How soon can you express breast milk?

Hi all,
I am new here, I have a 16 day old daughter who I have been breastfeeding
since birth. My question is how soon can I start to express breast milk so
that I can leave the feeding responsibilities to my husband so I can catch
up on my sleep and run errands etc?
Thanks for your help.

If you have a preemie, you are told to start pumping ASAP, so I'd think, as
long as you're pumping after feeds, you can start pumping at any time, and
start building a freezer stash. I think you'd probably want to wait a few
more weeks to actually start introducing a bottle, just to avoid nipple
confusion, although I've heard conflicting reports on that.

Be aware that newborn milk isn't the same as later milk, so if you start
pumping and building a stash, feed that older milk first-when my daughter
was 6 months or so, she wanted NOTHING to do with milk which had been frozen
when she was a month or so old, and it did even look different-more like
eggnog than the milk at that time.

--
Donna DeVore Metler
Orff Music Specialist/Kindermusik
Mother to Angel Brian Anthony 1/1/2002, 22 weeks, severe PE/HELLP
And Allison Joy, 11/25/04 (35 weeks, PIH, Pre-term labor)

Not a good idea THAT IS ABUSE.
Breastfeeding dosent just invove milk it also allows your child to have
facetime when ever needed. So keep breastfeeding untill the child says NO
MORE.


"Donna Metler" wrote in message
...
If you have a preemie, you are told to start pumping ASAP, so I'd think,
as
long as you're pumping after feeds, you can start pumping at any time, and
start building a freezer stash. I think you'd probably want to wait a few
more weeks to actually start introducing a bottle, just to avoid nipple
confusion, although I've heard conflicting reports on that.

Be aware that newborn milk isn't the same as later milk, so if you start
pumping and building a stash, feed that older milk first-when my daughter
was 6 months or so, she wanted NOTHING to do with milk which had been
frozen
when she was a month or so old, and it did even look different-more like
eggnog than the milk at that time.

--
Donna DeVore Metler
Orff Music Specialist/Kindermusik
Mother to Angel Brian Anthony 1/1/2002, 22 weeks, severe PE/HELLP
And Allison Joy, 11/25/04 (35 weeks, PIH, Pre-term labor)

Sheryl wrote:
Hi all,
I am new here, I have a 16 day old daughter who I have been breastfeeding
since birth. My question is how soon can I start to express breast milk so
that I can leave the feeding responsibilities to my husband so I can catch
up on my sleep and run errands etc?
Thanks for your help.

I pumped from day 1, as my daughter was in NICU. Once I began feeding
her at the breast I was pumping a tiny bit before - just to soften
things up a bit tomake it easier for her to latch and suck, and then
after if it seems she hadn't fully drained things.

Sheryl wrote:
Hi all,
I am new here, I have a 16 day old daughter who I have been breastfeeding
since birth. My question is how soon can I start to express breast milk

You can start as soon after birth as you like. Many women need to
express from the get go for various reasons, while others express to
donate to milk banks.

so
that I can leave the feeding responsibilities to my husband so I can catch
up on my sleep and run errands etc?

This is a different issue really. I personally would not advise
expressing for this reason so soon. Your supply will regulate more
quickly if you nurse your baby youself whenever she needs, especailly
during the night when your body produces more milk. Are you able to
catch on sleep during the day at all?
Can you take you daughter to run errands with you?

It can be hard at first, but in a few weeks you'll get into a pattern.
If you express now and have your husband feed your daughter you risk
having supply/demand problems.
Mary Ann

Thanks for your help.

Sheryl wrote:
Hi all,
I am new here, I have a 16 day old daughter who I have been breastfeeding
since birth. My question is how soon can I start to express breast milk so
that I can leave the feeding responsibilities to my husband so I can catch
up on my sleep and run errands etc?
Thanks for your help.

You can start expressing as soon as you like, but I wouldn't start
feeding it to her for another couple of weeks. This is partly in order
to get your supply sorted out, as Mary Ann said, and partly because
sucking from a bottle is different from sucking from a breast, and it
can be confusing for babies to have to master bottle-feeding while
they're still mastering breastfeeding - sometimes this has caused
problems with the breastfeeding.

