Expressing or pumping breast milk is usually faster when done with the help of a breast pump, though manually expressing milk with your hand is more efficient and most recommended by lactation consultants. By hand-expressing breast milk, you can control the amount of pressure and so it's most likely not to hurt.

Every single drop counts. Expressing and storing milk does take a little bit of work, but once you have the basics and routine down, your baby gets to have every drop of that precious liquid gold.