Pumping at Work

[new york momma]

I plan on bringing my pump to work with me when I return (12 weeks postpartum).

I leave for work/drop off baby at nursery around 6 am and get one 1/2 hour break at 12:30 for lunch. I'm off work at 3pm to go pick up baby.

Is it naive to think I could breast feed at home in the morning, send bottles of pumped breast milk to the nursery in a little cooler, then pump on my lunch break and store the milk in a little insulated lunch sack type thing in the fridge? Would it even be necessary? Could I go 8 or 9 hours without pumping?

[kanga1622]

Definitely do not go that long without pumping. That's just asking for plugged ducts/mastitis/supply drop.

I returned to work at 12 weeks and still have to pump every 2 hours in order to keep up with the demand of DS. I drop him off at 7:15 and pump 4 times before I go home at 5 and feed him shortly after I arrive home.

Some people can get by with pumping every 4 hours but most people I know pump at least 3 times during an 9 hour work day.

Is there any way you can drop baby off and then pump before starting your shift? Then pump again at lunch and see if that gets you enough milk to get through the next day?

[rhiOrion]

Hmm, I had a whole response written up for this, but I must have not posted it.

I agree that going 8-9 hours without pumping is asking for mastitis, pain, and a decreased supply.

Can you nurse baby AT daycare in the morning? That would make it only 6.5 hours to lunch, but even that is probably too long. Plus, then you'd definitely have to find time to pump at home, which is a pain. If you could fit in one more pumping session around 9:00 am, I think you might be okay.

That would be from 6-9, then 9-12:30, then 12:30-3:00 (if you nurse baby at pick up). I think that's reasonable.

I'm taking a guess that you may be a teacher? That subset of working nursing moms seems to have the most trouble fitting in an extra pumping session. I think, that worst case is maybe you could buy a decent manual pump and at least try to pump for five minutes at a time in the bathroom. Either during breaks, if you're not a teacher, or between classes if you are. Then you can cap off the bottle and put it in a cooler. Milk can sit out for a little while, so you wouldn't have to worry about cleaning the pump parts ever time- especially if you got a big enough cooler for the manual pump flange to fit inside.

As far as your other logistical questions go- you're on the right track. Take pumped milk in a cooler to day care- they should have a fridge for you to put it in. Then, take a cooler with you to work for put your pumped bottles of milk in. If you have a fridge at work (and it sounds like you do) then that's the perfect scenerio- you don't have to fiddle too much with ice packs (unless your commute is long and the weather is hot).

[new york momma]

[/QUOTE] Milk can sit out for a little while, so you wouldn't have to worry about cleaning the pump parts ever time- especially if you got a big enough cooler for the manual pump flange to fit inside.
[/QUOTE]

Cleaning pump parts? I didn't know you were supposed to do that after the initial sterilization. How do I clean it and what "parts"?

I am a teacher, but I'm with my students all day till 2pm with no breaks besides lunch. The kids go home at 2pm and I'm supposed to start my planning period but we usually have team meetings--I don't think I'd be able to sneak off during that time.

How long does it take to pump? Maybe I could do 8:00 am (Work officially starts at 8:30), 12:30 and 3:00 pm. There are some empty classrooms on the second floor where I think I could have some privacy.

[kanga1622]

You will need to clean all the parts that touch the milk (horns, valves, membranes, bottles, etc.). I know with my PISA pump I have to clean: 2 horns (the funnel looking things), 2 elbow connectors, 2 yellow valves, and 2 white membranes. I leave them all together and store them in the fridge between pumping sessions and then wash them all by hand every night. Then I wash all the bottles he drank from that day as well and the secondary bottles I use to pump. I just run everything through hot soapy water since I don't run my dishwasher every day.

Pumping time differs for every woman. You'll need to pump a bit before going back to work so you have enough for the first day and a little for back-up. That should give you some idea of output level and the time it will take you. It takes me a good 20 minutes of pumping to produce a 3.5 ounce bottle most of the time. I have a student that uses my pumping room and I swear she has the pump set up, pumps, and tears everything down within 15 minutes. I WISH I could pump that quickly but I would not provide enough for DS that way since I have a smaller let down and a bit of a delay until the next one.

Definitely pump at 8 if at all possible. Going 4 hours between sessions might be a bit uncomfortable for you but hopefully your body will adjust fairly soon. Since my DS eats every 2 hours even through the night, when we go 4 hours between feedings I am in some pretty significant pain.

[rhiOrion]

Originally Posted by new york momma

Cleaning pump parts? I didn't know you were supposed to do that after the initial sterilization. How do I clean it and what "parts"?

I am a teacher, but I'm with my students all day till 2pm with no breaks besides lunch. The kids go home at 2pm and I'm supposed to start my planning period but we usually have team meetings--I don't think I'd be able to sneak off during that time.

How long does it take to pump? Maybe I could do 8:00 am (Work officially starts at 8:30), 12:30 and 3:00 pm. There are some empty classrooms on the second floor where I think I could have some privacy.

For me, and my Lansinoh/Ameda pump I have to clean the flanges, the membranes, and the valves. During the day I just give them a quick rinse out, and store on top of a cabinet in my office. After my 4:00 pump I wash everything thoroughly with soap and hot water.

