Hand Expressing, Milk Collecting and Cup Feeding Using The kindestCup

Hey mamas! I'd like to tell you guys about a spectacular breastfeeding cup that I just got my hands on. It's called kindestCup and it's really great. Keep reading if you want to learn how to hand express your milk and increase your supply! Also, learn how to pump on the go with this very simple but effective tool! kindestCup is made of 100% food-grade silicone and is shaped kind of like a little shoe with a large shielded cavity. It has a pointed end for cup feeding and pouring with fewer spills. Its primary use is to facilitate hand expression of breast milk and to make it easier for moms to hand express milk and collect it, and feed their milk to their babies. It serves as three tools in one product! This post is sponsored by kindestCup. All reviews and opinions expressed (not hand expressed, haha) in this post are based on my own personal views. If you would like to buy your own kindestCup, please visit their Shop!

What is Hand Expression?

Hand expression is the act of using your hands to express breast milk or colostrum from your breasts. It's the way our fore-mothers got milk out before the invention of breast pumps and it's an extremely efficient way of getting milk out. You'd be surprised how much you can actually get out by just using your hands! Once you've stimulated the let-down reflex, the milk just flows and you can collect a lot in a very short period of time. Honestly, you should try it! You can get just as much as your fancy expensive pump with just your bare hands! kindestCup is a great tool to have if you decide to go the hand expression route, it's so easy to collect your milk into this perfectly designed cup and you can do it anywhere! Releasing milk in this way is also very beneficial in the first days right after your baby is born. Research has shown that women that hand express frequently in the first few hours and days after the birth of their baby make more milk and their milk comes in even faster than for women that only breastfeed and don't hand express. Isn't that what every woman wants?? More milk faster? It really is an unknown fact about breastfeeding!

How do you Hand Express?

This is an excerpt from a blog post I wrote a while back (The Magical Way to Increase Breastmilk Supply), and it details exactly how to hand express, which is helpful when using the kindestCup because not everyone knows how to do this effectively! -Start by washing your hands and getting into a comfortable position in a private area. It’s better if you’re sitting up so that gravity isn’t working against you. Be sure to have a container (like the kindestCup) ready that you can use to put the milk you express into. This can be a spoon, cup, syringe or anything clean really. -Expose your breast or breasts fully and start by massaging one of them in a circular motion, working from your shoulder and all the way down to your nipple. This will stimulate the let-down reflex. Take it slow! There is no need to rush, and actually, being stressed and rushed can be counter-productive and hinder the let-down reflex and your milk won’t flow as well. -Make a “C” with your thumb and forefinger and place your fingers about an inch away from your areola. Remember, you are expressing your breasts and not your nipple, there is no need to be super close to the nipple. Gently push your fingers back and then squeeze. You are trying to emulate what the baby does when he or she feeds, so don’t bring your fingers too far forward close to the nipple, which might cause you to stop the flow. -Sometimes it takes a few squeezes for the milk to start to flow, so maybe nothing much at all comes out. That is totally ok, stick with the technique and remind yourself that you are stimulating your breast to make more milk. Stay positive! Whatever milk you do express, collect into the kindestCup. You do not have to stay in one place the whole time. Move your fingers all around the areola because there are milk ducts all around that you can express milk from. -It can be helpful to massage your breast in between squeezes, to release more milk down. It’s up to you whether you hand express from both breasts or just one in each sitting. If you prefer to switch between breasts, that is perfectly ok. Usually, the recommended time is about 15 minutes for each session. If you’re exhausted you can teach your partner or family member and they can do it while you rest. After the hand expression session (who knew I could rap?), feed the milk you get to your baby using your kindestCup. If your baby is super sleepy and won’t take any extra, save it for later! If you follow this technique and do it after every single time you breastfeed your baby, within a few days, you will most certainly have tons of milk. Also, if your milk hasn’t “come in” yet, this will speed up that process.

What is Cup Feeding and How do You do It?

