Reassurance on Expressed Breast Milk

[SaraLouise]

Hi ladies,

My little man us 4 days old today & I am expressing breast milk as we are finding it very difficult to latch or keep his interest in suckling once latched. I am going to see the breastfeeding consultant today who will hopefully be able to help but until then I just wanted to make sure I an doing the right things..

He is feeding every 2-3 hours, and I am trying him on the boob first (even though it seems futile- I'm stubborn hahan) then expressing for 12minutes which is resulting in between 40-50ml of milk. Is this enough for him?

Google doesn't seem to help as it just says let him feed for however long he wants but obviously with expressing you can't do that :/

 

[Hope81]

At that age Amelie was eating 40-60 ml every 3 h.
Keep trying the baby on boob every time and if not then express.
I was expressing 15 min each side every 3 h day and night but unfortunately I didn't have a good supply.
My baby as yours was a nightmare to latch and wasn't staying latched for more than seconds....
I expressed until 8 weeks when my supply completely died.

 

[Jajis]

I'm not sure on the amounts (I have what Alex took written down somewhere, just not sure where...), and I think that it probably does vary quite a lot between babies. I think I tried to express a few 'extra' times near the start in order that I was always a couple of feeds ahead - that way if he seemed like he hadn't had enough I could give him some of the next lot. It was hard work though, the last thing I felt like doing was sitting and expressing all the time.

Definitely keep trying him on the boob each time, because fingers crossed, one day he'll just 'get it'. I expressed for two weeks because Alex couldn't/wouldn't latch properly, and then finally he got it and he's been breast feeding ever since (he's 11 months now). Really hope that your LO works it out soon

 

[Emamay]

I expressed for six weeks because Cay just didn't get it.
I remember being in hospital syringe-feeding 1ml of expressed!!

You need to express around every three hours. Your milk supply is still settling until about five/six weeks, so if you can express more often, do so.

Empty each breast, then feed as much as is required. It would help if you could get some "extra" milk to start with. When baby looks hungry, put him to the breast. If he can't get it, feed the "spare" milk straight away, then express straight after, so you're always a feed ahead, if that makes sense.
If you express as regularly as possible, you should get a good supply going, so that you've got some to bottle and send to granny's for an overnight stay, or whatever.

The more you express-feed, the more you'll get used to how much he takes at a time. Once you have a rough idea, you can start freezing "spare" milk in meal-size batches, so you've always got some handy.

Once he's fed, you've expressed, etc, leave him about an hour, and then try popping him on the breast.
It could just be that he's too hungry to be "faffing around" trying to figure out how to make it all work. It could be when he's got room to eat, but isn't hungry as such, he is a bit more patient with trying to master it.

If you have any other questions, keep an eye out for Tweety. She's exclusively expressed for months, and can probably give you loads of advice. Xx

 

[BunnyN]

I'm no expert but that sounds like plenty for only 4 days old, it can take a few days for suply to build up. I think 750ml/day is about average but some babies only need about 550ml a day. Dont compair to formula fed babies because the formula doesn't digest so well and they need more.

 

[tweetyfoo]

Sounds about right, your supply will increase with his needs too as log as you are expressing regularly.

How did you get on with big consultant?


Tapatalking!

 

[Emamay]

Speaking of Tweety... Lol xx

 

[tweetyfoo]

Hahaha ... I can hear breast pumps from all over the land!


Tapatalking!

 

[SaraLouise]

Thanks ladies

Seen the bf lady yesterday & Oh wow ladies it was excellent.

She said that I might be someone who benefits from nipple shields even if they aren't really allowed to encourage them. I had bought some medela ones when I bought my pump & she said she could help me try them out.

Put one on, he latched & fed for 10 minutes! That was at 12 yesterday & from then every feed has been on the breast with the shields!

I can't believe after 4 days of fighting, tears & pain, all it took was a little bit or silicone. She said as he gets older I should be able to use them less & less, but I don't care how long I need to use them!

 

[l_maclean]

That's good to hear.

My LO used shields for 4 months then just suddenly latched herself, and we fed till nearly 11months when pregnancy killed my supply.


On my iPhone - so cant see tickers