Anyone EBF while working? - Page 2

[lunarlady]

I nursed DD1 until she was 4.5, then I mommy-led weaned her. I had a second child, and tandem nursing, working full time, and pumping meant something had to give. She was actually pretty easy about it. I only pumped for 11 months with DD1, then she had water at daycare and nursed at night. She reverse cycled until she started STTN at age 2.5, so I never worried she wasn't getting enough.

Thankfully I stopped leaking after about 18 months, and gave up nursing bras for regular undergarments shortly after that, so the "evidence" for EBF was never obvious to my coworkers. Now, of course, I have a new little one, so leaks, nursing bras, and pumping are once again in evidence. I'm not sure we will make it as long. I'm about to hit 5 years of nursing non stop, and honestly I would like to have my boobs back. But I'm committed to go at least another year, until DD2 is 24 months. After that we will just have to wait and see.

[meemee]

went back to work when dd was 3 months old, pumped till dd was a year old, milk dried up when dd was 3 years old and she finally stopped 'nursing' when she was 8.5 years old - which means recently. 

[voca]

I went back to work when my daughter was 6 weeks. I pumped, and she obligingly reverse cycled. At 6 months my husband started supplementing with formula when she started asking for more milk during the day than I was pumping. At a year I stopped pumping. We are still going now at just about 2. She still has a bottle with Dad -- giving it up would mean my husband giving up his "nursing" relationship with her. (They always bottle nursed.)

I'm an academic and the only woman in my department to have a child. (90% of the men have kids, funny that.) So there really isn't any precedent or expectations. Of course, being an academic with a flexible schedule and a private office made pumping relatively easy.

[dakover]

Thanks to all of you for sharing your stories!  It's great to hear from you!

[Quinalla]

We just recently weaned and my daughter is a little over 18 months, I pumped until she was 13 months, which was plenty long enough! I work full time (went back when she was 4 months) and do quite a bit of day trip traveling and took my pump with me on several trips. Some places actually have some nice breastfeeding/pumping rooms, but if not, there is always the car. It really helped that I have a private office with a door that shuts, mostly we keep our doors open all the time, but being able to shut my door 2-3 times a day and keep working if I needed to helped tremendously. And when I was having low supply times, I could close my door for most of the day and do some power pumping. My boss' wife pumped milk for her preemies several years ago and he is an engineer, so he was checking out my fancy new pump and comparing it to the huge hospital rental one she had. It was amusing But yeah, one other baby got breastmilk at daycare until about 6 or so months old and judging by comments made by the daycare workers when I mentioned I was still breastfeeding, I don't think anyone else had been for quite awhile (or at least wasn't admitting to it which I can understand as I think a lot more people EBF that folks realize but don't talk about it).

[NewMama2007]

Hiya buddy! :)  I went back to work at 12 weeks with both kiddos, and they are both still nursing (4 - VERY occasionally and 2 - whenever/wherever).  I stopped pumping between 15-18 months and just worked through my freezer stash, so they had frozen mommy milk until around 18 mos (baby)  - 2 years (big girl).  Basically stopped pumping when I got to the "I will smash this pump with a hammer if I have to look at it one more time" stage, and it worked out well for us :)

I believe the only reason we've been so successful is the fact that my children are less than 5 minutes from work and I was able to nurse on my lunch hour.  Despite employers who believe they are lactation/pumping-friendly, they definitely were NOT and gave me a pretty hard time about pumping, how long, how often, using the refrigerator for storage during the day, etc.  

BTW, I always feel so alone, almost like I have to keep it a secret that I'm nursing TWO older kiddos.  Glad there are others out there!  Especially working moms!  I know how hard you all have had to work to keep nursing, to be nursing as long as we are as WOHM's is truly a blessing.

[dakover]

Thanks to all of you for posting!  And I hope that someday we're not the handful of moms breastfeeding this long while working outside the home! (And that we don't have to be so secretive!)

