Colostrum harvesting

Well I got 3 syringes today and nearer the time going to give it a go. .. Just gotta get the sterile freezer bag. .. But looking forward to trying it

[Hidden]

Sorry! Im having a Lil problem understanding. The colostrum is the thick, creamy breast milk which is the 1st milk the baby gets as soon as you breast feed.?

Its just that never heard of the method of storing it in a sterile bag. How does this work then.

xx

[Hidden]

Yes it's the more yellowy milk that u first get. .a midwife made a comment on someone's breastfeeding question the other week and I was really interested and googled it. .. basically after a nice warm Bath or shower u gently squeeze your breasts gently and suck it up with asterile syringe (I got 2ml ones) them freeze it obviously u do it near to 40 weeks say 37/38.. cos u can only freeze it for a month and when u go into labour u take it out the freezer and give it to the midwife to put into the fridge for when baby arrives. .u won't have much maybe a couple of ml but a good start for little one

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Okay, that's fasinating i might consider it definetely.

[Allyemo1985]

Never heard of this but I'm about to read up on it now

[Skyblueboston]

I have Been advised to do this from 36 weeks, because I have gd, the baby may have low sugar levels, he can be fed this by tube or syringe if he cannot latch on

[Hidden in reply to Skyblueboston]

Let me know how u get on I'm so interested! ! X

[Skyblueboston in reply to Hidden]

Yep will do, I'm going to my first class this week, I think on Thursday:)since I have been 31 weeks I noticed I have started to leak colustrum after my shower every morning, so. Have been hand expressing everyday, and I now get a few good drops most days I'm surprised that a small amount will fill baby up, but I guess they know what they are talking about

I know one thing that they said is that hand expressing also helps bring on labour, so if your body is ready it will help it get there quicker

[Hidden in reply to Skyblueboston]

Ohhh Im definitely giving it a go! Apparently baby stomach is like a marble when they are first born and colostrum is so rich.in nutrients . It's amazing what our bodies do! So u have to start encouraging it before u start harvesting it then? When I had all the signs of gd with my second even though my blood sugars were fine when my daughter was born her blood sugars were low so had to have a bottle straight away... so yeah its great if u have colostrum ready xx

[Merida]

Hey, this does sound clever, and if helps bring on labour a definite plus. I don't know much about it so sorry a daft question, but would there still be plenty of colostrum left for breastfeeding the baby when they're born if you've squeezed some out?? I'll be 38 weeks on Wednesday so would be perfect time for me

[Hidden]

Yes I think so. . If u have a midwife app worth asking them. .I Googled it and ur only harvest about 5-10ml I'm hoping it's not as tricky as I think it may be, there was a midwife on here who mentioned it. . Can't remember her name but if u look at questions about breastfeeding she put the comment on there so maybe she could give some more info. . Great timing for u let us know how u get on x