How much to express

[holly1]

Hi

Im looking to express as soon as baby is born and feeding my LO my milk via a bottle.

Just wondering how much the baby will need. Sorry if this sounds like a silly question and im sure all babies are different but as a first time mum I have no idea how much baby will need. Would be fab if anyone has been in this position and can give me a rough idea as to how much their baby had in one sitting and how many times a day.

Many thanks

x

 

[Alleig]

Babies are much more efficient than a pump at draining the breast so it's not the best way to establish a supply. Babies' suckles communicate to your body how much milk is needed and that isn't a fixed amount. Nor does it happen at regularly scheduled intervals. Why do you want to express and bottle feed so quickly?

 

[gksfby]

You will not be able to express much other than a couple drops for the 3-5 days before your milk come in. Then I have heard you need approx the baby weight in half for oz so 10 pounds baby needs 5oz per feed )approx every 2 hours, 8 pound baby 4oz a feed and so on

 

[tiggy85]

Why are you planning on expressing and feeding by a bottle straight away?

This is much more difficult than bottle feeding formula or breastfeeding exclusively.

In answer to your question then it's literally mls in the first few days whilst it's just colostrum. Baby's tummy is the size of a small marble to start with. It grows and thus their appetite and volume of feed increases particularly as the milk comes in around day 4. A baby 4 weeks old on average will consume 25 oz of milk in 24hrs but studies show a range of 19-30oz a day. Before 4 weeks it is variable from baby to baby.

 

[holly1]

Thank you ladies that's really helpful.

I feel really awful but bf just isn't for me I cant think why and I do feel so bad for feeling this way as its the most natural thing to do. Im planning to try and bf in hospital and im really hoping it just comes naturally and I feel different to how I feel now. I don't really want to express either but I really would love to give my lo breast milk so im thinking that this is the next best option for me. I will try and bf until my milk comes in, but im just preparing myself incase my mind doesn't change.

Im just hoping my mind changes......

 

[Kimmyj_b]

Same with me Holly. I'm going to give it a good go as i owe that to my baby, but it isn't something I feel particularly comfortable with. Hoping that everything clicks in to place when i meet my daughter xx

 

[holly1]

Thanks kimmy! I'm really hoping it does. I just feel bad not feeling that way but it is nice to know that I'm not the only one. Let's hope it clicks for us x

 

[tiggy85]

See how you feel Hun. There is a lot of pressure to bf but there shouldn't be. You may feel different when baby is here. Baby suckling releases lots of feel good hormones and helps you to go back to sleep in the night. Which you wouldn't get from pumping or formula feeding so you may find you want to bf. Good luck x

 

[BevG]

to maintain supply if your not putting baby to breast you need to pump for 20 mins at least every 2-3 hrs your supply should increase as you go along

 

[SarahLouB]

I had to express and bottle feed for the first 2 weeks because my LO would not latch on. It is honestly one of the hardest things I have ever done. I was expressing every 2-3 hours day and night and then it was taking her almost an hour to finish a bottle so it was constant. I felt like a dairy cow! When I finally got her to latch on using nipple shields it was the best feeling in the world and I had so much more time to do things!

Before I had my LG I was really unsure about BF. I thought I would be embarrassed doing it in front of my friends and family and I couldn't even imagine doing it in public. But as soon as she came along all those feelings just went and when I finally got her to latch on I just didn't care! I'll BF in front of anyone now and doing it in public is not a problem at all. In fact, I think I felt more uncomfortable giving her bottle's in public because I thought people would be judging me!

Anyway, at the end of the day, it's up to you how you want to feed your baby but I wouldn't recommend pumping and bottle feeding unless that was your only option.

 

[holly1]

thank you for sharing your experiences it is really helpful. I must say it does make more sense to bf and not exclusively pumping so I am really hoping that my feelings change once LO is hear. I think if my feelings change I would still like to express a little just so OH can do a few feeds not to help me out but just so he also has the experience of feeding out baby too.

x