Our breastfeeding journey is now in its fifth month. Its definitely had its challenges this time around. I wanted to share this with others as I’m always being asked breastfeeding questions.  We try to offer as much support as we can so here’s our journey.

Feeding four babies previously doesn’t in any way mean it will be the same each time. In fact all of my babies have been very different feeders. This time didn’t get off to a great start.

Beginning

Being in special care immediately after birth Bodie lost a lot more weight than was expected. We couldn’t get that first feed off to a good start so was hand expressing colostrum to syringe feed him for the first 24 hours.

There was a whole lot of stress and anxiety and then there were talks about formula feeding him in the early days to try and gain that weight back. Fortunately I didn’t have to switch to plan b. But it did become apparent he was a very lazy feeder, only latching on then falling asleep very quickly so I was waking him quite often to try and feed.

Things have eased with regards to his laziness now though and he is getting much better at achieving the feed he wants although he isn’t a happy feeder. I find now I actually have an undersupply towards the end of the day and its becoming more apparent that I would like to try and build that up a little more.

WHY you say?

Well i’d like to have the option of someone else feeding Bo as occasionally the tiredness of having an unhappy feeder and exhaustion mounts up and I just need a minute! Also if I wanted to go out for a couple of hours in the near future I would be bale to build a supply in the freezer.

The best way to do this is to start pumping after a feed to help build that supply up. I’m also going to start taking fenugreek supplements and upping my water intake. There are loads of milk boosting recipes to make too that I’ve seen on Pinterest.

Which pump?

I am using the Medela Swing Flex pump which is an electric pump*. Made and designed by breastfeeding experts, the pump features a shaped breast shield which is scientifically proven to get 11% more milk than a standard pump. This is a big positive from me. If you’ve pumped before you will know sitting for 30 mins only to look down and see a few mls of milk can be a bit disheartening so every little helps!

In the box

Look of the pump: the swing flex looks very simple to use with which appeals to me. Clear function buttons are easy to understand and use one handed! Many mums pump one side whilst baby nurses the other so you need something that will be workable one handed.

Ease of use: The pump attaches to a power lead which is a good long length, then a suction tube goes to the bottle with breast shield attached. After positioning the pump to your comfort you simply turn on the power button and adjust the level of suction to your personal preference.

You will start to see milk coming out and then you can press the let down button and milk will soon start flowing into the bottle.

I have tried quite a few pumps before over the years but soon gave up using them as I would never see many results so just never saw it was worth it. But this pump is now out of the box all the time and ready in seconds to use when I need it. I have recommended this pump to many breastfeeding mums now as its so effective and I now have a good freezer stash of milk going.

I really should add this product to my top five now shouldn’t I!

*this was a gifted item but all opinions are my own