Advice from full-time working mothers!

[emeraldhips]

My daughter is 3 months old, and I am looking at having to return to work full-time. Any advice from working mothers on breastfeeding? Obviously, I will have to pump while I am working. Any challenges you faced while pumping and working? Any affects on your BF relationship with your child? I just want to know what to expect and any suggestions on dealing with these challenges. Thanks for your expertise!

[anj_rn]

At first I had a problem scheduling the time to pump twice while I was at work.  Eventually we worked out this schedule I would BF the baby first thing in the morning (one side), then pump the other side (I had lots of milk).  I would pump twice at work, then BF as soon as I picked up the baby and through the night.  I eventually just schedule my pumping times into my calendar.  I made a hands free bra, and put a lactation in progress sign on the door, and checked my email/etc while I pumped.  I then put the bottles in an insulated bag with a freezer pack. 

[woodsymom]

My daughter is also almost 3 mos., but I went back to work when she was 6 weeks. I pump before work, on my lunch break, & when I get home (7am, noon, 5:30pm). This has worked for me, my body has adjusted accordingly. I nurse on demand at night and on the weekends. I have not had to supplement and am able to very slowly build a stash. It is a lot of work to pump and work full time, but so worth it. I think that I enjoy my BF relationship more with my daughter when I am with her. (This helps at 3 am when you know you have to work in the morning, and you look at her sweet little face and it's all okay.) I also pump a couple times in the evening and 1x during the night. This gives me enough to send w/her for the next day (around 18 oz). I do notice my supply dips a little by the end of the work week, but is right back up again after nursing all weekend, by Monday. Your baby may start to "reverse cycle", maybe do a little research on that for some tips, if you notice that she starts sleeping much of the day, and awake more often at night. I wish you the best of luck, and know that you are doing such a great thing for your little one.

[MnMtm]

When I went back to school, I had to pump around every 3 hours. I could not go longer than that without getting clogged ducts, and even mastitis. He did switch up his nights and days. He would nurse every hour or 2 whenever I was home, even through the night, but would frequently go for 3 hour stretches, or slightly more when I was gone at school. I had to pump at leact every 3 hours to keep up with his demand, and was never really able to build up much of a stash, as I was barely able to keep up with what he ate while I was gone. It was worth it, though, DS never had a drop of formula, and is a very healthy 2.5 year old little boy.

[annettemarie]

Moving out to the main forum, as per the forum guidelines.

[ProtoLawyer]

What do you do for a living?

It's pretty easy for me to find time to pump, as I have an office with a door that locks, and I work independently most of the day. I usually pump 3 times--once between 8:30 and 10 (depending on whether my son ate right before I left or not), between noon and 2, and between 3:30 and 5, for a total of between 18 and 24 ounces. About 16-20 ounces a day are needed (I don't say "my son eats 20 ounces a day when I'm gone," because my husband isn't always careful about spilling, putting bags back in the fridge instead of leaving them in the diaper bag until we find them days later, eek, etc. I'm not too upset because pumping's not hard for me, I don't have supply issues, and my husband takes good care of him; I'd be madder if it was harder.) We'll freeze anything that's not used at the end of each day (which is sometimes 6-8 ounces), so we've got a good stash going.

I was worried because I started a new job when my son was 11 weeks old, and I didn't know what to expect, but my worries turned out to be unfounded.

Good luck!