Seeking Advice on Pumping to Go Back to Work

Hi T.,

I work from home, but as a consultant sometimes had to travel that first year I was nursing. Here's what I did so my daughter would have my milk while I was away. Every morning I nursed her,then I would get out the pump and pump til I was dry. I did it in the morning and at nite because I couldn't take doing it after every feeding (i wasn't a big producer of milk). I would then freeze and date the bags of milk and when I was gone they just thawed them and fed to her in a bottle. I was afraid she wouldn't nurse when I got home from these trips but she was happy to do bottle or breast.

It was amazing how many bags of frozen milk were in my freezer and we used every one of them. We even shipped 48oz of frozen milk to telluride colorado (fedex has dry ice shipping) so I could leave from there after time with my family and go on a biz trip. I sound like a nut as I write this. But was really committed to her having my milk as long as possible!

Good luck! I know that it's a tough transition back to work. You'll do great and so will your little girl!

If there is any way possible to start back to work part-time even for a week before you go back full-time it will really help the transition, as it's a killer! It will be difficult emotionally, and you may have trouble focusing, so don't beat yourself up when you don't feel like you're getting anything done.

Pumping may be most productive in the morning, as there seems to be more milk. If you can get stretch her to 3 hours, that will help, as it's really not practical to be pumping every two hours at work!! I try to keep the same schedule pumping that I would feed her if we were together (we're very schedule based). Occasionally, I have to move the pumping session back or forward for a meeting, but I try to keep it within half hour. Also, I block out the pumping times on my Outlook calendar to discourage anyone from scheduling a meeting during those times (9am, 12noon, 3pm).

Also, absolutely get your hubby giving her a bottle as soon as possible. This can be a whole issue in itself. I actually (upon recommendation, I'm no genius) started pumping and letting dad feed the late night at 3 weeks. They are more likely to accept a bottle from dad since he doesn't have the boobs :)

Good luck and cut yourself plenty of slack. Have dad help as much as possible, and be sure to take pictures to work to get you through the day!

It's not easy, but completely do-able. I went back to work after 10 weeks and was able to continue breastfeeding through my son's first year. In preparation of returning (as others have said) pump whenever she's finished eating. You may not get a lot at first, but since breastfeeding is completely "supply and demand" you'll be teaching your body to produce more. After the morning feeding especially, because if you're like me, you wake up rather full. I would add milk to the bottles throughout the day, and before bed, date and put whatever had accumulated in a breastmilk storage bag in the freezer. We were told in our breastfeeding class to remember the fives... milk is good for five hours at room temp, five days in the refrigerator and five months in the freezer. As for eating every two hours... I think that's completely normal. When you go back to work, try to pump as often as she'd be eating to keep your supply up, and provide enough for the following day. When I'd get home from work, if there was anything in the fridge left over from what I'd pumped the day before, I'd freeze it and replenish the fridge with what I'd pumped that day. It became a whole routine and helped built a back-up supply for those days when I couldn't pump enough for whatever reason. Please feel free to e-mail me directly if you'd like any more detail.

Congratulations on keeping breastfeeding at the top of your priority! That's the first big step. I went back to work when my baby girl was 3 months old and, I'm not going to sugar coat it...it was extremely difficult to leave her. But, the good news is once you enter in a routine, you'll get used to it a little bit more. I think you should try to extend the feedings to every 3-4 hours. Your precious little one is probably used to snacking rather than having a pretty good meal. Once you train her to eat a little less frequently, she'll learn really quickly...just make sure she gets enough milk. I would definetely introduce the bottle to her sooner than later (if you haven't already done it). She may not take it at first from you...but if she's hungry enough, she'll take it from your husband. I would start pumping now because both your breast and the baby need to get used to the change. I would start pumping now, and instead of the baby getting the breast, have her get at least one bottle during the day - that way you can get used to the pump, and the baby to the bottle. You should do this right away, becuase the longer you wait, the harder it will be for both of you!

Good luck...and do try, if possible, to go home or wherever the baby is at lunch for a midday feed -because that made my day that much better and it's good for the little one too!

Hi T.,

First of all yes every two hours is still very normal for a 4 month old. All babies needs are different and that is why nursing on demand and not scheduling it is so important. I would keep that pump out and ready at all times so when maybe she doesn't completely drain both sides or when you can get an extra session in here and there.

Especially in the early morning I always seemed to have extra milk then and could pump shortly after that first feeding. Since you have a month you should be able to get a few days ahead then be able to keep up. Also the Attachment Parenting book by Dr. Sears might have some good sugggestions for how to re-connect and help her and you adjust to the new schedule. Like baby wearing when you get home from work and co-sleeping for make-up time. The cool thing is babies usually know when it is a need that mom has to be gone and they do fine. One of my kids hardly ate anything while I was gone and then nursed every half hour the entire time I was home. They figure out how they want to work it:) All the best!

