Going Back to Work - Pumping Question

pump as a substitute for breastfeeding and you will keep the supply up and have breast milk for her when you aren't there. Thalk to yuor provider about whether she isn't eating too much at three months. ____@____.com

I also had to pump at work. I pumped about 4 times during the day. You may want to pump extra some days in case you aren't able to pump as often the next day. That's great that you've been able to build up a stock. That will really help. Be sure to have lots of water available at your desk. Before my pregnancy I was never good about drinking water, but breastfeeding/pumping would make me very thirsty. Pumping at work does get easier. I was able to check email and read documents while pumping.

Why not keep nursing and work from home. www.bizness4you.com
I decided to do that and home-school my children. They grow to fast to miss out on one moment of time. This might not be for you, but who knows.
D.

I think part of it depends on how long your work day is and how much you pump at each sitting versus how much she eats. If she'll need to be fed those 3 feedings (midmorning, noonish and midafternoon) all while you're gone, then you may need to pump 3 times at work. Or if you can pump enough during 2 pumping sessions for 3 bottles, that's all you'd need. I work at a school and so I have a shorter work day, but I pump twice while I'm there. I also pump before work in the morning (pump one side, feed from the other) just to have a surplus that I can store for nights out, longer work days, emergencies, etc.

Some tips in case of a slow milk production day... drink lots of water and have a photo of your baby available to look at. Sometimes that encourages a second let down to get more milk out of one sitting.

Good for you! Pumping is NOT fun, but it's so worth it so that you can continue to feed your baby breastmilk until you decide it's time to stop.

Well, I joked that I nursed a breast pump, because that's what it felt like. I went back to work when my son (who was exclusively bfed) was 16 weeks old. I pumped 3 x per day, until he was 6 months old. After that, I was able to pump 2 x per day, and still keep up w/demand. Oh...I also tried to squeeze in a few pumping sessions on the weekends.

I hated pumping, but I did it because I felt it was the best thing for my son. And just to let you know, I stopped pumping when he turned 1, yet continued to nurse him until he was 3. So the end of pumping doesn't have to be the end of nursing. That's the beauty of it!

Good luck, and congrats on the baby!

D.

Good for you for wanting to continue breast feeding!

I agree with the other moms, don't get too much on a schedule. Pump as you are able. Drink lots of water, eat oatmeal....keep eating.

I LOVED the medela car adapter (I always felt that I got a better suction and more power in the car). I even mastered a pump and drive type of system...which was really convenient! :-)

You may even want to pump on one side while you are nursing or after she's done, but only if you feel like you're not getting a good supply during the day.

I think its great that you have been able to build up a supply before you head back to work.

Best of luck!
B.

HI K..
I went back to work when my son was 5 months and he is now 10.5 months old. I am still nursing and pumping. I think it will depend on how much you are able to pump at a session. I don't produce alot when I pump, so I have to pump to and from work in the car, twice during the day, and sometimes once after my son goes to bed.

I love the medela wipes. It makes cleaning up so much easier instead of rinsing each time. I also love the medela car plug. It has been a lifesaver. I agree with the PP...don't set a time frame. Go as long as you can and be proud that you are pumping at all. Way to go. PM me if you have more pumping questions. I have been there!

I went back to work when my son was 6 months old so our stories are a little different. I pumped before he woke up in the morning, nursed him, took him to daycare, pumped at lunch and after school (I'm a teacher), nursed at home and pumped at night from time to time. It needs to be what works for you. I have my own classroom so I could lock the door and make it work. He nursed until 10 1/2 months (he's 11 months now) and I had a freezer supply. Drink tons of water, store stuff when you pump on weekends in the freezer and relax! There will be weeks when you can't pump as much or your supply will dip, don't worry it'll be back!

Hi K., I went back to work after 12 weeks (it is tough, but gets easier) and my son is still breastfed (he has never had formula and is almost 9 months now). I pump 2 times a day at work, once before lunch and once before I go home, this leaves me enough to leave him 3 bottles while I'm at work. Pumping is never really convenient, I have an office but it is sometimes really tough to find the time to pump, or are sometimes out at meetings....that is where all the stored pumped milk comes in....I pumped about 50 bags (approx 4 oz each) of milk when I was on my maternity leave and it just recently ran out! Congrats on your committment to breastfeeding! Good luck!

