Colostrum collection

Personally I would buy colostrum syringes and use those! They are so much easier to collect colostrum into and then you can feed them directly to baby in hospital! I just used a sharpie and wrote on the side of the syringe the date and time it was collected and then froze them xx

@Charlotte I’ve read the paperwork they’ve given me and it says they all have to have my name date of birth and babies name on them, do you think if I just put them in a freezer bag and label that? It’s honestly driving me crazy haha x

Definitely go for syringes instead, your midwife can provide them. Have a nice warm bath and try after that. But remember that little drops are very normal. Some people struggle to collect anything at all. All very normal. In terms of labelling, I just used white address labels and wrapped them round the syringes but like with a bit that then stuck out, if that makes sense 😂 so wrap the label around the syringe then stick the two sides together and that then sticks out. I hope that makes sense 🙈

@Rachael thank you I really appreciate your advice, so do I collect into the syringe in one sitting and then freeze? I just feel like I won’t get enough to be worth freezing at the start but I don’t know if I can add to it x

@Millie I would personally just use one syringe at a time. It's just easier I think then you can freeze straight away. Some will have next to nothing in and others may get more. It's all normal. It's good to feel relaxed and maybe watch something that makes you feel relaxed and happy. And just try not to stress if you're not getting much. I remember getting little dribbles then filled two syringes on Christmas day 😂 I'll forward a really good Instagram account for some advice as well xx

https://www.instagram.com/mother.shaheda?igsh=MWlhbDJiMjVmdGgy

https://www.instagram.com/mamas.milk?igsh=eXN5ejZhcjJtZHh0

Hey that’s a lot of colostrum! It literally is so hard to get any I couldn’t at all. Give yourself a break you’re doing great!

@Rachael thank you you’ve been more than helpful! X

@Daisy thank you I’m really happy with it I’m just so confused on how to store it 🤣 really appreciate this though, I showed my friends and they’re like “that’s not going to sustain a baby” and it really put me down so this made me feel a lot better x

@Millie oh great I’m glad you’re happy with it! In my experience (the woman next to me in the hospital did this), the labour ward kept her harvested colostrum syringes in the freezer and defrosted them one by one, so it didn’t matter if they had a label on because they were used within the hour. So she had frozen colostrum already in the syringes that they kept frozen until it was needed. Breast milk can last 4-6 days in the fridge in a container and I’m pretty sure colostrum is the same!

I was super overdue with my daughter and then had latching issues initially so became a bit of an expert at expressing colostrum while I waited 😆 you would never fill these pots in a million years and it's a bit silly that they don't explain they are supposed to be for expressing into and then sucking the colustrum up from the pot using a syringe. You want 1ml oral syringes which you can get on Amazon. I did end up using 5ml syringes but that's the max you want really as baby won't take more than a few ml at a time anyway so it gets wasted if you defrost more than a little syringe or two. You've done a great job here and it's totally normal.

Also yes you can put a little sticky label on each one and then in a freezer bag for taking to hospital. My hospital required individual labels but they are all different in their rules

Why on earth did she give you that, that’s way too big 😂. I asked my midwife for syringes and expressed colostrum into a sterilised tablespoon (left it in boiling water for a few mins) and then sucked it up from the spoon. Be careful when dispensing the colostrum into the syringe as it easily collects air bubbles. I found flicking the end a few times helped. I am baffled why she gave you just one pot. Xx

@Hannah this is what I did and it worked perfectly! Way better than trying to get it into a pot or into the syringe directly

I just expressed mine into the top a syringe, and obviously made sure that I held the cap at the end when I put the bit back in so it didn’t push it all out, I also just put a sticker on my freezer bag that I labelled

Definitely agree with others! Get yourself some syringes, you can express into a container and then collect in the syringes. My midwife gave me some, but you can get them at the chemist too!

I expressed onto a spoon and then collected with the syringe. I found it very hard to collect directly into the syringe. Then sticky label with date and what not, into a zipper bag in the freezer. Don’t squeeze so much that your boob is sore. Whatever you get from a collecting session is great! You don’t have to fill a syringe every time if you’re unable to. Xx

Colostrum are little drops of gold and i had my fair share of frustration with it ,the midwife syringe did not help at all. I expressed directly in to the haakaa colostrum collector and froze , its was a life saver haakaa Colostrum Collector... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08PV948PH?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

@Hannah way too big 🤣 . I made a mistake of expressing in a large pot too and couldn’t not collect it with the syringe , I cried and just licked it back with my tongue 😛 🤣 with tears in my eyes, hormones flying everywhere, hubby just kept apologizing for nothing he has done wrong , the next day we both had a great laugh because I wasn’t going to waste any drop . Got the haakaa colostrum collector and had 3syringe ready for my baby . Couldn’t be much happier 😀

If you only get a little bit then you can combine the milk you’ve gotten. If you hand express multiples times a day then put that in those containers and then suck up at the end of the day or after two days so you can have full syringes. In about a week or two you could start pumping. When I pumped I was able to get a lot more out that way and have them in little bottles for my daughter. But get those syringes and suck up what you can get then freeze then labor a zip lock plastic bag

Amazon sells the small collection syringes from Haaka and Lansinoh, and they come with labels you can put on them.

@Caitlin and if you can barely collect a syringe do you just not collect? i feel like by the time im ready to express i can only fill a little

@Violet the more you try, the more likely it is to produce more as breastfeeding is a supply and demand situation. Try twice a day. Whatever you collect is amazing. Some women never produce any but doesn’t affect their ability to breastfeed. X