Comments on: Breastfeeding, Returning to Work and Pumping

By: kelly

kelly — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:40:24 +0000

i started a new job when i returned to work when my daughter was 10 weeks, and am exclusively breastfeeding. unfortunately my only pumping location options are the bathroom or my car. I have just been using the bathroom, and just try to be super quick with capping the milk when im finished which i like to think is preventing any contamination. i wish i had a better circumstances, but i dont mind dealing with it, the worst part is the sound of the pump and people coming in being like ‘do you hear that? what is that?’ but whatever! im happy to be able to bf my little girl!

By: Bradi

Bradi — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:56:57 +0000

OMG my boss walked in on me while I was pumping… a scene out of an Austin Powers movie I assure you. She suggested I put a sign on my door. (my closed door was clearly not sign enough). I thought perhaps it should read “Pumping in Progress!”

Advice, lock your office door or get out the sharpie!

By: Jen

Jen — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:39:20 +0000

Just wanted to ditto Ava’s point on water intake. I’ve been able to keep up with my hungry man’s intake as long as I drink a lot of water. A lot. As soon as I slack, i find myself coming up short and having to do an extra nighttime pump so I don’t go ‘negative’ on the freezer stash.

Also, I’m pretty sure Ariana mentioned this before, but starting a bottle early was key for us. We started giving him expressed milk at 4 weeks or so, but since it was going well, I was bad, and only gave him one every few days. All of a sudden he totally rejected it at 10 weeks. Thankfully he was *ok* with it around 12-weeks, when I went back to work, but those two in the middle were not fun. I suspect it would have been better if I had been better about giving him a pumped bottle every day on leave. It was just so much easier to feed the fussy kid directly, but I paid the price in the end.

Lastly, I commend anyone who takes on pumping at work under not-so-ideal circumstances. I’m lucky to have a supportive workplace, a private office, access to a refrigerator, etc. And it’s *still* a challenge a lot of days. But I’m committed to making it work. He may be away from me during the day, but it helps to know I’m still providing for him the best way I can. So keep it up ladies : )

By: Jennilynn

Jennilynn — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:34:47 +0000

Thank you everyone for the extra info! I do have a double pump that works very well, and use a hooter hider in my car. I take pictures to work but have not been taking them w/ me when I go pump!

I AM in CA, so we do have very supportive laws about breastfeeding & pumping at work. I have considered pumping in the lobby- I don’t think the Starbucks Partners would care, they all know I’m breastfeeding and go pump on my breaks. Its the creepy, staring customers I keep thinking about. I am rotating around to different stores as of right now, so once I get into my permanent spot I will be able to figure something out, but it seems like a bigger hassle to do it for every store I’m in! I should just suck it up though & talk to someone to be less cramped! I also don’t know the people at my permanent store as well as I know the people where I’m at right now, so I’m just NERVOUS about the situation when I get there.

Oh- and I do think I have a high lipase issue- and if I am not able to keep up w/ my supply during my work week I will have to try scalding the milk. Up until now I haven’t really needed backup, so once I realized there was an issue I haven’t wanted to mess with it. I’m hoping Rowan will be able to use my freezer stash for cereal if its mixed w/ fresh stuff.

But thank you again for the extra tips and what have worked for all of you!

By: Laurie

Laurie — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:38:44 +0000

I teach high school and am exclusively breastfeeding my 6 month old. I pump in my classroom, which is especially wonderful when I can hear my 16 year old male students arrive early to class and rough-house in the hallway OR when my principal unlocks my door and barges in on me (yes, he is a man).

I pump when my daughter would be eating, and I usually keep up pretty well with her demand, unless I have evening commitments that keep me away from her during the usual 8-5 workday.

I have not had problems with clogged ducts thus far, and both of my nursing bras have underwire. (I just couldn’t give the underwire up.) I went to a maternity and nursing shop and found a bra that fit really well; the saleswoman told me that fit is the most important thing. Underwires are definitely more risky, though.

