How to start off expressing?

[clothmama]

I want to start expressing and giving Rémy a bottle a day so that Joël and the boys can give him a feed and also so that I can leave him for a couple of hours with my MIL and know he'll be OK if he wakes / needs a feed. I think while we are doing our house hunting trip this will really help.

I'm just not sure what to do and how much he will need for one feed. I double pumped this morning after I'd fed him and got 75ml and single pumped just now (he is due a feed the other side so left it be!) and got 60ml so total of 135ml. I'm guessing this should be enough for a feed?

When do you express if you do for just one feed / freezer stocking?
Should I be working towards getting enough from a single pump (this would obviously be the ideal)?
How long should I be expressing for?

any other hints or tips for me?

[clothmama]

OK so a bit of research has turned up that he needs about 800ml / day split over his feeds - so for 6 feeds a day he should be having about 150 ml / feed. J just fed him the bit I had and he wanted more so we gave him another 25 - 30 I'd just expressed so a total of 155-160mls!

He seemed to be fine with it although had a quite confused look on his face for much of it (I felt a bit funny but pleased that he was happy to take it even with me in the room!).

Didn't seem to be able to get much this evening. I'll see how I go in the morning.

If you express regularly at a similar time your body will adjust to the demand.
It would be fine to express a couple of times to get enough for a single feed.

Well done Remy!

I was told to express between the first morning feed & the next as your supply dwindles as the day goes on x

@clothmama I express after P's 6:30 feed and before her 9:30am feed. I get between 120-210ml depending on how much she's fed during the night. Make sure you are either close to Rémy/looking at photos etc... I honestly find imagining the milk coming out helps. Because b'fed babies feed size vary so much, I just make sure that there's at least 180ml if I want it to be absolutely enough for a full feed.

He may go through a bit of bottle resistance at some point but that's pretty normal.

X

I have to express several times a week as mum and DH look after LO late afternoon and evening whilst I'm at work.
I ALWAYS express from a full boob as it makes a massive difference to the speed and obviously quantity I get. As baby is so much more efficient at getting milk out than the pump I can then feed her from the boob I've just expressed.
First thing in the morning is a good time if I get in there before she gets desperate for it herself. But for me the best time is when I get home from work, I feed LO from less full boob and then express the fuller one. I can then get her to feed from the expressed boob on the next feed so it's fully drained.

[clothmama]

Thanks all I'll try in the morning and see how I go

i express twice a day; first thing after the first or second feed as I have tomes of milk, and last thing before bed. This last one is because p reliably sleeps until at least 5 or 6. These days I pump at least 150-200ml when I express.
I bottle up 150ml as a full feed, but percy doesn't always take all of this, however he feeds far better from the bottle if I'm not there, otherwise he keeps breaking off and looking at me. He won't take the bottle at all from me, it has to be warm, and he has to touch skin. I think paul misses the days when he wasn't so fussy, but we are keen to give him a bottle a day so he will still take one. HV reckons a cup would be better now though?
Expressing is far easier if percy is in the room, or if I can hear him breathing on the monitor.
Also emotional articles/videos etc help...
We have a freezer full of milk for return to work. Building up increased supply to pump too takes a week or two, but will improve.
Good luck

[clothmama]

I tried doing the fuller boob this morning while he was feeding but only got 60ml as he was cranky and lots going on!