At some point, you might need to feed your baby differently than on the breast. For example, some babies don't latch on immediately after delivery and you might need an alternative way of feeding your baby in the beginning. Cup feeding is a great alternative and the kindestCup is an awesome tool for it! It's not always a good idea to introduce a bottle right away because some babies get confused and end up not latching on the breast. This is not true for all babies, but it's not good to risk that happening when you are just getting started on your breastfeeding journey! That's where cup feeding comes in! Cup feeding is completely natural for babies, they do it intuitively and it's exactly what it says, you feed your baby from a cup. How do you do it? You just bring a cup (for example, the kindestCup) with expressed breastmilk to baby's lower lip and let your baby lap the milk up, kind of like a cat! You do not have to pour the milk into the baby's mouth, it's actually recommended that you don't pour it. Just make sure the kindestCup is clean and the milk that you are feeding has been stored appropriately. https://youtu.be/4CLzr5gV2Go?t=150

Why is Hand Expression Beneficial?

As stated before, hand expressing is a great way to collect your breast milk without using a pump! It is also an awesome way to stimulate your body to make tons of milk and to help bring your milk in sooner. Also, it's a great way to prevent mastitis and clogged milk ducts. Pretty neat, eh? If you hand express after every feed, in the beginning, you will be setting yourself up for breastfeeding success! Read more about the amazing benefits of hand expressing and how to get an AWESOME breast milk supply, in this blog post: The Magical Way to Increase Breast Milk Supply. Hand expressing also stimulates the let-down reflex better than a pump because it's more natural to feel human touch than a plastic pump! Try it! You'd really be surprised how much milk you get without using a pump.

What is kindestCup?

https://youtu.be/fiqOIN_sYU0 It's a 3 in 1 unique multifunctional breastfeeding cup! It basically catches your milk and is a feeding device all in one! Watch the video above for a complete understanding of how kindestCup works. You can attach it to your breast and catch the let down while your baby feeds on the other side. This is so good especially in the beginning when you might have an oversupply of milk. Store whatever you get for someone else to feed the baby if you have to be away for any reason. Instead of losing that milk into a breast pad, collect it with the kindestCup! You can also use it to hand express into and then feed that milk directly to your baby with the cup feeding method. I really love how multifunctional this product is!

Some Great Features of The kindestCup

It's so easy to express your milk into because the opening is really big. Your milk can spray into every direction and the kindestCup catches everything! One item that does 3 things! Us busy moms don't have time to be cleaning pumps and feeding tools all day. Easy to clean, no crevices or difficult-to-reach areas. Also, dishwasher safe! Easy to use for either right or left-handed people. Compared to other silicone collection "pumps" the kindestCup doesn't fall easily when placed on a table after expressing. You don't want to spill that liquid gold! There is no volume scale! I love that. So you're not comparing and measuring each feed. You just simply feed your baby what you get! The suction is not crazy. I find the suction on the other milk collectors out there way too strong. It was so uncomfortable for me that I stopped using it. The kindestCup just gently suctions but stays on pretty firmly! The rim for cup feeding is cool because you can squeeze it to prevent spills. The rim is really smooth which makes feeding much easier. I tried using it with my 10-month-old and it was super easy! It just looks so freaking cute! And, it comes in a nice little lint-free tote bag which makes it easier to bring with you wherever you may need to. Oh, and once your baby is bigger, you can repurpose the kindestCup and use it as a snack bowl for your toddler! How cool is that? I honestly cannot think about a lot of cons to this sweet product. Some women might prefer it if it had more suction, similar to other milk collection cups out there. But for me personally, I really didn't like the extreme suction of those types of cups. It was way too uncomfortable and I had to take it off every time. The kindestCup has just the right amount of suction to stay on, without overstimulating, which is great! Also, you can use it as a collection cup in any position, even side-lying! The kindestCup was created by Melanie Scholz, a breastfeeding mom with a Ph.D. in biomechanics (how legit is that!). Melanie really didn't like breast pumps. So she went out and designed the kindestCup for all moms out there that feel the same way. I really think the result is amazing! What a great product to have and I wish every mom could get one of these on the labour and delivery floor before going home! Not only will it teach them about hand expression, but it will also help them get more milk faster and prevent their newborns from getting nipple confusion! Head on over to kindestCup.com and order your very own kindestCup today! :)