[nott]

hi,

not sure if i should post here.

i did most feeding with expressed milk. recently found that was draining cos of nappy issue.

i used manual pump to express, around 30 mins, sometimes longer if i want to get more milk.

things repeat after ~ 4 hrs.

most of the time, i feed my baby with the EMB cos breastfeeding doesn't work for me v well.

After express, feeding, changing cloth nappies, washing, i found i barely have time n energy left ( morning better, i still can prepare for the dinner n cook it in advance).

sometimes i wondered, i would have a better day , n sleep if i chose formula n disposable.

is that life normal? well, baby is 4 mths already.

please share.

[witchesforest]

great work! 4 months of total EBM is a huge achievement.

i express a bit (for a babysitter so i can take my older child to swimming lessons, and do some freelance work) and i find it tiring whenever i do it. doing it all the time must be very tiring.

my friend also had trouble breastfeeding. she expressed 100% like you and also felt very tired. she said it did improve from 6 months as her son started taking some solids too. she managed to keep expressing at least some milk till around 10 months and then switched to a mix of formula and baby food.

[lucky 2]

Being a fan of breast milk I'd give up the nappies in an instant if it gave me the energy to pump!
Research has shown that expressing with a double electric pump does maximise milk volumes and of course is quicker.
Perhaps a 15 min procedure vs a 20-30 min procedure for a single pump.
At 4 months with expressing 6 times a day for 30 mons, I can see how that would be tedious for sure.
I'd find it tedious, I expressed for 15 months less times a day and with disposable nappies and it was a challenge at times.
What made it easier for me was the double pump.
You have lots of options-
- keeping going as is (but if that was desirable you wouldn't have posted!)
- keep pumping 6 times per 24 and get disposables
- get a new pump (quicker and more efficient)
- combination pump, ie reduce expression sessions to a manageable level and combine with formula (ie ? 4 expressions or more or less, can vary according to how you are feeling)
- suppress milk production/wean, always at the bottom of my list but an option nevertheless
If you cant afford a new pump (probably $300-600) then ? drop the amount of expressions and combination pump.
When you pump, do you stop when the flow slows on the first breast then switch sides x 4, ie express each breast twice? This is the most effective way to express but if you are in a hurry you can "power pump" and express just 2 sides, ie quicker even if less milk.
Try and make expressing work for you rather than control you iykwim?
I think you have done an awesome job providing all this breast milk for you baby for 4 months.
Another possibility is seeing a LC again to see if baby will take the breast directly, you never know, I've seen babies be bottle fed with ebm for 6 months and then suddenly accept the breast and go on to feed for years! They're a fickle lot.
All the best.
Some things that may be of interest-
http://www.exclusivelypumping.com/
http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping...nks-excpumping/
There is a thread in this forum for exclusive expressors, it hasn't been active for a few months but I've bumped it to the front page.
http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/forums/ind...sive+expressing
All the best.

[evalynnI]

Congratulations on making it to 4 months!!

I had trouble BF with DS so started to express when he was 1wk old, and was getting tons of milk to start with which was great as I could then freeze it for later on. But I did find it very tiring, and like you say, takes a lot of time - in effect it is twice as long to feed when you express and then bottle-feed. I just couldn't keep up with it and I think due to tiredness I started having supply-issues, stress from also having a toddler to look after, by the time DS was 4 weeks old he was on formula.

I think you have done a GREAT job expressing for 4 months! In the end you need to do whatever keeps you sane, and if you do decide to supplement with formula, please don't beat yourself up about it - it doesn't make you any less of a great mum! And you can have the satisfaction of knowing that you did everything you could to provide your baby with the best start. Good luck

[nott]

Congratulations on making it to 4 months!!

I had trouble BF with DS so started to express when he was 1wk old, and was getting tons of milk to start with which was great as I could then freeze it for later on. But I did find it very tiring, and like you say, takes a lot of time - in effect it is twice as long to feed when you express and then bottle-feed.


nott: yes, time doubled! now when i express, i try to multitask, eat while pumping, online a bit ( but that easily distract my pumping ) . sometimes when im in front of pc, i'll pump for an hr.

