Pumping - Minneapolis,MN

Looks like you got a lot of advice from the previous responses, I just wanted to suggest a book called 'The Milk Memos' it has great info and is a fun read.

I have two kids and have two stories for you. Baby #1 didn't latch until she was about a month old. I introduced her to the bottle when she was a few weeks old and I tried to nurse her then pumped afterward. Until the milk is completely in and on a schedule I'd avoid a bottle due to nipple confusion. That generally happens the first 4-6 weeks. You may take your chances and see how it goes. With #2 she nursed right away and I tried to introduce the bottle at 8 weeks and the lactation lady told me she was confused the other way. She wouldn't take the bottle. I was told that I should have started around 6 weeks. When I put her in daycare she had no option but to drink from a bottle so they get it when they have to. I pumped at 9, noon, 3 if you double pump you should be able to get your business done in 10-15 minutes. By law they have to give you a room to do your thing. Maybe someone can cover for you while you do your business. I stopped pumping when my 2nd was 11 months old as I wasn't pumping much and was introduced to whole milk at 10-11 months. I solely breastfeed am, noon, and pm and she just turned a year. You may also want to try several different nipples as some babys have a preference. With baby #1 I used Dr. Brown's bottles and with #2 she did well with the PlayTex drop in nipples. If you have any more questions please ask.

Good for you for pumping! Its totally essential to keep up your milk supply when you go back to work. With a baby as small as yours, I would be sure to pump twice a day. You could feed him yourself in the morning, pump midmorning and mid afternoon and then feed him again as soon as you get home. Be sure to keep nursing a lot when you are together so that your milk supply stays up.

Good luck - pumping is a lot of work but so worth it!

B.
Momma to a 22 month old who nursed until he was 14 months and well-acquainted with a pump!

I introduced a bottle to my daughter when she was between 3 and 4 weeks old. I did make sure, though, that she was doing really well with latching and feeding before I tried the bottle. Be careful not to wait too long as I have a friend who couln't be away from her baby for more than 3-4 hours for the first year because she never learned to take a bottle.

I also went back to work after 12 weeks and for most of my time at home I tried to give her a bottle every couple of days. Right before I went back to work, I gave her bottles more frequently. I would just pump and give her the bottle right away so I didn't have to worry about how hot or cold it was.

As far as pumping at work, it went well for me. My company has lactation rooms so I'm very lucky. I do wish I would have saved up more frozen milk B4 going back to work as some days at work were stressful and sometimes I wouldn't pump as much when I was stressed out and then I was trying to do crazy stuff like wake up in the middle of the night to pump - then your schedule gets off (my daughter slept through the night since she was 1 month so I wasn't used to this). I would recommend feeding him when he wakes up in the morning and then pumping the rest out as I was always more full in the morning.

I went back to work briefly after my daughter was born. She was about 8 weeks when I returned to my job, so I started pumping around 4 weeks to build up a small reserve supply and to get used to the whole pumping routine. I found that my supply was most plentiful in the early morning, so I would feed my daughter and then pump a few ounces (not usually enough for an entire feeding, but enough to start building a small freezer stash) when she had finished. I also started pumping instead of nursing for one of her later afternoon feedings so that my husband could give her a bottle during that time to get her used to it. Turns out that my daughter didn't really care where the milk came from, but some babies can be particular.

As far as pumping at work, your employer is required to give you access to a private place to pump a few times a day. You'll probably want to pump as close to the time that your son would ordinarily eat. By the time your baby is 12 weeks old, he'll probably be on a more predictable eating schedule than he is now.

If you plan to pump for the long haul, an electric pump will make it much faster and easier for you. With a good electric pump, you can drain yourself in about 10-15 minutes. I had a Medela Pump in Style that worked very well for my needs, but there are a few other pumps that working moms would also recommend. If you don't have access to an electrical outlet, the Medela PIS also has a battery pack that you can purchase separately. A great resource for breastfeeding and pumping is www.kellymom.com

Congrats on your new addition and good for you for wanting to continue with breastfeeding once you go back to work. It's a little more effort, but you'll get into a groove after a bit.

