Breastfeeding/expressing question......

hi ladies

first i'm sorry i only come on here at the mo when i have a question--this is partly due to the fact i seem to have no spare time at the moment as have a very hungry little baby (who has put on 1lb since being born 16 days ago, what a lil fatty!) and also because i can rarely answer anyone elses queries as i dont have a bloody clue!

Anyways my query is about breastfeeding and expressing-i'm trying to do both at the mo in order to build up a bit of a supply but also because i got a bout of mastitis on Mon night and it was flipping horrible so as per MW's advice i'm trying to keep pumping the milk off to stop it happening again.
I've read that breastfeeding is about demand and supply, ie the more the baby feeds the more your body produces, so surely all this feeding and extra pumping will mean i will keep producing more milk and so i will need to keep pumping off to stop them getting engorged--isnt it a vicious circle??

Also we're going to a wedding in a couple of weeks and MIL is coming along to look after Euan at the hotel, so i'm hoping to feed him through a combination of breast (i'll nip up to our room when i can) and expressed milk. So should i also try and pump off that day as he wont be feeding as much or will the few feeds he has be enough to stop me getting engorged?

Sorry for all the questions but it seems so confusing to me at the mo and i really really dont want to get engorged boobs or mastitis again cos it was really nasty. I hope this makes some kind of sense

Thanks

Kate and Euan x

I never expressed........

....... so not much help but i just found having my daughter close or feeding helped the most to get my supply up... the thing is you worry cause you cant see how much they're getting but i think your body will keep up with them now and you would know if he was hungry......... i would personally express before the day cause you dont want to be stressing too much you shouldnt get too engorged and like tracey said he'll feed from you anyway (which will feel like a balloon deflating lol) hope that helps at all hun and well done on the breastfeeding xx danica and cadene 9 months xx

Hi kate!!

It is very confusing all the different advice etc!!

As far as I know expressing doesn't act as well as a suckling baby to trigger the supply and demand response so you would probably be ok without expressing during the wedding although you will probably be glad when bedtime comes and he can drain you a bit!!

I have breastfed all my babies and have never expressed at all, when I had mastitus with my first I just carried on feeding on that side till it cleared and had anti biotics fron docs! It seemed fine!

The supply and demand cycle is as you say so I wouldn't express loads and loads unless you need to as as you say it could just be a vicious cycle.

Also trying to breastfeed from the breast is the best way to establish your supply and get Euan used to it all! Tooo many bottles could encourage him to be lazy!! It is much easier for them to get milk from a bottle!!

Good luck with it all!

Love Tracey xxxxxxx