Hi, I'm hoping someone will be able to give me a few tips here. I'm breast feeding and i'm also using formula milk as a supplement.

I've got a breast pump and was hoping to be able to express milk. I've tried it a couple of times but i've found it uncomfortable bordering on painful and very slow, hard work. I managed to get a little milk from one side, and only a few drops from the other side. Am I doing something wrong? Any tips on how to make it easier/more productive? :help:

Sorry to intrude here but try this:

http://www.hollister.com/us/files/pdfs/breastfeeding/use_pump_storage.pdf

Theres some good information on there.

Some breast pumps work better for different people. I found the one by Avent (http://www.avent.com/uk/en/breastfeeding_avent_isis.php) to be the best for me. Try having your baby near to you when you are using it, it usually helps the milk to flow better. It is one of the more expensive ones but it worked best for me. Good Luck :thumbsup:

Thanks for the link, it's very helpful. :thumbsup:

I'll give it another go in the morning.

Hels, my friend swears by drinking a glass or two of icy cold water before feeding/expressing. I don't know how it works, but she says it makes everything flow! Good luck

use it in the bath! it helps u relax and with my second son it was the only way i cud relax!!!!

its all about not worrying do it while watching the tv!

x

Plus its something you get better with as time goes on...your boobs get used to the process. Just stick with it. One word of warning - I got RSI and had to move on to an electrical one. If that's what you're using, don't forget to start out on a low setting, lol. A number of times I forgot I'd had it turned up - ouch!

And do it while you're watching tv or reading...generally relaxing.

I couldn't manage it initially but found it easier as time went on (sheer persistence!)...you didnt' say how long you had been breastfeeding...

I found Medela brand very easy to use and eventually progressed from manual to electric which is wierd but works!

With the supplement, the health professionals advise against it because you only produce what your baby takes, therefore, if you are using supplements, your milk production will slow down = this may be a factor in why you are struggling with the pump.

It is very difficult in those first few weeks/months if you are exhausted and want five minutes peace to give the baby the supplement - I did, but that's how I lost my milk.

To be fair, I supplemented and didn't lose my milk.

You just have to be sure to use your breastpump to keep production up.

Sorry, but it annoys me when people say flat out it doesn't work - it can, and it does, if you're sensible. Saved my sanity!!!!

I used the Medela electric one (sold in Mothercare) and found it really good, though a bit noisy. I found it best to express first thing in the morning when you have a lot more milk. I also eventually managed to express from one side while feeding my baby on the other!!! He didn't seem to mind at all. Good luck Hels.

I have to say my experiances were the same it hurts i had to express for my son as he was in scbu and was being tube fed on my milk stick with it you feel like a cow but its not for ever you will never look at a cow in the same way again chin up

I only ever used a manual pump, and found expressing milk very difficult.Going on the experiences of the mums I work with (I work at the childrens hospital) I would say that an electrical pump is definitly much more efficient (some of them seem to produce enough milk for all the babies in the hospital and for the staff coffee's as well!)

I'd advise you to talk to the feeding advisors at Jessops ASAP, if you decide to go down the route of an electric pump they'll be able to tell you where you can hire one from.

Hels, I managed to almost completeley breast feed my son for ten and a half months, with the occasional formula supplement, so it can work (I only stopped when the little devil nearly took my nipple off with his shiny new teeth!)

I couldn't manage it initially but found it easier as time went on (sheer persistence!)...you didnt' say how long you had been breastfeeding...

I found Medela brand very easy to use and eventually progressed from manual to electric which is wierd but works!

With the supplement, the health professionals advise against it because you only produce what your baby takes, therefore, if you are using supplements, your milk production will slow down = this may be a factor in why you are struggling with the pump.

It is very difficult in those first few weeks/months if you are exhausted and want five minutes peace to give the baby the supplement - I did, but that's how I lost my milk.

i doubt that's why you lost your milk - i don't breast feed due to my baby's inability to feed properly (nipple in mouth = go to sleep) - but i feed her almost entirely on breast milk obtained by expressing.

Hels - because of my feeding problems, i've tried loads of pumps and have found the manual pump by avent to be the most effective, and the quickest. yes, it takes a few days for your hands to get used to it, and it makes you nipples sore if you over-squeeze, but i really have found it to be the best. Good luck with it...try not to think about how much you're managing to get out, and as the feeding specialist told me - don't express for more than half an hour, there are better things to do! i use expressing time (needs 2 hands and concentration so can't do much else) to get the baby's arse out and leave her on a pile of nappies on the floor and talk to her as i express so that she thinks it's play time.

hope you're doing ok!