Breastfeeding / Expressing troubles

[kel2y]

Hi

My DD is 9months old and we are still breastfeeding which is a huge achievement for us.

I have just started expressing to build up a stock in the freezer of EBM as it comes in handy when out and about.
This is the first time I've expressed in ages and was upset to see that I could only manage to express 50mls from the side I consider the better first thing this morning!

Do you think I should keep expressing on the alternative side to which she is feeding throughout the day and top up the bottle in the fridge before I freeze?

Or just express in the morning??

I don't want to take away DD supply or will expressing increase it??

Thanks in advance 

[Jocasta]

Personally I'd express after every feed.  Even if it's only an ounce, if you're expressing often enough, you'll soon express enough for a full bottle.  It sounds really tedious but you'd probably find you fall into a nice pattern.  Works for me anyway

How do you store you frozen milk - i.e. do you use bags or cube trays etc?  If you use trays, then you can just freeze each 50ml straight away.  If you use bags, I'd personally store up a day's worth and freeze at the end of the day. 

HTH

[kel2y]

Hi

Thanks for reply. I store in breastmilk bags, so will express a days worth then freeze.
How long do you express for?

Thanks again x

[Jocasta]

That depends on how determined I am for a good yeild lol!

Mae is still a single sided feeder so I express on the side that she's not feeding on.  Sometimes, I'll continue expressing for up to ten minutes after she's stopped (she only feeds for five minutes and often the pump is still getting milk at this point).  If that's the case then I'll often try the side that she's just fed on too - I don't normally get much but there's often a fresh letdown.

When I was pumping to boost supply with DD1, I'd pump 15 minutes on each side after a feed.

HTH

[kel2y]

Thanks, i'll let you know how we get on! X