How soon can i start to expess breastmilk????

[SSSharon]

My son is 1 week old and i am breast feeding him i am combining breast with formula at night as this is what they did in the neonatal and he took to both !!! I am just wondering does anyone know how soon can you start expressing milk as i would like to feed him breastmilk from a bottle at some points during the day( as when he is breastfeeding he can stay on for up to nearly 2 hours )and from the breast morning and night ??? Any help and advise would be much appreciated.

[missrandom]

You can do it from any age, but the more you express, the more milk you'll produce, so personally I would only express the amount needed, rather than just incase. Some of my friends couldnt express much, but mine went like fountains, which actually wasnt a great thing, as i had to use nappies cut in half as breast pads!! good luck

[heliganmarie]

Hello!
I'm an ex-midwife (worn out not fired!) and mother. You don't need to express unless you plan to leave your son in someone elses care. It's better to just feed him when he's hungry - he's probably only feeding for that long because he's planning a growth spurt. Breastmilk is made 'demand and supply - the more baby sucks the more milk you will make. Expressing will 'confuse' your breasts. So will formula - there's no need to give him this, your milk is all the nutrition he needs. It's really early days yet, will take a couple of weeks for a pattern of feeds to develop. As he grows he''ll become more efficient at getting the milk out and feeds will be quicker. In the meantime relax with your son, curl up on the sofa and hopefully you have someone to supply you with food and drink! If you need more advice ask your midwife or get in touch with the National Childbirth Trust or La Leche League (online).

[Goodsoulette]

I am also confused by the mixing with formula. For his benefit if you are breastfeeding mainly I wouldn't give him formula at all. Formula milk contains cows milk (good for baby cows) and minced up fish.....urghhh.....

I knew that I was going to have to leave my son at 2 points leading up to the 5 week old mark. I expressed once a day to start, to begin with you will find the milk is very rich looking and as your baby gets older it starts to look different. I had a plentiful milk supply, way more than I needed. Get yourself a good supply back up, maybe until he is three weeks old then try him with a bottle every now and then. Sometimes baby wont take a bottle though.

So from my experience I would suggest expressing just once a day, its quite a chore and you wont get as much off as he does suckling, so in essence you probably will save yourself no time at all but its easy when you sit down in fron of the telly doing nothing else. I also found having the milk supply useful when I was a little poorly later on and my mum came over and gave him a night feed for me which was much needed rest for me.

[Compostella]

My missus expressed in the hospital before we all came home.

Our Son, in the first few weeks, was on the breast for hours, this soon became less as he/we got used to it, so don't worry, just keep trying.

After about 4 weeks, we couldn't fill him so had to give formula every night for about 5 days whilst he went thro the growth spurt. It didn't seem to upset the supply/demand as we have been able to satisfy him with the breast for the last week.

As long as he get something and is happy & content, you are doing well.

Just remember ther are no rules, just go with what you feel is right. What works for some, doesn't for others.