Expressing breast milk with a pump is a very strange experience
and it does take a while to get used to it. Different models
of breast
pumps make different noises, some are quieter than others.
Don't be surprised if you don't get a lot of milk when you first
start expressing. For your first attempt a volume of 20mL
would be a good effort.
It does take time to build up your milk supply, especially if
you are breastfeeding baby and also using a breast pump for extra
milk storage.
Some mothers will evenutally be able to express 150 mLs in
about 10 minutes, but some mothers find they can never get more
than 50mLs. It just depends on your milk let down, and how
relaxed you can feel. The type of breast pump that you use,
does not generally affect the quantity, it just affects the time
taken.
The volume of milk that you express also depends on when
you fed baby. If you express after just feeding baby, then you wont
get much milk as baby would have drunk it all. But then the
following day, your breasts would increase supply to cover the
amount that baby drank yesterday + the small volume that you
expressed yesterday. So it does take a few days for the supply to
increase. I would suggest that you do it slowly, and at the same
time each day.
Your breasts will just "think" that your baby is drinking a lot
of milk at that time each day and will produce milk depending on
the demand.
You need to drink lots of water too.
Expressing milk in the morning usually gives a better volume
result, as at the end of the day you are tired and this can affect
supply.
If you are away from baby, you will need to express milk at the
same times that you would usually feed baby, to maintain your
supply. The amount of milk that you express in this
case will be larger (compared to just after a feed as described
above). The actual volume will depend on the age of your
baby, and how much milk they are normally drinking from you.
You should use the breast pump until your breast feel empty.
Don't set a specific volume to obtain, because your baby
might not actually be drinking that much from you anyway.
We always suggest that you store the milk in little Milk Storage
Bags. Put the milk straight into the freezer (unless you need to
use it straight away). Yes you can combine frozen milk from
subsequent days together to mix up one feed.
If your baby does not drink the full bottle - you must discard
the contents.
Make sure all equipment is washed in hot soapy water, and
sterilised.