I introduced the bottle at around 2-3 weeks old. My hubby was soooo happy to be able to help with one feeding...and gave me a little time to get out of the house for a bit.

When I first started intruducing the bottle, I started pumping after EVERYTIME I nursed. I'd make sure my boobs were completely empty after every feeding. (I just added all those pumps to the same bottle until I was able to produce enough milk to require more than one bottle.

Also, as far as work pumping, State Law says that every employer has to offer nursing mothers a private sanitary place to pump. I pumped twice during the day, once at around 10 and once at around 2, and when I got home, I was ready to feed again.

I pumped with all of my kids when working FT. Some of my kids took a bottle very well, my daughter did not I think because I waited too long for her to take a bottle (about 3 months). This time with #4, I decided to give him a bottle right away just 1 time each day to get a needed break. I pump when he takes his power nap in the afternoon around lunchtime. I have an abundant milk supply so I get usually 2 bottles out of each pumping so I have a little extra stockpiled. I usually pumped just 1 time at work, but needed to feed the baby right before I left and right away when I got home. I had a private office so space wasn't an issue. Hope this is helpful. Oh, I would start giving your baby a bottle 1 time each day but maybe the time you plan to be gone to get him on that schedule. If you have someone else give him a bottle that sometimes helps. And, it is really nice to have a little freedom when someone else is feeding. Let me know if you have any questions!

When introducing the bottle, try having your husband give it to Anders instead of you-might make the bottle feeding easier-I recommend the Dr. Brown's bottles-they are awesome and aren't as messy as some of the other brands out there.

As far as pumping goes, you'll want to pump as often as you would normally be feeding. Since Anders is so young your schedule isn't really fixed yet, so I would suggest that you pump when you feel that your breasts are getting full-basically your body will tell you when you need to pump. I would invest in a good electric pump since you'll need to pump quickly and you want to get the most out of each "pumping"-a hand pump does the job in a pinch but is not nearly as efficient as the electric ones.

Good luck!
A.

I went back to work part-time when each of my 2 kids was 12 weeks old. I nursed each of them exclusively for a year. I started pumping when they were each around 3 or 4 weeks old. I had my husband give them the bottle (rather than me) at about 4 weeks old. After that, I had him give each baby a bottle at least once a week - so they's get the hang of it. My kids were not consistent with feedings, so I would just try to pump a little in the morning after what seemed like a smaller feeding.
I didn't have a lot of privacy at work, as was walked in on more than once. It's a pain, but once you get the hang of it you can do it fairly quickly. I found that on days I pumped and my kids got bottles, they wanted to nurse more at night. It all seemed to even out & I didn't have any problem with milk supply.
Best of luck to you.

We waited until our baby was 4 weeks old to introduce a bottle which worked out great. She didn’t have any nipple confusion. My husband would give her the bottle during one of her night time feedings so I ended up pumping during the time he gave her the bottle. At that time, it was still faster than feeding/diapering and getting our baby back to sleep so it was a nice break for me and it kept my milk supply up so I had plenty on the nights he didn’t get up with her. I was also always able to pump more then she would drink so I got a little freezer stash too which was nice. I definitely agree that you need a good pump if you are going to pump at work. I use the Medela Pump in Style and it works great. Our baby is 10 months old, and I pump at work. I used to pump once in the morning, go nurse my baby at daycare during lunch, and pump in the afternoon but now that she is on solids and drinking less milk I pump at 9:30 and 1:30 then I have plenty to nurse her when I get home. As previously stated, it is the law that they provide you with a private place to pump other than a toilet stall and give you breaks in order to do this. If you have any other questions, let me know.

We had my husband start giving our son bottles at about 3 weeks. I had an electric pump (many insurance companies will cover all or most of the cost). At home, I typically just pumped right after he was done nursing and then would store bags of breastmilk in the freezer. This was also handy for growth spurts when my supply wouldn't keep up with his extra demand. At work I would pump as close to his normal feeding as possible and usually my breasts would remind me when that was. I had the luxury of a private area upstairs in our business complete with comfy chair and a fridge for storage. Talk to your employer now about planning a place for you. They may already have something if other teachers have pumped.

BTW my niece just turned one on Sept. 11