Going back to work and pumping

[corhorvath]

Hi All,

I'm new to this forum. I read through a lot of threads to get a feel for the group and see if this question was already posted. I couldn't find anything that explicitly stood out to me so I figured I'd write.

Well, I have to go back to work in 3 weeks and am wondering if any of you have some tips on how to bottle feed breast milk during the day and breastfeed at morning and night. My daughter will be 15 weeks old and so far accepted one bottle but has refused ever since. Over the past few weeks in between feedings, I've pumped about 30 ounces and froze it in 3 ounce portions. This too is a great relief for me because with my first daughter I couldn't pump even one ounce--literally.

I'm wondering about the following:
1)increasing my milk supply to meet her needs
2)nipple confusion
3)washing my supplies while at work (do I just haul my stuff into the bathroom??)
4)how many times a day should I pump (especially since I don't know how many ounces she needs in a feeding-I'm assuming about 3 ounces a feeding at this point)
5)I'm large breasted (they're G's at this point: ) and am wondering if any nipple is more natural in shape for a large breast (I bought a couple of Avents for starters)

Thank you for your help! I'll probably be in this forum a lot more in the coming weeks.

[maxmama]

Washing pump parts at work (okay, I'll be honest): I never did it. at the time, the recs were that you could leave BM at room temp for eight hours, so the milk droplets on the parts were still technically within that eight hours. I guess you could get the Medela wipes for the parts, or use Ivory soap in the kitchen/break room at work, or last resort, the bathroom.

Nipple confusion has kind of been discounted in lactation research the last few years. It was a big deal when I originally took the LC course here, then I went to a conference in March where the same instructor had several examples of how nipple confusion doesn't exist. I can see both sides. I don't worry about it, but when I have the baby and go back to work we might use a cup, depending on how well she nurses.

For pumping, the frequency isn't really determined so much by volume pumped as by frequency -- how many feedings will you be missing? It's the frequency of breast stimulation that keeps up your supply.

A lot of babies refuse bottles, esp. from their moms, or when their mom's in the house. Healthy babies won't starve themselves. Offer a cup (really -- we use cups for newborns in the nursery), or finger feed, but in the end she'll probably take a bottle.

Be prepared for her to nurse a LOT when you're home. Most babies strongly prefer their milk straight from the source and will take the minimum they need to feel okay during hte day, then tank up at night.

Good luck. It can be done. I nursed my son for 2 1/2 years after I went back to work full time, and pumped for 14 months of that (UGH!). You get into a routine.

[MaryJaneLouise]

Here's some general info on increasing your pumping amount:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/p..._decrease.html

and a milk calculator to tell you how much you need:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html

Good luck with going back to work

[coobabysmom]

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/index.html

I've been pumping for about 5 months and this website has been helpful for me. I asked that ds continued to be bottle fed on demand at daycare and patterns emerged, now at 8 mos he drinks about 14 oz in 8 -10 hours and I typically can produce 11-16 oz when I pump.

1)increasing my milk supply to meet her needs

Its sounds like you are doing a good job of building a milk stash- keep building that with extra pumping before or after work. I have had some issues with supply so I use Mothers more milk (herbal tincture from health food store), drink lots of water, eat oatmeal almost daily with success.

2)nipple confusion

I was worried about it but we didn't have this issue...

3)washing my supplies while at work (do I just haul my stuff into the bathroom??)

I use the breakroom sink, my own soap (never the grungy breakrooom sponge) and when I am flying and I only have a bathroom, I use the medela wipes. Sometimes I don't wash between pumpings because I get busy or am late for a meeting (blah, blah, blah) and I don't get too concerned. The antibodies in bm are powerful enough to eat those germies...

4)how many times a day should I pump (especially since I don't know how many ounces she needs in a feeding-I'm assuming about 3 ounces a feeding at this point)

I would trust that your body is making enough milk to pump for her! I pump 3 times at work and try to sneak in once at night after ds is sleeping. At first, I just pumped whenever I felt my breasts were full...

5)I'm large breasted (they're G's at this point ) and am wondering if any nipple is more natural in shape for a large breast (I bought a couple of Avents for starters

I have a big chest with large nipples and Ds son seemed to "latch" best to the avent nipples. We use the #1 nb nipple (w/ the 4 oz bottle) because the smaller hole slows the milk down. I tried dr. brown and the medela, but they ds wouldn''t get down to business with those... Also, using an electric double pump and buying larger breast horns (I used the medela 30 mm) has really helped me speed pumping along more comfortably.

Good Luck!

MaryJaneLouise- We must have been writing at the same time! I posted the same link you did!

[sweetest]

The only thing I can add is that I realy liked the microwave bags for sterilizing parts if you have access to a microwave (many times my coworkers asked if I was making popcorn )

[wednesday]

I went back to work at 8 weeks old but once my son was past 3 months I didn't wash my pump parts anymore. I read the thing a PP referred to that BM is good at room temperature for up to 8 hours. My first pumping session was around 10 and my last was around 3 and that is only 5 hours so I didn't worry about it.

However some moms buy extra pump parts and that way they can use a fresh set every time without having to wash in the bathroom in between--they just put everything in the dishwasher every night.

I pumped about every two hours, fwiw...as far as how much you will need...that is so variable for each baby, really.

[corhorvath]

THank you for all the great tips!! It makes going back to work not so scary.

[NurseLaurie]

As far as the bottle nipples for large breasted women... I have DDs right now and am having great success with Evenflo Elan. I did have trouble locating slow flow and had to buy whole bottles instead of just nipples, but Annabelle takes them like a champ. She was hit or miss with Avent and refused Medela. Good luck!