Expressing to boost supply

[Saisb]

Hey ladies,

Well, we had the five day weigh in a LO had lost over what is acceptable, and nappies not quite what they should be, so we now have a feeding plan. Have to top up with formula after every feed and from tomorrow start expressing to bring my supply up. Just interestied as to how people timed there expressing sessions? Straight after feeds or somewhere in the middle?

Thanks for your help and advice
Sarah
Xxxxx

 

[EmiLou123]

Expressing is difficult when you are feeding on demand as well. I would say a good time to express is after the first morning feed as your supply is meant to be higher then, but if you're not exclusively expressing it doesn't really matter when you express but you need to be careful you don't hinder your supply for LO when they want to feed, you will find a routine that works best for you though give it a few days xxx

 

[sallybee]

If you are expressing to increase supply, I would express straight after a feed as this will tell your body to make more milk. Even if you are dry pumping (ie not getting anything) keep going for at least 5 mins each side.
Don't worry about not having enough for your LO. Your body continually makes milk during a feed and even if you think you have totally drained your boobs LO is far, far more efficient than a pump and will always find something
Good luck xx

 

[MummyEdgar]

i tend to express "the other one" after he has finished a feed once a day, normally mid morning about 11:30, not sure why i chose that time? lol

 

[KarenC]

Hi hun, I went through the exact same thing. LO lost a lot of weight in the first two weeks and I had to supplement with formula. I expressed the boob that LO had fed on after every feed for at least 10 minutes. It's really important to express at night because it's the best time to stimulate your supply - between 1am and 5am make sure you express at least once. Sounds awful, and it is, but if you can boost your supply enough by doing this, you can make a success of breastfeeding. It took me until LO was 8 weeks old before I ditched the formula, but I managed it in the end and it is so worth all the trouble. The way I did it was not to increase the amount of top-up formula at any point. I started off by giving boob, then topped up with formula or expressed milk afterwards, but I was wasting expressed breastmilk because she wouldn't finish it, so I soon switched to offering 2oz formula/EBM BEFORE each feed, then put her on the boob, then expressed afterwards. What a palaver! If you feed this way, the other benefit is that LO associates the nice feeling of satisfaction and fullness at your breast, rather than at the bottle, and is less likely to reject boob in favour of bottle later on. I don't know how much this really matters, but what it meant for me was that I wasn't tempted into giving her more and more formula, so that I could eventually phase it out. I don't know if this makes any sense at all!

I found this website really useful for me, although I don't know how much it applies to your situation: http://www.lowmilksupply.org/

Good luck. PM me if you have questions xxx

 

[Saisb]

Hey lovelies,

Thank you all so much for your advice. Karen, it's so nice to hear from someone who has made it work and is now ebf. This would be my ideal! MW came round today, LO going to be weighed again tomorrow. She has finally started functioning properly in the toilet arena, so I'm so relieved, and she is really content now. I'm going to try and express after every feed, and see how that goes, but what you said karen really makes a lot of sense. Once I can gauge properly how much she is taking as a top up I'll start her on the bottle and finish on boob. I had the same problems after my first LO was born after a prolonged labour, the milk never met her demand but we combi fed for three months, and she's a healthy happy little lady now, so I know both is fine too. Just a bit upsetting when your sooooo hormonal!

Thanks again
Xxxxxx