Collecting colostrum

Breastfeeding & Pumping
1

What helped me with my breastfeeding journey was expressing colostrum at 36 weeks with my first and 37 weeks with my second. You do have to get approval from your doctor because it can cause early labor. It’s helpful for C-section, gestational diabetes and if you might have breastfeeding challenges

Why I recommend it

  • Can be used if your baby has low sugar levels (if you bring milk to the hospital)

  • Avoids formula or donor milk at hospital if you bring some

  • Gives mama the confidence to breastfeed making you less worried about your supply.

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2

This is so true! Having colostrum prepped in advance can save so much stress in those first 48 hours, especially for blood sugar checks or if baby needs a little extra encouragement. Thanks for sharing such a helpful tip! :beating_heart:

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3

Such a helpful tip!

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4

I thought about doing this when I was pregnant. I wish I had! It would have been so nice to have on hand!

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5

Yes. It always takes a while to get your milk going too. Not having to stress makes it so much easier

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6

I wish it was more well known. Both times I had my boys the hospital was shocked when I brought it in. I was too stubborn to do formula or donor milk.

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7

You were so prepared! The hospitals aren’t used to that I guess.

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8

I guess, they did say they wanted to start a program for new mamas to start collecting colostrum but they didn’t know how to implement it yet

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9

That’s pretty awesome!

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10

I wish I knew this when I was trying to collect colostrum when I was pregnant such a hard world to navigate

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11

Yes it can be pretty hard trying to navigate breastfeeding in the early stage.

12

I so wish I seen this my first journey 2 years ago- and even this time around. Each time I had no idea what I was doing and would only get 1-2 drops. I did formula the first 2-3 days while I pumped waiting on my milk to come in.

Thank you so much for this information and the picture references!

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13

I’m glad to help spread awareness about it. I truly feel it benefited my breastfeeding journey and helped me feel confident in breastfeeding