I have a 3 month old daughter. I just started back to work. I am a preschool teacher and was wondering during the day how often do I need to pump to keep my milk supply up. It is hard for me to leave the students to pump because they are in my classroom from 8:30-3:30. I get a lunch break at noon.
I feed her at 6am and pick her up at 4pm. She also sleeps 8-9 hours a night.
Thanks for the help!
Getting up in the night is a pain, but it so helps to keeps things flowing, so to say...give it a try!
Hi N.,
I pumped once a day at noon and that seemed to work out ok.
Congrats on nursing.
S.
mamasource business owner
Congrats on your new baby.
When I returned to work, I had to pump twice a day (the whole year) otherwise I'd get engorged. My only concern about doing it just once a day is keeping up your supply.
Good luck and hopefully you can get something figured out.
how often is she BF? I work as a nurse so it was realllly hard to just get up to pump while I was busy. It worked well for me to pump once before bed, once before work, at lunch, and right when getting home. I would still BF overnight since that will really help keep up supply. Also keep up with drinking your water while at work so you are actually producing something :)
i'm still exclusively pumping and nursing at 7 months. the only answer is that you have to pump as often as possible. i pump every 2-4 hours during my workday. the more the better. then your body knows you need more milk. good luck!
get ahold of a la leche league leader!! :D www.llli.org - search for one in your area or one nearby. they will have AWESOME info for you, and might even know a mom or two who has been through EXACTLY what you are going through! :D
good luck. but for the most part, you should be able to pump more, say, when the kids are in an art class or recess or something.... ? i hope.
anyway,
good luck
Aside from the preschool thing, that was EXACTLY me--3 month old, lunch, long day. If you are in the public schools, you should have a prep period, and I'd suggest demanding that that be kid-free time. I had a long commute to school, so I got up, nursed the baby, got ready, nursed again before we left, commuted 50 minutes while I pumped, one side at a time. Dropped baby off at daycare at about 7:30. Pumped at my lunch (around 11:15?) for a half hour (ate in my room daily), pumped on my prep (around 1? 1:30?) for about 40 minutes, both sides, picked up baby at 4ish, then nursed him most days, then drove home and pumped on the way home. This was the first one to go by the wayside when I got frustrated; sometimes I was just sick of pumping! I also religiously pumped on weekends and days off of school. I pumped daily in the morning over Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that helped a lot. I got the most from my first morning pumping. My baby drank 4 6-8 oz bottles the ENTIRE year--3 months on--which is a LOT. Many babies won't need that much; it was a lot pumping. But, I nursed him for the year on exclusively breastmilk or expressed milk and I'm very, very happy to have done it that way. I didn't experience postpartum depression, but I got very, very stressed around 4 months when he wanted to nurse constantly and the daycare wanted five bottles for a 7 hour period. That was the hardest part for me--feelign like I couldn't provide for my baby. But, we got through it. Oh--and make sure you take advantage of that point when you have the most milk, usually early morning. Most women's bodies produce most then, and I could "train" my body to both nurse and pump quite a bit that time of day--and as long as I did it daily, always, I got a ton of milk from that pumping--almost 2 bottles' worth some days.
If you only pump once a day, it will affect your supply. You should be pumping about every 3 hours. I bought a hands-free pumping bra so that I can pump in the car on the way to work. So I nurse him first thing in the morning, pump on the way to work, pump during a morning break, nurse him on my lunch hour and pump during an afternoon break. Congrats and good luck!
What Beth said! First thing in the AM, last thing at night and twice at work! 2 other tips--if your using a Medela Pump In Style get the SoftFit shields and/or the larger sized shields-- also when your baby starts on solids and juices schedule them so she gets them while you're at work--anyone can dish up the Gerber, and it'll mean she drinks less milk while away from you!
With Isaac, I started waking him up every 2 hours when I was home and awake-- he was sleeping while I was home and sucking down bottles while I was at work and I couldn't keep up until I adjusted his schedule!
I had this same question a few weeks ago when I started back to school as a teacher and my preps were not in the middle of the morning any more. My midwife and lactation consultant both said that when nursing you should pump 2 times in an 8 hour period that you are away from your baby, even if it's right after you drop off the baby and get to work. but best is (for me) mid morning and at lunch. I also found that it shaves off a few moments if I leave all my tubes and cords hooked up to the pump. I can usually get the job done in about 15 min. I think its great b/c as an art teacher I am always on the go and I look forward to sitting down to listen to my relaxing music and just sit and relax for a few min. Good luck!
you need to pump the same times you breastfeed while you were on maternity leave. Luckily I had an office with women so it was easy- I was pumping every two hours. it was hard at first- but people need to understand you are doing this for the health of your baby! Be proud of returning to work mom and stick to it- it will be hard at first but it will be well worth it!!! make sure to drink extra- work can stress you out and not produce enough milk- use the pads in case you leak and make sure to wear a comfortable bra in case you have to wait a few more minutes and have to pump later than usual- an uncomfortable bra can make you a little uptight- I hated it. Good luck- let me know how it goes!
I would pump every 3 hours and DONT miss a pumping session or your milk supply will drastically change. I would pump RIGHT when you get to school even if it is only for 10 minutes, then you are going to have to ask SOMEONE to watch your kids while you pump mid-morning, again at lunch and again right before your kids leave, then go pick her up. Hope this helps. I have nursed and am still nursing the second, am a teacher and pump at work too!
At 3 months, I was able to drop from 8 pumps per day to 6 without any negative effects on my supply. I've subsequently gone down to 5 per day without any issues. This means I pump before leaving for work, twice during the work day, once right when I get home and once before going to sleep.
You should check the law and go in to your workplace armed with the law -
I believe that your workplace is *required* to give you a half an hour lunch break and 2 15-minute breaks throughout the day if you work 7 hours. That is just the normal (ie. has nothing to do with breastfeeding mothers) law. You should check that out.
I also believe that your workplace is *required* to give you extra breaks to pump if you are a breastfeeding mother.
That means that your school will need to find ways to cover you in your classroom so that you can pump more often than once per day. They are also required to provide a suitable place for you to pump. I had to pump in the bathroom stall back in the day - and that is no longer the case. You should not have to hide in a bathroom stall, etc.
You can call your state representative or La Leche Leage to find out specifics about the laws. La Leche League may also be able to give you specific advice about pumping at work.
When I was pumping, I found that I didn't produce as much milk unless I pumped more often than I nursed. This isn't always the case, though, and you might find that two or three times a day is plenty.
Good luck!
I exclusively pumped (breast milk but bottle fed) until my son was around 10 months old. In the beginning I'd pump ALOT. But by around 4 months I was pumping first thing in the morning when I got up -- 3 times through out the day at work -- once when I got home --- and one final time RIGHT before bed. As the months went on I was able to slowly cut out pumpings and by the end was down to a total of about 3 a day.
Best of luck.
I only pumped once a day while at work with both kids. With both kids I pumped one side and fed the other side right before work. I pumped around noon and then when I got home I nursed them. I did this with both kids (I breastfed/pumped for a year with both). Also when I was home on weekends, at the noon feeding I would pump one side and nurse with the other. At noon I was able to get two feedings worth. Which is how often they ate during the day.
