Breastfeeding and Work - Willis,TX

M. Bless Your Heart. I pumped at school (Iam a teacher) with one of my babies and it was hard and it was my own classroom. I ended up putting my baby at a daycare across the street from the school and running (actually with jogging shoes that I brought in a bag) across the street every day during my conference period.
I guess it will depend on how supportive your mentor teacher is. I would ask for a private place like an empty class or closet that I could lock while I pumped. The lounge will never work people are in and out all day. Male and female...
There is usually only 1 or very limited adult bathrooms and they would not be happy if you are in there taking up large amounts of time everyday.
Also you actually will only have a 30 min lunch time off to pump. You will be working during your conference period.
I did not ask if this is elementary or secondary. Maybe secondary you have more time off. I was a first grade teacher.
Is there anyway you can postpone your student teaching for another semester? It would be so much easier and you will never get this time back with your baby...
Or can someone bring the baby to you everyday at your lunch time?

There will at least be a faculty restroom for you to pump in. I am a teacher and I went back to work (subbing part time) while I was breastfeeding it worked out fine. It was a hassle, but it was important to me so I made it work. Here is the schedule I worked out. I nursed my daughter in the morning, pumped when I first got to school (in the teacher restroom which was very nice and clean), pumped during teacher conference hour, pumped before or after lunch, then pumped right before I left for the day. I usually only pumped for around 10 minutes each time. Pumping was always a challenge for me. I would get very frustrated when I would only get an ounce after 10-20 minutes of pumping. Grrr! But, I kept up with it and learned to be more relaxed while pumping and with lots of practice it just got easier and easier. I ended up making it to my goal of breastfeeding for 12 months. I think if you are committed to making it work for you and your daughter you will reach the goal you set out for yourself! But also remember, that if you are feeling like it is not working out and you want to switch to formula don't beat yourself up over it. You have to do what is best for you and your baby. You have breastfed for 3 months already and that is awesome! Good luck with everything!!

If you want to continue breast feeding exclusively you can do it. I work in sales so I do not have an office. I would park my car in the back of the parking lot and pump in my car. I used a nursing cover for privacy and had a cooler that I kept in my car to keep my milk cold until I could get home. The most important thing was to pump on a regular schedule. Once I started missing a pump session, my milk dwindled fast. I was able to pump enough milk to feed my son during his day at daycare. I would start pumping now and save up your milk in the freezer in case you do miss some pumping sessions during the day.
I would also recommend finding a good lactation consultant(they are free), to give you additional information. I found that pediatricians do not have a lot of information around breast feeding. Get the advise from someone who specializes in it.

When I was working with my 3rd, he was a little older but still nursing. It was not an issue as he was an out of sight out of mind kinda guy. If I was around, he wanted to nurse, If I wasn't around, he was fine. This may be how it will be with your daughter. Building up supply at this stage is hard. Just make sure you are getting enough fluid and still taking your vitamins.

Maybe consult with a lactation consultant.

I would suggest meeting with your mentor teacher if you feel comfortable or your college mentor to find out the principal's name and perhaps discuss the situation with him/her. They should be able to accommodate you on this. It depends on how much you want to be able to continue and make it happen.

Another, possible last resort, would be to purchase a car adapter and plug it into your car and go out there on your break. With my first son there were a few occasions where I had to pump in the car and while it's not the most comfortable thing to do it's definitely better than not doing it at all.

As a mentor teacher to many student teachers and methods students part of being a mentor is being flexible with your mentees. Just make sure you show your thanks and go above and beyond if you do have to take a little more time than a break or time from work to be able to do this.

I am also a teacher at a middle school and if you need more guidance or assistance please email me.

Another possible place I just thought of is the nurse's office depending on how it's set up.

I tried breastfeeding and working and I just couldn't do it. Milk is produced when the child nurses. I tried pumping but I couldn't do it regularly. Pumping doesn't produce as much. I would nurse him in the evening but he quickly figured out he wasn't getting much. So he kind of weaned himself and pretty soon I had to use the bottle full time. It's not what I wanted to do but it's what I had to do.

Yeah for breastfeeding! I like the car advice, or the nurses office. Just wanted to give you encouragement to keep going at it. I would breastfeed my daughter all the time in a parking lot. I'd put blankets up in the side windows and my sunshade in the windsheild and park in a safe but "hidden" spot. Good luck to you. Breastfeeding is SO worth it! I bf for 20 months and my daughter has NEVER, repeat NEVER been on antibiotics! She's 26 months now. When she does get a cold, she's over it QUICKLY. And she's only puked twice in her whole life! And once was car sickness we think. Anyways, it may seem like a sacrifice, but one WELL worth it!

