Am I taking all the babies colostrum?????

[aydensmama]

So I started nipple stimulation yesterday. I am 39 weeks with my third, not dilated and am hoping to soften things up. Not really start labor but hope to produce something to help dilate.

I got an ounce of colostrum yesterday, and an ounce and a half today!!!!! Liquid GOLD. I hate throwing it out- but I know I won't be giving this babe a bottle for at least 6 weeks, so I didn't think about saving and freezing. This was after one hour of pumping yesterday and 1.5 hours today.

Will this stimulate my milk coming in? Will it decrease the time the babe gets colostrum?

[wombatclay]

Personally, I'd freeze it if you continue to pump. You can always give an older child colostrum and it might actually be a nifty supplement if your slightly older babe gets a cold during this first fall/winter season.

My understanding is that colostrum shifts to a more mature milk due to hormonal changes which wont happen until after the birth... which is why tandem nursing doesn't "reduce" the amount of colostrum produced/duration of colostrum production (though many tandem mamas like to have the babe nurse first as a sort of "first dibs on colostrum" thing).

[Flower of Bliss]

Tandem nursing mamas often have their colostrum come in weeks or even months before the baby is born. Some older siblings wean at the new colostrum taste, even if they'd been try nursing for months. The new baby still gets colostrum.

Freezing it isn't a bad idea, but your little one should still get all of the colostrum he needs straight from the tap after he's born.

[aydensmama]

Thanks girls! I was wondering how it worked with tandem...both my boys quit nursing when the milk diminished.

I will start to freeze! Especially for the antibiotic properties! Hadn't thought of that!

[Coconut Chronicles]

Originally Posted by wombatclay

My understanding is that colostrum shifts to a more mature milk due to hormonal changes which wont happen until after the birth... which is why tandem nursing doesn't "reduce" the amount of colostrum produced/duration of colostrum production (though many tandem mamas like to have the babe nurse first as a sort of "first dibs on colostrum" thing).

Wow! That is fascinating!

[wombatclay]

The OBs I had for my last birth (a husband/wife team, they're in Ina's childbirth book ) were amazing... and she had been a LLL leader for a while too. So they were totally happy with the fact that dd1 nursed all the way through the pregnancy (and for another year and a half after that actually) and they answered all sorts of questions I had about pregnancy nursing and tandem nursing.

But Adventures in Tandem Nursing and the Kellymom website have tons of info too.

[FullMetalMom]

Remember, you can always feed an infant from a syringe or a spoon if necessary, you don't have to use a bottle!

[redpajama]

Just agreeing with others here--My 2.5-year-old is still nursing a few times a day, and has definitely been getting colostrum for a while now. I nursed her older brother through *her* pregnancy, too. It won't affect what there is for the baby, so I really wouldn't worry about it--save it or don't (in my opinion); the baby will get what he or she needs after birth (you're not going to "use up" the colostrum or anything).

[GenomicsGirl]

I would vote for "no", you are not *using* up all of your colostrum. Your body still knows that it has a baby in there! My ds nursed throughout my pregnancy with my dd, and I had no issues with colostrum once she was born. But I would freeze it - no sense in wasting it now! You can always dump it later if you don't need it