Expressing - hind milk??

[Sarabob]

Hi all,

My first post! I'm finding all my questions have been answered if I read through a few posts but have a few questions about expressing!

My DS is 5 1/2 weeks old and he's my 1st I'm ebf and the past week or two have started to express so my DH can do a feed or two a day and so my DS doesn't struggle later down the line.

So fortunate as my DH only took 2 days and 2 feeds before our DS decided he was kinda happy with the bottle. Currently draining 4oz and I tend to top him off half an hour later.

1. I am currently expressing once in the morning and once in the evening off both sides into the same bottle (is this ok mixing the two sides?

2. I only manage to express for about 5-10min on each side at the very most before hardly anything comes out but this amounts to roughly 4oz or so. ( will it increase)

3. If my DS wants more then 4oz can I mix the milk from two different bags?

4. Most importantly though how do I know if I am getting to the hind milk and if my DS is getting that frn the bottle?

Thanks guys

P.s doing easy since week one it's going well most of the time!!! Have sme days where he wants to sleep all day and others where he wants to feed all day!,

[~Sara~]

Hi Sara!

1. I am currently expressing once in the morning and once in the evening off both sides into the same bottle (is this ok mixing the two sides?

Yes, it's perfectly fine to combine the milk into one bottle or bag (in the instance that you're storing it in the fridge/freezer for later).

2. I only manage to express for about 5-10min on each side at the very most before hardly anything comes out but this amounts to roughly 4oz or so. ( will it increase)

Sometimes, it can be hard to get a letdown with pumping...a machine is a lot different than a baby.  I always found it helpful to make sure I was really relaxed--take a deep breath, do some shoulder rolling, clear my mind, think about my baby, etc.  What kind of pump are you using, or are you hand expressing?  That can make a difference as to how much you're able to get.  I used a double pump for 15-20 minutes at a time, just to make sure I was getting hindmilk...sometimes less if it was later in the day and my supply was low.  There are things you can try to do to increase how much you pump, but it's also not uncommon for babies to actually be getting more while nursing than what we get while pumping.

3. If my DS wants more then 4oz can I mix the milk from two different bags?

If both bags of milk are good, then, yes...that's okay.

4. Most importantly though how do I know if I am getting to the hind milk and if my DS is getting that frn the bottle?

As long as you're pumping the hindmilk and you're mixing the milk up well after it's been refrigerated, your DS WILL be getting it when fed through the bottle.  Hindmilk tends to look more creamy and when you let bm sit at room temperature for a little bit or when the bm has been in the fridge, it's that creamy yellowy white layer at the top.  To help make sure you're expressing hindmilk, the length of time you do it matters.  Well, there's no exact amount of time to equal when hindmilk is being pumped, but the longer you go, the more hindmilk there is.  You can also tell when you're pumping hindmilk by the color I mentioned.

HTH a bit...I had to pump a lot for when I went back to work; so if you have any more questions, I'm happy to answer them.

[Fiver]

You're doing great getting 4oz out - well done!!

It might be worth mentioning here that when you come to feed the EBM, you should swirl it rather than shaking to mix the fat back into the milk so that the milk is at its best in terms of fatty acids etc

Also to keep your supply going you need to be pumping when LO is having a feed from the bottle as that is effectively replacing a feed that he would be having from you.

[~Sara~]

It might be worth mentioning here that when you come to feed the EBM, you should swirl it rather than shaking to mix the fat back into the milk so that the milk is at its best in terms of fatty acids etc

^^Very good point   I liked to do a gentle massaging motion when I stored the milk in bags, but if you warm the milk up directly in the bag (a bottle, too), and you use the entire amount in the bag, then I never needed to mix it as it all mixed back together.

[Sarabob]

Thanks guys I feel much less baffled by the whole expressing advice!! Has everyone else found that the midwife and HV and support groups all say different things!! I got into a right mess in the first few weeks over conflicting advice!!

P.s I'm using medela pump and trying to pump in my DS's room in his feeding chair so as relaxed as possible.

[~Sara~]

I have a Medela, too...great pump!

Yes, all of this can be so overwhelming.  We don't have HVs here (wish we did!), so most of what I learned was off the internet; but then you also just get a lot of firsthand experience, which is partly the reason why there's varying information, I think.  Everyone's body is different.

*hugs* You're doing a great job

[Fiver]

Has everyone else found that the midwife and HV and support groups all say different things!! I got into a right mess in the first few weeks over conflicting advice!!

I'm sure there are plenty of MWs and HVs around who are great when it comes to BF issues, but BFCs who run support groups and peer supporters have training specifically in BF and have also successfully BF too, so probably have more in the way of factual information and experiential advice.  At the end of the day, you'll get support and advice from a BF group rather than direction so that you can find the way that works out best for you.

Sara - you're not missing out not having HVs, IMHO!