Keep in mind that the law (although a relatively useless law) says that they HAVE to give you time to pump. But, I don't think the 2pm pumping vs 3pm pumping would actually make much difference. 3pm might be better, anyhow.

I think if you could pump at 8:00 it would probably make a world of difference. I'd nurse your baby either right before you leave home or right before you leave day care. Then pump at 8:00 and at 12:30. You'll probably be uncomfortable for a few days right around 12:30. The first few times you pump you'll probably feel like it takes forever to get everything set up, but you'll get faster at it. The length of time varies from person-to-person, and for me it varies day-to-day. But, you can make it work in the time you've got- anything is better than nothing.

Is your commute long? Public transit or the car? Because I know people who pump in the car with a pumping bra and batteries!

If you're only getting a short pumping in at 8:00 and a slightly longer one at 12:30, you might still need to pump at home at some point. You can pump one breast while your baby eats on the other- efficient and the baby gets letdown going better anyhow.

Another thing to think of, with a half-hour lunch break, is lunch itself. Come up with a plan of some healthy foods you can eat while you pump. DEFINITELY invest in a good pumping bra.

In case this schedule makes your supply dip some, maybe go ahead and buy some mother's milk tea, some more milk plus tincture, fenugreek, or something like those. Also, oats are great for supply, so maybe make some oatmeal bars or something for snacks.

[Parker'smommy]

I taught for 2 months when my babe was 6- 8 months old. Here is what I did...

Got up at 6 am, got ready for work.
6:30 nursed baby, dressed him.
7:00 am left for work- 45 min. commute......
745 dropped babe off at dcp down the street from school.
8:00 got to my classroom and pumped for 15 minutes. ( this is when I got the MOST milk out of my entire day....10 ounces!)
1145 Lunch- pumped 15 minutes ( got around 7 ounces)
1:50 afternoon recess- pumped 5-10 min ( got around 5 ounces)
3:00 school over
3:30 Picked up ds and nursed

I spoke with my principal about my pumping needs and we made sure that I never had afternoon recess duty. I would get someone to switch with me for morning recess duty or before school duty. It was never a problem. I had my pump all set up in a cabinet all ready to go. I pulled the shades, locked the door, opened up the cupboard, sat in a chair up to the cupboard and double pumped. I had a cooler in my Pump in Style so I didn't have to put my milk in the fridge. WHen I got home, I put my fresh milk in bottles to bring to the DCP the next day and froze the extra I got ( my ds wouldn't drink much while he was away from me....)

Good luck!

[texmati]

I think that you could make it work-- The ideal situation would be to pump every 3 hours, but it's not impossible to make your schedule work; especially if you/caregiver are open to reverse cycling.

Lots of mom's have babies that STTN, for 8-9 hours. If you co sleep and nurse throughout the night, the 6-12:30 break is the only one where you won't be nursing. I'd also try to get to work 15 minutes early, and pump at that time. You can also pump at 12:30, and right before you leave, if you find that you need extra milk.

As for storage-- I would send milk to daycare in cooler, and store your milk/pump parts in a fridge or cooler with an icepack. The crummy coolers that come with the pumps aren't big enough to store the bottles, pump parts, etc all assembled, so I'd buy a separate, larger, snazzy one.

At 12 weeks, I'd give yourself, boobs and baby sometime to ease into this schedule by doing dry runs for a few days.

[LZP]

I am in the middle of week 3 of pumping at work. I agree with all PPs. I'm still getting used to it, but have found a few things to be key for my sanity:

* Planning ahead in the evening helps!!

* have 3 sets of pump parts. this allows me to wash a set when I get home and the set from previous day is dry and ready to go into the bag. the third set is a back up, just in case something happens to the other set. I put the new set-up into the cooler right away and put it on the counter.

*DEFINITELY get a pumping bra, like PP mentioned!!! I have a strapless one so it doesn't take a whole lot of wrestling to get it on over my clothes, and I don't need to take my shirt or nursing bra off.

* have a good, soft sided cooler with an additonal zipper compartment on the outside.
Inside I have:
-2 bigger ice packs (maybe 6"x3" each?)
-pump parts (flange/valves&membranes/bottles x2) inside a large ziplock bag
-Any milk that I've pumped during that day, stored in bags (I like Lansinoh bags the best so far, and I've tried 3 kinds.)
-2 bottle stand thingys

In the outside pocket I have:
-2 flat diapers - I use these to roll and put under the boobs while pumping, then to wipe up any little drips on myself from after pumping.
-pumping bra
-extra ziplock bag just in case
-milk storage bags
-iPod (this really helps when I'm stressed!)
-Purel or some other quick hand cleaner. baby wipes would work even.
-I'm going to add some pump cleaner wipes, but came here to look for a solution to make my own

*leave my PIS pump at work during the week and bring it home on weekends. One less thing to cart around each day.

* dont wash the pump parts in between sessions, just in the evenings, and sterilize every 2 weeks in the microwave steam bags.

* Try not to rush if possible. i found I just spill milk that way! just relax, and get what you can.

For sure, pump a little before you go back so you have extra just in case your supply dips a bit during the adjustment period. My supply dipped Monday and Tuesday from sleep deprivation and stress, and I was glad to have extra available!

Good Luck. And kudos to you for continuing to give your baby your milk even though it might be stressful! You are doing a wonderful thing for your baby!!

[annettemarie]

Moving out to the general breastfeeding forum.