[konayossie]

Another Ebf-er and WOHM. Like several others, I'm in academia and in a majority female and very supportive dept, so pumping at work was never a problem for me (so thankful!). I did quit pumping at the end of the school year when DS was 13 mos, and it didn't seem to make a differeance the next year--DS never took a bottle at DC anyway, so pumping for me was mainly a supply thing. I'm 28 weeks pregnant now and my milk is gone, but DS is still nursing to sleep at just over 2 years old. I'll be interested to see what he does when the new LO arrives!

[ar2974]

I'm a teacher and still nursing my dd who will be 5 in a month and ds who is 8 months today.  I went back to work when dd was 6 months and this time when ds was 5 months.  I pump at work which is mostly ok but sometimes I have a crazy schedule (I'm a special needs teacher and there are days when I am not in the building) and don't manage to pump.  I usually carry a handpump on those days and manage to fit in a few mini pumping sessions.  I have had a few days where I have to get up at 4am to try to pump for the next day.  DS doesn't really drink much from a bottle so I may not have to pump too much when I go back after summer.  We'll see. 

[hildare]

Still working, still nursing my 20 month old, but I'm pg again so I don't have much milk.  I quit pumping when dd was 13 mos old, and she made up for this by nursing frequently at night.  We night weaned when she was 18 months, much to my relief.

I'll pump and work with this little one, too.  I have my own office, so it's not a problem for me to do so, though.  It's reassuring to know I'm providing nutrition for my baby while I'm working!

[Wilbur]

I've been either working full time/student part time or vice versa since DS was six months old; he's now three and weaning is definitely a long way off... I pumped (often in the car, bracing the flanges against the steering wheel to have my hands free to eat or write... steering wheel and dashboard would end up splattered...) until he was about eighteen months, when he lost any interest in breastmilk that didn't have the breast attached and developed a taste for raw cow's milk in a cup. He's never had formula. I'm so grateful to know that there are so many other moms who've done this! I'm so grateful, too, to know that I've given my son what I believe to be his birthright (human milk for the duration of time that it's biologically normal) and practice AP in general, even with the demands of our very not-biologically-normal modern lifestyle. I think that for working moms who are on the fence about the commitment this takes, the reduced illness rates, because of the antibodies etc., are an especially beneficial advantage when you have to be at work or school- my son is almost never sick, even since starting preschool, and when he is, he bounces back so quickly, meaning not only does he feel better, but I miss way less work/class...

[LynnS6]

Well, dd is now 7 and weaned, but I nursed her until age 4, and was a WOHM the whole time. By the end, she was only nursing 1x a day (mornings when she woke up). I weaned her at 4 because dh really needed her out of our bed (and so did I, because she'd kick all the covers off when she was hot, which meant that she spent a lot of the night kicking us)). I think she would have nursed until 5+ if I'd let her.

[KSLaura]

I nursed my 5YO until a couple of months ago, and am still nursing my 2YO.  I've always worked full time, so after I stopped pumping for the kids (around 1 YR for both), we just nurse after I pick them up, at bedtime, and sometimes in the morning.  This has worked pretty well for us.  None of my friends at work have nursed for more than a few weeks after birth.  I don't really advertise the fact that they've been nursing so long.  Probably should though, maybe it would help convince people that it is more normal. 

[drobinson]

I WOM full time and am still BFing my 14 month old DD and will continue to do so as long as I can or until she's ready to wean herself. I still pump at work as well.

[drobinson]

That should be WOH, not WOM :)

[CI Mama]

Originally Posted by Wilbur 

 I think that for working moms who are on the fence about the commitment this takes, the reduced illness rates, because of the antibodies etc., are an especially beneficial advantage when you have to be at work or school- my son is almost never sick, even since starting preschool, and when he is, he bounces back so quickly, meaning not only does he feel better, but I miss way less work/class...

This is such a good point. I experienced this, too. You'd think that employers would catch on and bend over backwards to accommodate pumping and encourage extended breastfeeding. But sadly, that doesn't seem to happen.
 

[beep]

I am a medical resident and still nursing my 19 month old.  Cosleeping and night nursing helps us stay connected when I work long hours.  I stopped pumping at 13 months, except for when I'm working more than 14 hours--and that's just to keep up supply and stay comfortable.