Colostrum Harvesting the Liquid Gold

Nothing screams true love quite like cozying up on the sofa, Channel 5 reruns of Police Interceptors blaring on the tv, and intently squeezing a boob whilst your husband hovers nearby armed with the world’s smallest syringe. 

I’d forgive you for thinking that this vision was some odd opening scene to a dystopian drama series, but in fact it was my first experience of antenatal colostrum collecting. 

When I was pregnant with my daughter two years ago, I’d never heard of collecting colostrum and if you’d asked me what it was I’d probably have guessed it was some sort of musical instrument. 

(A quick colostrum 101 at this point: It’s the MAGICAL first milk your body makes from 16 weeks pregnant that can sustain your newborn and their tiny tummy until your mature milk comes in. Think “a nutritionally rich syrup tailored perfectly for your little one”, often referred to as “liquid gold”. Lesson over.) 

 The idea is that you hand-express this magic liquid from 36 weeks pregnant, this differs if you’re expecting more than one baby, and store it in tiny syringes in the freezer until the baby arrives. 

The trouble is, after doing a quick straw-poll of some of my own mama-pals, I found that their experiences and the support available really varied. 

“I didn’t know what it was and found no support other than Google, really. I couldn’t get enough for a syringe at all. More came as I got closer to delivery but I found it so stressful”. 

“My midwife never said anything and I didn’t do it at all.”

“My midwife and hospital nurses gave me syringes and some information but it was a real slog to get anything and it made me worry about whether I'd be able to breastfeed.”

During my first pregnancy it took days of trying, and some fairly sore nipples, to get even the tiniest droplet to form. I would express and hubby was poised on syringe duty. We tried all sorts of tricks from warm showers and compresses, to looking at baby scan pictures, and watching some of my favourite movies to try and encourage more colostrum to appear. 

I felt so dejected that I didn’t get much but what I’ve learned since those early days is this: It turns out you need patience and, just like with breast-feeding, the more you withdraw from the boobie-bank, the more you’ll make. 

What little colostrum I collected the first time was still a god-send when it took my milk a while to come in after my c-section for breech baby one and I’m so grateful I persevered with it. (Worth noting, too, that what you can collect antenatally is not an indication of your ability to breastfeed, so you can breathe a sigh of relief if you’re finding it tough). 

So fast forward a few years, baby number two’s arrival is imminent and I’ve been back hand-expressing in front of the tele. Am I still watching Police Interceptors? No. 

Thankfully this time I’ve had some extra help to pair with more experience. The amazing team at Wren have created the ultimate colostrum harvesting kit (complete with fabulous shiny boobs pouch) with everything I needed inside to both remind me how to extract this liquid gold AND store it in some new ways too. 

Tiny 1ml syringes just like you’d get from your midwife but with the added bonus of some new silicone 5ml collectors. (Don’t panic if you can’t imagine filling one of those, I can’t either, but we’re all unique. No pressure girls.)  

I’ve managed to collect more colostrum this time than I ever got last time. Why? Maybe my boobs remember doing it two years ago and the 15 months of breastfeeding that followed. 

Maybe I’ve nailed the technique this time so I can express on my own, to do it more frequently than just when my husband is around to hold the all-important syringe. 

It could be the warm compresses, a bit of massage, a cup of tea whilst expressing or watching Notting Hill on Netflix. Chances are, it’s the lot. Like so much of motherhood, it’s trial and error. 

My advice, if it means anything, get yourself a Wren colostrum harvesting kit, start trying as early as recommended and give yourself time to find out what works best for you. Perhaps most importantly, if you’re struggling, reach out, and if you can’t get anything antenatally, don’t sweat it. 

So what’s the best tv fodder for colostrum collecting? Anything you bloomin want. It turns out that England’s tragic Euro’s defeat to Spain was the backdrop to my largest collection yet, and I definitely didn’t see that one coming. 

Lauren x

Find out more about Lauren's first breastfeeding journey  over in Meet the Mums.