Something that has helped me with let-down is keeping a video of my daughter taking a bottle on my phone. Watching her and hearing her happy eating sounds has helped make my pumping sessions both faster and more productive.

This was mentioned in the previous breastfeeding post, but I really loved the book _Unbuttoned_. I really connected with the discussion of the emotions that accompany breastfeeding, both positive and negative. I read _The Milk Memos_ and didn’t like it quite as much, though it was the best source of information for nursing moms who work outside the home.

Finally, I have become very forward about my pumping needs with colleagues. I refuse to be apologetic for wanting to breastfeed my baby!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:08:34 +0000

Lots of good tips and I don’t have anything to add to that.
I will say that I no longer pump when DS gets a bottle at work (I’m only pumping once now at 14 months) and we are still able to nurse on demand on the weekends. He doesnt’ nurse as often during the day on the weekends but it is certainly more than the amount I pump at work and we’ve had no issues (like I’m not engorged M-F and he’s not pissed at a lack of milk on Sat/sun).

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:50:20 +0000

Ariana,
I’ve found in the month or so that I’ve tried not to pump, that he’s actually replacing nursing with solid meals in many cases… although I have to say my supply is not nearly as sensitive as yours seems to be. So the 3 days I work (T/W/Th), I’m pretty full by the time I get to feed him at lunch time, and I usually try to make him nurse both sides to empty. There have been a couple of days when he was just not in the mood to really nurse, so I did give in and pump to release pressure, and to protect my supply. On my days off, he normally nurses just one side at a feeding, and I alternate. So I guess it balances out somewhat. Now that he’s slept through the night the past 2 nights and we’ve dropped the mid-night feeding, we’ll see what happens. My hope is that he’ll continue to nurse right when he wakes, then before naps (2x a day) and then before bed. If he wants extra nursings I always let him… but he’s getting plenty of solids now, and taking some whole milk, so my hope is that everything will regulate… if that makes sense. I’ll let you now how it progresses! :)

By: Tracy

Tracy — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:17:08 +0000

Use a hospital-grade electric pump, they work better. Also buy a hands-free setup for your pump to make things easier for yourself.

Using hand massage and hand compression while pumping increases milk volume, it also drains the breast better and faster.

Hope this helps! ;-)
More tips on any breastfeeding problems:
http://www.breastfeeding-problems.com

By: Justina

Justina — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:45:33 +0000

I’m not a full time working mum, but I do have to be away from baby often thanks to my research and I have to pump during lecture breaks, so in my case, useful tips will be:

1. Yup, must must must get the double electric pump! No manuals, and get batteries so that you are not dependent on finding an electrical socket to plug your pump.

2. Perhaps for mummies who don’t get access to a nursing room, get a nursing cover that allows you to see what’s going on underneath it while still being all covered up. That way, you can pump in the corner of Starbucks and the only weird thing will be the “zwong zwong” noises coming from under the cover. In that case, wear tops and nursing bras that are easy to undo under the cover.

3. Get a insulated carrier bag with those chiller packs that you can freeze so you can store the milk temporarily.

4. And I agree with Ariana, pump as often as you would feed the baby, cos supply depends on the demand.

By: Westwood

Westwood — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:31:04 +0000

If you’re going back to an office-type setting, I think everyone would appreciate reading The Milk Memos, http://www.amazon.com/Milk-Memos-Learned-Business-Babies/dp/1585425443. It provided encouragement to keep it going when I was most discouraged by pumping.

Great advice above. I have the Medela Freestyle, and I think it’s great. It runs on a battery, so you don’t even need to plug in anywhere. The Easy Expressions bra is another must-have. Mother’s Milk tea was really helpful for my milk supply, but I think if I wanted to really keep it up, I would have to pump at least 1x more than the baby was eating. That was too many times for me. I know a few moms who were able to get away with not pumping during the week and nursing on the weekend, that never worked with me (I was engorged every Monday), but everybody is different.