Welcome to my 31 week blog on expressing colostrum during pregnancy. So instead of writing loads, this week I decided to do a summary video of my thoughts and experiences from when I started expressing colostrum at week 27 of pregnancy to date.
In the video I don't talk about techniques for expressing colostrum, colostrum FAQs or top tips etc as there's lots of other very informative videos already online, so no need to cover it off again!
You can watch my video on YouTube here:
My Colostrum Harvesting Diary at Week 31 of Pregnancy - Week commencing 19th January 2021
My last day of expressing was 17th January 2021.
19th January - Hand expressed 5.7ml of colostrum. About 10mins per side in the evening.
20th & 21st January - I did not feel the need to express.
22nd January - Hand expressed 7.4ml of colostrum. About 10mins per side. This evening, I had a short 5 min break between 2x expressing sessions, both 5 mins each. As I don't let down very easily, I still had some discomfort in my right side after expressing the first time, so a short break helped the colostrum flow some more when expressing for a second time.
23rd January - I did not feel the need to express.
24th January - Hand expressed 6.8ml around lunchtime. I've noticed that on this occasion, my colostrum flow had picked up and I had the occasional jet come out initially, followed by a series of slightly faster drips. It still took about 10mins per side to fully express.
25th January - I did not feel the need to express
Total expressed for the week: 19.9ml
Total expressed to date: 77.1ml
My pattern of expressing colostrum over time since week 28:
My Online Information Search this Week
Aside from the same medical websites that I've seen in previous weeks, there were really only the following two posts of interest on a breastfeeding forum:
There seem to be fairly balanced responses on these posts too, which I why I think they're worth a read, however like many colostrum harvesting posts that appear high up on Google rankings, they are not that recent.
My Disclaimers
Firstly, I'm not a medical professional; I am simply a mum second time round and I'm just documenting my experience, that is all. This blog is not intended to be taken as advice or guidance in any way, but if it helps somebody make a more informed decision because they have read a bit more information on my experience then I'm glad to be of help. I would strongly advise people to talk to their medical professional first before expressing colostrum antenatally to ensure it is safe to do so.
Secondly, I need to provide a bit of background information about myself. I am 32 years old, I am a low risk pregnancy due on 23rd March 2021. I started producing colostrum naturally from week 27 of my pregnancy which is when I noticed the discomfort in my breasts, hence why I discovered how much I was producing and thought it was worthwhile saving. I already have a 14 month old boy who was initially breast fed but is now bottle fed cow's milk - this small gap between the pregnancies may have a part to play in influencing my body chemistry second time round.
Thirdly, this is a personal blog, not a scientific one. I'm simply documenting my thoughts, feelings, actions and anything useful that I can find, mostly for my own benefit.
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Read my week 32 blog to find out about the next installment of my colostrum harvesting diary.
Links to My Blogs on Antenatal Expressing of Colostrum
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