Expressing question!

[clare]

Just to say thanks for the Expressing article; v useful !

I tried it for the first time yesterday. Managed to pump 150ml so quite chuffed :)

Just a quick question really - am hoping to express a little through the day ready for Daddy's evening feed.
Do I need to sterilise the pump (Medala Swing) everytime or can I just do it once a day? Will be v timeconsuming if I have to keep cleaning it after say 5mins of pumping 4 times a day.

Thanks again.

[Amy&Daniel]

Erm, no, unfortunately, you should really sterilise it every time you use it. The theory is that little bits of milk get inside it when you use it and these are rife for bacteria, especially if left at room temperature.

I used to run the steriliser after each use. Then it was ready for next time I wanted to express. Although, technically, that isn't correct either because the stuff in the steriliser only stays sterile for 3 hours (on our Tommee Tippee steriliser), so you should use it within that time.

Well done for expressing 150ml the first time!! That's nearly 5oz in old money.

If you're expressing that much in one go though, you shouldn't need to be expressing too many times. Once you've got one or two feeds in hand, I used to just express whilst my partner was feeding Daniel and it would all come off in one go because my breasts were expecting to provide a full feed at that time.

Some people also express after the first feed in the morning and find that they get a full feed then. This will be especially true if you do it every day as your body will get used to providing a double feed in the morning - very clever.

Hope this helps.

A