Well, it's week 29 of my pregnancy and I've been harvesting colostrum to relieve breast discomfort for about 2 weeks. I feel the rate of antenatal expressing of colostrum has been more stable this week as I have mostly expressed every other day. This is due to getting over eating so much at Christmas! I also talk about some of the physical changes I've started to experience when hand expressing colostrum - but these are all normal for me as I have experienced them with my first pregnancy when I did not need to express colostrum before birth.
After conducting what feels like a tonne of not very satisfactory online research in previous weeks, talking to my local midwives and breastfeeding experts (including other mums!) on forums, I feel a lot more confident in my decision to continue to hand express as and when I need at this stage in my pregnancy.
And yes, this week's main image 'believe in yourself' may seem a bit cliché, however that is how I am feeling this week. I am carrying my baby not anyone else, so I need to have more self-confidence in what my body can do, and most importantly I need to listen to my body. Bodies are intelligent things, so if my body is telling me to express through the feeling of discomfort in my boobs, I should listen and hand express a little colostrum at 29 weeks of pregnancy to relieve that discomfort.
My week 27 blog covers more information about my background and why I am expressing colostrum before 36 weeks pregnant, and my week 28 blog reviews the various information sources I have looked at to gain some guidance from what minimal information is out there for women expressing colostrum at this stage of their pregnancy.
Following the advice of the La Leche League, I hand express colostrum usually for a few minutes usually once a day or once every other day, saving as much as I can. Quantity isn't the focus for me right now but it's nice to know I'll have a good stash for my baby.
I have a low risk, healthy pregnancy and have been okayed to do this by my midwives, who know me, my medical history and previous pregnancy.
My Colostrum Harvesting Diary at Week 29 of Pregnancy - Week commencing 5th January 2021
My last day of expressing was 3rd January 2021.
5th January - hand expressed 5ml of colostrum in the evening. 10 mins each side.
6th January - I did not feel the need to express.
7th January - hand expressed 4ml of colostrum in the evening. 10 mins each side.
8th January - I did not feel the need to express.
9th January - hand expressed 4.4ml of colostrum in the evening. 10 mins each side.
10th January - hand expressed 1.7ml of colostrum in the morning. 5 mins each side. Then, hand expressed 1.5ml of colostrum in the evening. 5 mins each side. Total expressed for the day was 3.2ml.
11th January - I did not feel the need to express.
Total expressed for the week: 16.2ml
Physical Changes I've Experienced When Hand Expressing
There's a few things I have noticed since I have been manually expressing colostrum:
1. Pressure to express can be in one or both breasts (normal) - I tend to get the 'pressure to empty' feeling mostly in my right side however my left side produces more colostrum. I treat both sides the same when expressing and the difference is minimal. Sometimes the feeling can switch sides too... It might start on the right, then the left becomes more prominent after a few hours. It doesn't bother me and is just an observation.
2. The flow of colostrum is slow (normal) - When expressing colostrum by hand it is a slow process - literally one drip at a time. Usually, it's starts with a watery almost clear liquid which then turns into a pale creamy colour after a few drips. I've never expressed very yellow or orange colostrum however I have noticed that when I freeze my colostrum it actually becomes more yellow as the fat content is made more obvious through the freezing process.
I don't let down very easily so when I express, I find it's easier to do one side for a few minutes, then switch to the other when it's looking like it's running low. After I have expressed the other side, I'll then switch back and suddenly I have a little more colostrum that appears and expresses more easily. I keep repeating this process until the discomfort in my breasts is well relieved. On the plus side, I don't tend to leak colostrum... Not yet anyway!
3. Speckled 'worked' skin (normal) - I have also noticed a slight change in the appearance of the skin around the breast - it's gone slightly speckled and it's more noticeable when expressing. I remember this from breastfeeding my first baby so quite normal for me and just indicates that the skin is being worked.
Hand expressing does help me avoid soreness that you can get with a pump. While I personally don't want to use a pump just yet as I think the suction will be too severe, I will do later on in the pregnancy. I've purchased a Haakaa manual breast pump as many mum's rate them for expressing milk, so I may try it with colostrum later on. I already have a Spectra electric breast pump which I'll regularly use for expressing milk after the birth.
Have I Experienced Any Signs of Pre-Term Labour?
No. I have not experienced any cramps or contractions in the woomb, backache, soreness or any other symptoms of labour since I have started expressing colostrum during pregnancy. Baby is still very active and is seated in the head-down position which is where they should be for this time - this has been verified by my midwife.
Baby's growth is normal too and the midwife is measuring my bump every few weeks now until birth.
My bump is starting to change position and is moving down a tiny bit but this is quite normal for a second pregnancy. With my first pregnancy, my bump dropped quite drastically at 33 weeks, so a little movement earlier on is what I expect. My muscles are more relaxed second time round so will respond differently. I also carry pretty much everything frontwards so while I am 6 and a half months pregnant at the minute, I look more like 8 months! I'm just all front bump...
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.
__________
Read my week 30 blog to find out about the next installment of my colostrum harvesting diary.
Links to My Blogs on Antenatal Expressing of Colostrum
Comments
Post a Comment