Colostrum
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Colostrum also has higher properties than even usual breast milk so also having some in the freezer as the milk changes after 3-5 days means if in the future your little one was poorly you could give them essentially an extra boost with colostrum! But your breast milk is still amazing and will adapt to baby and their needs too to fight illness. But it can be handy especially if they are struggling to feed depending on sickness. And as you say could use on rashes and milk spots and baths. Again usual breast milk also works for this, colostrum is just a little extra hence the nickname ‘liquid gold’. So it can be useful to have some but don’t put any pressure on yourself. You could also harvest a bit when baby arrives as before it’s harder to get out (birth/hormones shift to signal more production from then) before your any to save some before milk changes. Or just feed baby direct (hopefully) and not worry about harvesting. Hope that helps!
My midwife said it’s good to have it in case there are issues with latching but also if your supply isn’t enough if you have a hungry baby or to use around regular breast milk in the early days as it’s so nutrient rich She also said not to try before 37 weeks as it may induce labour x
Part of the reason it’s recommended sometimes is that nipple stimulation can bring on labour - this is why it’s not recommended until 37 weeks, even if you’re leaking and it’s clearly there. I would bear this in mind depending what your current birth plan is!
In most cases you don't need to harvest colostrum. It's recommended in certain cases where there are complications to have the colostrum as back up. I didn't harvest colostrum last time but had issues getting my baby to latch due to tongue tie and needed to express after birth, this is why I'm harvesting this time so I already have some so there is a bit less pressure if the problems occur again. However, you should still be putting baby to breast as priority after birth for your supply or expressing after birth if baby can't feed from the breast, if you want to breastfeed.
I was confused and overwhelmed by it with my first and I did not harvest as I was set that it was just for "known issues" etc But I ended up syringe feeding the first few days as we had bit issues with latching and a very hungry bubba. So this time I'm planning on starting harvesting this week. It's a great back up in case of issues but even to give you a small break on those first few days as someone else can syringe feed baby. As everything it is up to you and some people are unable to express so may not even be an option.
Thanks everyone, this makes sense now! X
I struggled to get my first to latch on to my boob so I’m going to harvest this time just in case. But I will try boob first, it’s like a back up plan xx
Exactly - you don’t have to harvest colostrum for this reason. It started as being recommended for women where there was a higher chance of issues or babies needing support and so might’ve had to be syringed/tube fed so having colostrum harvested was beneficial. But it’s not essential and some women just can’t harvest any (I was one). But my girl was able to latch (even with tongue tie issues which was a whole other issue) but we EBF with no bottles for just over a year and so it wasn’t indicative of my supply/ability to feed and I never found myself needing any colostrum from the freezer (but didn’t have any anyways). But it can be useful for unforeseen issues or if baby is not able to latch and so could feed then your harvested colostrum over formula if you wanted. It really depends how much you have. You can also pump and feed baby if that arises and you didn’t have any harvested as the first few days you are still producing colostrum. Cont.