who fed alot in the early months (every 90 minutes or so and sometimes would empty both boobs in one go). How would I know which feed he would need more than one boobs worth and what the hell would I do if I expressed a boob off and he needed or wanted it then? I'd have a riot on my hands with him. It would not have helped me in the least.

I'd really trust your baby to lead you and let them feed as and when to help build you supply to meet their demand. Expressing is fine if your baby misses a feed and you need to let a bit out of a boob or you need to leave a feed for someone who is looking after your baby but for growth spurts to help supply increase pfffft. Sorry sounds like a crock to me

 

[nori]

LOL.. maybe i wont take that bit of advice from the book i read then!

Claire x

 

[Sherlock]

LOL.. maybe i wont take that bit of advice from the book i read then!

Claire x

If this book is written by a certain lady with the initials GF then I am always wary I've nannied for many familes (ok not looked after a many children as her) but would never presume to tell someone how to BF if I'd not experienced it for myself. And even then I would only offer advice if anyone was asking. Unless she has had a baby in the past few years and gone through it herself I'd not listen to those things.

Its an amazing experience if you can make it through the early weeks when its incredibly hard work and tiring. Let your baby guide you and relax and just focus on breastfeeding and forget about expressing or putting pressure on yourself to be following what a book says in that area. Its trial and error. The ladies here on PF are an invaluable source of help and advice when it comes to BF'ing. I'd ask here first before anywhere else or doing anything any book has to say, thats for sure.

 

[nori]

yeah i think you could be right there sherlock. i do like the idea of following a rough routine though after the first couple of weeks just so i have a guide.

 

[*Star*]

yeah i think you could be right there sherlock. i do like the idea of following a rough routine though after the first couple of weeks just so i have a guide.

your baby will guide you nori

 

[1588]

Hi Clare

I had the book that Sherlock is on about, I tried it for a week and then chucked it.............. far too stressful trying to keep it all together.

in the end i binned it and lottie took control. i think it just sets you up to fail as you can't follow it religiously.

good luck.... baby on the way soon, i just know it

 

[valentine]

I'm ready for you nori!

I agree with everyone else - that's putting a lot of unnecessary pressure on you. By all means, express regularly (I did once every 2 days, always in the morning), but I would wait until after 6 weeks and your supply has settled down to meet baby's needs.

Remember GF has never had a baby or therefore breastfed.

I am trying to remember to get round to sending you some threads to read, I'm rapidly running out of time!

Valentine Xxx