Probably the best way to go about it is this: Start expressing milk now,
as and when you can, and keep it in the freezer, labelled with the
amount and the date you expressed it. (Several companies sell milk
storage bags - I've always found Lansinoh to be good ones, although
other people prefer other types.) When your baby is around four weeks
old, if breastfeeding is going well then, get your husband to give her a
couple of ounces in a bottle (if it's not going well, then wait a little
longer until it is). If she takes it all right, then you know you're OK
to leave her for a bit.

You can defrost frozen milk in hot water. Don't try to defrost it in
the microwave - that can leave very hot spots in the milk that can scald
her. Milk that's been pumped separates after a while into two parts,
and starts to look very watery with large deposits of cream floating on
the top. This is totally normal, and all you have to do is shake the
milk up and it'll mix together again. I'd recommend using a slow-flow
teat, as that way she doesn't get the idea that bottle-feeding is easier
and breastfeeding is too much like hard work.

Oh, yes... and breastmilk will last in the fridge for up to eight days,
so if you're pumping milk that's going to be drunk within the next few
days, leave it in the fridge rather than the freezer. (Freezing
destroys some of the antibodies in it, so while frozen milk is still
perfectly drinkable it doesn't give her all the health benefits of fresh
milk.)

If you go to La Leche League's website, they have some good information
about milk storage and pumping.


All the best,

Sarah


--
http://www.goodenoughmummy.typepad.com

But how do we _know_ that nobody ever said on their deathbed that they
wished they’d spent more time at the office?

Sheryl wrote:
Hi all,
I am new here, I have a 16 day old daughter who I have been breastfeeding
since birth. My question is how soon can I start to express breast milk so
that I can leave the feeding responsibilities to my husband so I can catch
up on my sleep and run errands etc?
Thanks for your help.

Keep in mind, too, just to expand your options, that there are lots of
ways to accomplish the same thing -- you don't necessarily *have* to
delegate feeding in order for you and your husband to get everything
done that needs to get done. I never got around to pumping much at all,
but there were plenty of times when other folks took the babies out so
I could nap, or did the shopping for me, or whatever. I know with a
tiny baby it feels as though everything is all about the milk, all the
time, but really there is plenty of other stuff people can do.

--Helen

Best all-round advice so far, just a few additional coments...

Sarah Vaughan writes:
: Sheryl wrote:

: Probably the best way to go about it is this: Start expressing milk now,
: as and when you can, and keep it in the freezer, labelled with the
: amount and the date you expressed it. (Several companies sell milk
: storage bags - I've always found Lansinoh to be good ones, although
: other people prefer other types.) When your baby is around four weeks
: old, if breastfeeding is going well then, get your husband to give her a
: couple of ounces in a bottle (if it's not going well, then wait a little
: longer until it is). If she takes it all right, then you know you're OK
: to leave her for a bit.

Some additional comments here. Parents often do this, feeding for a while
then forget for months. weeks. Then when the baby is 3 or 4 months old,
try it again, only to have the baby refuse the bottle. You should probably
feed at least every other day if you want your baby to "remember" how to
bottle feed.

: You can defrost frozen milk in hot water. Don't try to defrost it in
: the microwave - that can leave very hot spots in the milk that can scald
: her. Milk that's been pumped separates after a while into two parts,
: and starts to look very watery with large deposits of cream floating on
: the top. This is totally normal, and all you have to do is shake the
: milk up and it'll mix together again. I'd recommend using a slow-flow
: teat, as that way she doesn't get the idea that bottle-feeding is easier
: and breastfeeding is too much like hard work.

This is the other side of the coin. In order not to create bottle preference,
you should limit to 1 bottle a day. If she starts getting fussy at the breast,
drop the bottle altogether for a while.

: Oh, yes... and breastmilk will last in the fridge for up to eight days,

As long as you don't have a lipase problem this is true. If you do, then
the keeping time is much shorter. Monika's milk always tasted rank after
about 3 days in the fridge. You may have to do a little trial and error.

Larry

"Sarah Vaughan" wrote and I snipped:

Milk that's been pumped separates after a while into two parts, and starts
to look very watery with large deposits of cream floating on the top.
This is totally normal, and all you have to do is shake the milk up and
it'll mix together again.

Great reply, except that it's better to gently swirl the milk to
reconstitute, rather than to shake it.

-Patty, mom of 1+2