I agree with the other replies that they probably will have somewhere private for you to pump as many teachers do. I work in an office setting and have my own office and that is where I pumped. I exclusively pumped after about a month of breastfeeding directly. I know you say you don't pump very much right now but you may be surprised how that changes as your baby gets older if you keep up with breastfeeding and pumping regularly. I'm sure you know its a supply and demand thing. Its amazing how your body will know how much to produce as your baby changes. In the begining I would pump about 2-3 ounces total every 3-4 hours. By the time my baby was older I would pump 5-6 ounces every 3-4 hours and actually get about 10 ounces in the morning. I was never able to build up a freezer stash like others I had read about on message boards as my boy eats alot. I was able to pump and give breastmilk to my son almost exclusively for 6 months. I supplemented with Similac Advance Early Shield and now feed him that. I did well with pumping and would make sure to make my breaks a priority at work. I do have to say pumping is a lot of work though with washing all the extra bottles and pump parts, but I had lots of extras and ran things through the dishwasher. I think if I had to do it over again I would have directly breastfed everytime I was with my son instead of feeding him bottles of expressed milk and then pumping too. I was able to keep my supply up by drinking water, but my supply really tanked around 5-6 months because of reoccuring colds and sinus infections. I just stopped pumping about 2 weeks ago because I was only getting about 7 ounces a day which is one bottle for my son. It just was not enough milk for me to pack up the pump, cooler, and bottles everyday. He got a good start and is doing great on formula too. Happy mom= happy baby. I'm sure pumping will work for you and you may be pleasantly surprised at how many people are supportive of what you are doing. Three other coworkers of mine have been pumping recently too. Good luck:)

I am a teacher and dealt with this when nursing my daughter...there will be a place to pump at the school! Find the principal or cooperating teacher and talk to them about it and they will help find a place for you. My supply was lost with my son because of not pumping during the day!!

It's difficult, but you may not have to wean during the day. I think it's much better to pump during the day than try to pump a bunch now and save it. You want your milk supply to stay "up" and you want her to get the milk that is most appropriate for her, as it changes with time to meet her needs. Milk pumped now isn't "perfect" when she's 6 months old, though it's still good.

I was a teacher, and felt like my lunch break wasn't enough time for me to pump. the ideal times for me were 9:30 and then during my conference period at 1. It only took 20 minutes from my conference period, so I could still do other things (unless we were having a meeting, and then I pumped during lunch and immediately after school). I also arranged with the principal and another teacher to combine our classes for half an hour in the morning while she read a book and I pumped. Then I would take over and do the rest of the lesson with the class. It was perfect, and I constantly thanked my friend for helping me.

At those times, I pumped in my classroom at my desk with the door locked. You probably won't have that luxury.

Other teachers I know would use the bathroom. I wouldn't do that unless I HAD to. We had a workroom that was storage for the grade level stuff. It had a sink and outlets. I used that several times when my students were in my classroom. A lot of other teachers just pumped at lunch and at conference times, but those times weren't spaced out enough for me (my conference time was only about half an hour after my lunch time).

Talk to your mentor teacher and your student teaching facilitator and see if they have any suggestions for what people have done in the past. They should be willing to work with you. You shouldn't have to wean and give formula during the day if you don't want to. I pumped and nursed, and my son was exclusively on breastmilk for the first 7 months, slowly started solids and still mostly drank breastmilk for the next few. He never had one drop of formula, and I worked full time with children. It can be done, but it will take some help from the teachers around you to find the way to do it best.

YOu may not be pumping much now, but when you're away from her, you will get lots more. As you are pumping what she should be eating, you'll see. Get a few days' worth before you start working, and then what you pump one day she'll eat the next. It's always nice to get some excess, but don't worry about pumping everything now. A good double electric (Medela PIS, for example) is going to be best for you. If you find you need a little help pumping, try drinking Mother's Milk Tea three times a day. Eat oatmeal in the mornings!

As of yet, there is no Federal law that protects breastfeeding mothers. The laws on breastfeeding and pumping differ by state, but in Texas, they don't legally have to let you pump at the workplace. THere is no law in place to protect us for that. However, Texas law states that a breastfeeding woman has the right to feed in any place she's legally allowed to be. It also allows workplaces to promote themselves as "mother friendly" if they comply with a list of provisions. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/txcodes/he016500.html But the law doesn't say a workplace HAS to let you pump. I took it as, "I can feed my son here, so unless you want me nursing my son every few hours, let me pump." My mother said she'd bring the baby up to the school if they wouldn't let me pump! It never came to that, though, because I was very sweet in asking everyone around me for cooperation.