I just couldn't keep up with it and I think due to tiredness I started having supply-issues, stress from also having a toddler to look after, by the time DS was 4 weeks old he was on formula.

nott: i also

I think you have done a GREAT job expressing for 4 months! In the end you need to do whatever keeps you sane, and if you do decide to supplement with formula, please don't beat yourself up about it - it doesn't make you any less of a great mum! And you can have the satisfaction of knowing that you did everything you could to provide your baby with the best start. Good luck

[Betty_D]

OP, might be worth looking into hiring an electric breast pump. Most pharmacies have them and you can get them for about $80 a month.

I found using my manual breast pump like getting blood from a stone. Once you go electric, you never go back!

[meema]

Hello

You are doing really well to have expressed for this long.

My experience is 2+ years ago now but I thought I'd offer some support. It does feel like exclusively expressing takes over, but it can be managed.

I exclusively expressed for baby #4 (with three others under 5 to care for too!). I actually can't remember how I managed to do this- but I am still happy that she got (almost)12mths of breastmilk. It definitely got easier after 6mths when DD had solids.

An electric pump will be a timesaver, and a double pump is even better. It was time consuming and I did feel restricted. Some days I wanted to smash that pump! And yet I was grateful for it too- it meant DD could get her breastmilk.

I would choose pumping to offer breastmilk rather than cloth nappies- but it really is up to you.

EE is harder than breastfeeding & it is more work than formula feeding. BUT exclusively expressing can become a part of your routine and you can try suggestions to make it fit better into your life with your baby. I found it hard emotionally as I grieved the loss of a breastfeeding relationship. My DD was fine but I was truly sad to lose breastfeeding my final child.

I can say that years later I am grateful to myself that I gave my DD her breastmilk. It was hard work but I am glad I did it. However, I was also very relieved when I finally decided to stop EE- it opened up my life again & it was a great feeling NOT to be tied to that bloody pump.

Best of luck- don't make any rash decisions, give yourself a timeframe for a decision rather than an immediate one. Sometimes I had to just keep going one pump at a time.

And try not to allow guilt in regarding your choices (I am offering advice here that I struggled to follow myself ). Supplementing with formula or choosing to end expressing & formula feeding fulltime may be an option you want. It is great to have options.

AND- well done on offering four months of breastmilk to your baby- what a fantastic start your baby has due to your efforts!

[nott]

tks for all the support! i did read the first few replies but haven't checked the rest till now.
yes, expressing now becomes a part of my life. love it? not of course. but now adapted/ try to dapt my life.
instead sitting for half an hr, doing one thng. now i usually pump while i eat , to save time. sometimes online/ read while pumping. i now understand how those one handed feel.

i have formula as a back up, n have used that for different days during the months. honestly, i will have some guilty feeling when that is done, though i know from bks, mags that they are not poison to babies. that's the brain thing i need to adjust , particularly when i read those mums who can feed a baby without a single scoop of formula.

recently i tried to offer bf, but found my baby will pull my nipple as if it was the teat! ( now he like biting, pulling his teat !) feeling painful, n he doesn't suck actually i just sill keep on expressing.
one gd thing about that is he drinks that much quicker than directly on breast. the bd thing, of course is i need to clean the pump n bottles!

one thing i found expressing bad is it limited my social life/ going out venue. b4, we went to dine in some small chi restaurants when i need to pump. i could just stand in the narrow loo for 15-20 mins. u can imagine how nasty the feeling is.

now, i mostly go to those restaurants, shopping centres at least with a clean toilet . n i need to estimate when is my next pump to arrange my schedule with that clean toilet, clean parent room nearby.

i know i will have a better life later. just need for the transition n i will pump at a longer interval.

really thankful that i know that forum, the mums here have helped me answer a lot of qs quickly n most importantly, the mental support n the empathy they got. the man doesn't comprehend my feeling v much.

being encourged and assured of that i did is gd, i 've motivation n energy to move forward.