I don't know why the random 8 months.....just keep at it as long as it is working out for both of you since it is the best way. I pumped 3x at work in the beginning (morning break, while eating, and then afternoon break). I think once he started taking solids (around 6 months) I dropped it to just the break times.

One thing that was a lifesaver for me was getting the accessories that enabled me to just put the milk directly into the bottle he would be using instead of dumping out of containers, washing those, putting in bags, etc. So see if your bottle system has some kind of adapters you can use to pump directly into the containers you will be feeding from. Washing the parts 3x a day and then the bottles as well gets old REALLY quick. I have no idea what system you are using but I had a Medela pump and I used Playtex drop in nursers so I used this system
http://www.playtexstore.com/cgi-bin/item/PLA06572
Some of them only come with one adapter, make sure you have two!

Make sure you date and freeze the older milk and use the oldest milk first, otherwise you will end up wasting it. If you have a stockpile already, then you will probably be freezing all of your milk then and using the oldest frozen stuff first, in which case you might not need the adapters at first. You can just use the bottles that come with the pump, take it home and refrigerate and date it, then move to the freezer in special breast milk freezing bags, or you can use these http://www.sensiblelines.com/shop.html which I loved because they freeze the milk in one ounce cubes so it is easy to measure out exactly how much you need. I would pour into the tray and mark it with the date, then once they were frozen hard I would move them to a freezer bag and write the date on it.

Even with pumping that often your supply may have problems from time to time cause pumping doesn't stimulate you to make milk as much as nursing. Nurse as much as you can when you are home and on weekends. Drink lots of water, oatmeal helps, as well as the supplement fenugreek. Good luck to you!

OH, and just to add, I nursed my older son till he was 2.5 and pumped while working full time from the time he was 12 weeks until 14 months, so it is completely do-able. Just nurse as much as you can and when you have supply issues, address them.

I usually plan on about 1 oz per hour while you're gone, and plan to pump during the day when you're at work. I would plan on 2x/day to start out, if you *possibly* can. I pumped for both my kids until they were 12-13 months old, and did 2x/day until they were around 9-10 months, then dropped back to 1x/day, and finally stopped after their birthday (but continued to nurse at home beyond then). Even 1x/day should be ok if you can spend a little more time on it. You will probably have to supplement with frozen and/or formula if you're not doing 2x though, I'm guessing. Main tips are to bring some pictures of your baby to look at, bring a sweater to keep warm, something relaxing to read, and get into a routine. Best of luck going back to work - it's really tough for the first couple months.

The more you pump, the more you will produce. My advice would be to pump as much as you can. I had a great milk supply and made a point to pump every two hours. I was able to check emails and still kind of work while I was pumping, so it wasn't a big hassle. But you should be pumping as much as your baby is eating. So if your daughter eats 12 ounces while you are gone, you should have pumped 12 ounces that day. Good luck.

I went back to work after 8 weeks with one child and 9 weeks with the other.

I pumped for my first child until a year (health issues forced me to stop nursing my second at 3 months). I pumped at 6 am throughout the first year, nursed before I left for work, pumped around 10:30 am (this will change the longer you go), pumped at lunch, pumped in the afternoon and again on the way home. I nursed in the evening and pumped again before bed at 11-11:30 pm.

I hated every minute of it, but I knew I was doing the right thing. I had to do it out of my car as a travelling sales person.

Your need to pump more frequently will change based upon your child's demand and should lessen as time goes by. Your body will also let you know when you need to pump based upon engorging.

Good luck.

Everyone is different, but you will need to keep pumping as much as you would feel to keep up your supply. My supply lessened as the pump wasn't as effective as the baby... Having said that I went back to work when she was 4 mos, and did manage to make it to just past 8 mos... so you can. I would defintely keep up the pumping as often as you can - she will also require more food as she gets bigger. Good luck with the transition - it's tough, but you will do fine!