I am a teacher, and I pumped with both of my children. I breastfed right before leaving home in the mornings. Then I pumped on my conference period, pumped on my lunch break, and pumped right after the kids left after school. Then as soon as I picked my child up from daycare, I would immediately breastfeed again (and for the rest of the evening). Lock the door (most teachers will help you with this, especially since it's not "your" classroom as a student teacher) and put a sign or covering over the window for privacy. Make sure you have a photo of the baby and maybe some quiet music to help you relax. It isn't easy, but it can be done with some determination and planning.

As for dwindling supply, that does tend to happen with pumping. However, drinking LOTS of water helps immensely. So does limiting caffeine and staying off birth control. Some mothers use fenugreek to increase their supply, or a special type of tea. I haven't tried that, though.

Congratulations on your new baby. Keep us posted with how it goes!

I agree with everyone else--there will be somewhere for you to pump and you won't have to be in a bathroom!! In fact, I think by law there has to be a reasonable place for you to pump and you are entitled to that time to pump as well. It will take time to get used to pumping and in the beginning you may not be able to pump as much milk as you would like, but your body will get used to the pump--just try to pump on schedule. Any breastmilk you can give your baby will make a big difference and will help her immune system as well (since she will be in daycare too). Just start pumping now everyday before you go back to work. You may think your milk is dwindling but it probably isn't like you think. Look on lalecheleague.org, they have a wonderful mother to mother forum that addresses issues like pumping/working and ways to boost your supply if you really think that's happening. You definitely can do it, it's a lot of work, but remember, it's not forever!!! Also, make sure you have a good pump!!! I would suggest the Medela pumps where you pump both sides and once. Don't settle for any cheap models or manual ones. If you are going to be working, you need a strong one!! Yes, it's expensive, but still cheaper than all that formula!!!

good luck to you!

Ask your supervising teacher if you may use the room on planning period. If this is impossible see if the secretary knows of an empty space. You may need to go to the car with a jacket. I used breast milk with both of my children. As soon as I got the students out of the room. I pumped with my hand at my desk. I did it alone at lunch. I did it in the room at recess. I switched and took after school duty from other teachers. Most teachers will work with you because we have all been there.

How old is the baby?
Is there not a teacher's lounge u can pump in?

M.,

If nusring your baby is important to you, you will find a way to make pumping while student teaching work. Many mothers, including myself have been successful pumping at work and so can you! The most important thing is to make and keep a schedule for pumping. Chances are, your mentor teacher and school will support you.
Best wishes with pumping and student teaching!!

PS-my car was my favorite place to pump, also Mothering Magazine makes GREAT reading material while you pump!

I have gone out to pump in my car when needed. Keep a blanket (to cover-up) in there and a magazine! I used the Medela wipes too, and some antibacteria gel in my pump bag, so I could take care of everything there. You may be able to use the nurses office too. I have heard of other moms doing that.

My suggestion is to make pumping a priority...and you can always go into the nurse's office and shut the door. Also, the faculty restrooms should be way different than the kids bathroom, so that is an option too. Also make sure that you are drinking lots and lots of water and rent those powerful pumps as they are much faster than hand expression. I never had to pump, as I was a stay at home mom after I had our son, but I did have friends that did while they were teaching and it really shouldn't be a problem if you are just the student teacher. Just make sure that you speak up and ask for help in making sure that your baby gets the best nutrition possible. Wishing the best for you and your baby...

Dear M.,

Definitely ask. I can tell you that different schools have different cultures to do with breastfeeding, mostly based on whether an earlier breastfeeding mother has already broken the ground. I am pretty sure the school has a legal obligation to provide somewhere that is not a bathroom, and to give you appropriate breaks to pump. Probably not safe for a student teacher to assert these rights even if they are guaranteed, which I'm not entirely sure about, but it makes it likely that one or more tenured teachers have already established a precedent, and it also means that a polite query about this is less likely to arouse annoyance and more likely to get you the help you need. When I started teaching in my department I couldn't tell how mother friendly they were and was afraid, during my interview process, to do anything to find out. But once I took the job, I was thrilled and delighted to find that this is a very parent-friendly department. When you pump during work ours, bring a picture of your baby to look at, and for solid info on your legal protections (always good to know what they are), maybe try the local La Leche League. Oh, and rent a medical quality breast pump.

as a teacher I can tell you they can and will find you a place to pump...so ask ok:)