Smiles,
Steph

Are you still getting engorged in the morning? I think I was when my daughter was around 4-5 months. What my lactation consultant told me to do is to pump both breasts for 5 minutes an hour after her first morning feeding. If you only pump for 5 minutes, there will still be milk in your breasts if your daughter wants to eat again right away. Or you can try pumping one breast while your daughter feeds on the other. Freeze the milk that you pump so that you will have an emergency stash for when you go back to work.

My pediatrician had a good article about stretching out the feedings gradually so that the baby learns to take more and can go 3-4 hours between feedings. The article is on their website http://www.informedparent.com/article.html?sleepgloriouss...

My daughter could go 3-4 hours in between feedings when she was 2 months old, but I didn't realize it. It was only afterwards that I realized when I had the sitter start coming over and she held the baby while she slept for 3 hours, that my daughter could go that long in between feedings. Maybe she's using you for comfort, or she's not used to going longer in between feedings. You can start by making her wait an additional 10 minutes or so in between feedings until you've stretched it out to 3 hours. I don't mean let her cry, I mean try to find things to distract her, like looking outside or playing with a toy.

You may also want to have a lactation consultant help you develop a plan on what to do as far as developing a frozen milk stash and increasing the length of time in between feedings. Lactation consultants can be very helpful and give you some reassurance. You can also check out the message boards on the La Leche League website.

T.,

I have an 11 month old son who breastfed until I went back to work when he was 5 months. He still nurses at night and in the morning and I'm still pumping! Don't worry, it's not that difficult. Is your daughter drinking from a bottle? If not, you need to get her used to bottle so you know she will take it when your at work. In regards to how much you should have pumped before you go back to work, my lactation consultant recommended 100 oz.

My 15-month-old still often tries to eat (nurse) every two hours.

What exactly are you nervous about? Are you worried that you won't pump enough? Most women I've known who pumped at work pumped once during their work day. I think that they pumped enough. All their kids are healthy.

I never produced enough to feed my elder child solely my milk, so I gave him formula as well as my milk. (My elder child hated nursing from the time he was born, which may have contributed to me producing little milk. Perhaps my inexperience in nursing a baby contributed to him not wanting to nurse.) I think that your situation is different, though, if your four-month-old has relied on just your milk for her entire life.

For me, the hardest part of returning to work was getting used to doing much more than I had before (both working full-time and raising a child).

Good luck in your transition!

Lynne E

I went back to work after my first son and I were home for four months and am about to do the same thing again with my second son. I breastfed for a year last time and plan to do the same again! It's a pain, but totally worth it and doable.

I pump once in the morning a few days a week right now and then freeze it. Just date label it. If you do it like that regularly, you'll up you're supply naturally.

I also visit my son at daycare at lunch to nurse each day. It's a pain, but it was nice for me and then that helped my supply as well.

Also remember to drink lots of water. In order to get fluid out of your body, you need to put it in!

Good luck!

I remember when I sent my baby to grandma with formula because I didn't get the chance to pump before returning to work. My baby too was and still is very attached to breast feeding ( she's 12 months now). I tried to train her with the bottle and she would not take it. During the first two weeks, she refused any milk or solids until I came to get her. Meanwhile, I pumped at work and brought the milk back to grandma. My daughter didn't need the formula after all. As for pumping I pumped when my breast was full, once in the am (10ish) and once in the pm (3ish) by the time I arrived at grandma (630ish) my breast was so full and my daughter was in milk heavens! my sister on the other hand managed to find time to pump and had produce plenty of milk supply before returnng to work. Her baby had no problems taking the bottle immediatly. Every baby a differant.

You've got some good advice already. I went back to work at just over 3 months and used to get up extra early to pump in the morning 2 hours before the baby got up. That way more milk would come in to feed him when he woke up. Sometimes he'd still want more, so at least at first I had to supplement his morning nursing with a little formula, until I was able to get my expressed milk supply up. I also pumped at night after he went down. Once I was completely drained, I'd pump for another 15 minutes and would experience another let down. It seemed to keep up my supply, even though I didn't get much milk at night. I also found that my son nursed much more frequently when he was just nursing, whereas if I gave him a big bottle of expressed milk he seemed to go longer between feedings. And the week before I went back to work I started giving him a big bottle at night and added a couple of ounces of formula to it so that he'd stay full and sleep longer. He started sleeping through the night 2 days before I went back to work! Hope that helps. Good luck.

I asked the same thing when I was going to go back to work. A mamasource mom gave me this website.

http://workandpump.com/

It really helped me feel more prepared for it all.

My son is 7 months next week and will still eat every two hours sometimes.

Good luck!

pump after she is done (it's not much but it's a start) and at night (again, not a summer vacation - getting up when your baby is asleep, but it'll be another few ounces) and generally sneak up moments. my pump was always in"ready" position for the last few weeks before going to work. 'Good Luck
V