Partial Breastfeeding?

You may find that your milk supply will decrease due to the shortage of feedings. When I went back to work, I was allowed a place to pump. I realize that some moms don't have this luxury. Maybe you can pump in your car or in a bathroom stall. I did this when we went out of town.

Hi MC-
First, whatever you can offer her in the way of breastmilk will be great. Some it better than none.

I know how tough it can be- I am a wedding photojournalist and was breastfeeding at the same time! My clients knew I had recently had a baby and were excited to hear updates about her. I let them know that I was breastfeeding and that at a point in their day I would need to take 15 minutes to pump. They were all great with it and even reminded me as I was shooting that I needed to do this.

When the days were super tight (not a lot of downtime, or there wasn't a place for me to handle this that wasn't in the way of the women, I would plug my pump into the cigarette lighter outlet in the car, jump in the backseat, and just pump there. I was really self conscious at first but with my back to the window, a nursing bra that just flipped down, and my (loose) sirt hanging over the flanges in the front, you couldn't see anything at all!

Also, the Medella pump and style has a built in cooler in the bag so I would bring mini ice packs and just store the milk until I got home. Anitbaterical foam soap in a travel size and medella quick wipes are wonderful tools for this. So are the baby shades in the back seat to add to privacy.

However, I think if you mention to your contacts that you need to pump before or after a meeting you will be surprised at how accomadting people can be. And, by law, it is your right to continue to pump when you return to work. And, there is always the car.

As for the formula, of course your baby will be fine. My daughter was supplemented as well because my body was having supply issues even before I returned to work. And, your supply WILL go down if you are not pumping during the day, but, we all do what we can for as long as we can and in the end, the babies are great!

All the best!
C.

MC- Congratulations on breast feeding for the first 12 weeks. This is awesome as you have passed along the benefits of your immune system to your daughter! I have worked full time and given birth to a son and two daughters now ages 23,20, and 18. As I returned to work, my children went into daycare and had a combination of formula at daycare and nursing with me at home. (I returned to work at the six week point with each child and felt that they did well with the combination. For anyone who can be home with a new baby longer than six weeks - it is more time to enjoy your baby and be able to get more rest and recharge your body too...thankfully it is more accepted to be home with a new baby since we got the family medical leave act...). You don't mention if your new daughter has learned to accept a bottle (different from nursing and an adjustment for her)...Having a portable pump whether or not you save your milk for your baby, may help you feel better as you return to work because your body will go through an adjustment as you change how often you are nursing. Congratulations on your baby and best wishes as you return to work - make sure you are using nursing pads with your bra.

I was in a similar position when I went back to work with traveling to different locations throughout the day, not knowing where/when I would be able to pump. I breastfed from 6:00PM - 6:00AM and used formula the rest of the time. I did not have to pump at all. But I ended up having to stop breastfeeding "cold turkey" due to some complications my daughter was having. When I stopped it didn't bother me at all & I didn't need to pump at all so I wondered how much milk I was actually producing with only breastfeeding at night & not pumping. Good Luck!!

I'm sure you will get many good responses from Mamasource, but you might also want to try your local La Leche League. They have been a great help for me throughout breastfeeding.

Good responses! I was going to suggest the car-adapter for your breast pump. Also, can you make arrangemements ahead of time with your location sites to have a room to pump. You don't want your supply to go down because of minor inconveniences ( meaning work should!! make adaptations to allow you to pump for your child.)

Good luck, also La Leche League can give great support to rally behind you.:)

Hi
I was in a similar situation with returning to work. While I didn't travel to different locations, my job didn't always provide reliable time for pumping. I was able to successfully continue breast feeding for quite a while nursing only two or three times a day. I did try to pump at work at least once daily, but there were days that I couldn't pump at all (ouch!). I did feel that my milk supply was down though and eventually started supplementing with formula at home too. I was glad though to be able to continue some breast feeding for as long as I did (about 5 months). - J.

Hi M C,

I did partial breastfeeding for both of my children. When it was time for me to go back to work we transitioned to breastfeeding while I was at home and bootle feeding while I was at work. While I could, I pumped extra breastmilk for their bottles, but we eventually used formula. This worked really well for us.

E.

My sister pumped for a good while, and she traveled daily with her job. She would pump in the car, with a sunshade up for some privacy. She kept the pump pieces, that came in contact with the milk, in a cooler with the milk - that way she didn't have to wash them after each use.

Check out www.kellymom.com for good advice.