going back to work and pumping

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Permalink Reply by Hannah Eisenberg on September 25, 2009 at 10:01am

Hello Suzanne,
Thats a good question. How long are you planning on breastfeeding and how will your little one spend her/his day? I had to go back to work when my daugther was three months old and I had a Medela pump (the ones in a practical shoulder bag). It was very good. But I always felt the pump was the smallest problem with pumping. I seemed to never have enough milk, the daycare always urged me to give her formula, which I refused to do and I spend so much time in the day pumping (sometimes 5x). I am not writing this to discurage you, but maybe you want to start pumping in the evenings before bed now and give it some trial runs. Also make sure you always eat and drink enough through out the day. Two more tips to make your life easier: 1) I rinsed my pumping parts with very hot water and put them in the fridge in between pumpings. 2) Pump as soon as you get to work before anything else.
Good luck and its so worth it. We have changed plans last month and got a nanny (for the same price as daycare) and I can hear them giggling in the living room now. I can nurse her to sleep for naps if my schedule allows and I can get my full day of work in.
All the best,
Hannah

Permalink Reply by Joy Rosen on October 11, 2009 at 10:28pm

I had a hard time pumping as well. Many women just don't react to a pump the same way they react to a baby's latch. I let down several times while breastfeeding, but just once while pumping. Some tips that are helping me keep up with my 10 month old: 1) Pump at every opportunity. Do not expect to pump every 3 hours and come home with enough milk to feed your baby the next day while you are gone. As Hannah suggests, pump at night before you go to bed. When I can, I pump while nursing to get a couple of extra ounces when I'm fullest (usually in the morning). On the weekends, when you are home with your baby, pump after every nursing session for about 5 minutes, not only to get milk but to push your body to produce more milk. 2) I had a Lansinoh pump with my first, and it just wasn't enough for me. For my second, I invested in a Madela Symphony, which you can rent instead of buying. It's really expensive ($1400 to buy, about $60/month to rent) but cheaper that formula in the long run. The Symphony is a hospital grade pump and it really sucks the milk out of you. 3) Use breast compressions when pumping to speed up the process. 4) Check out http://www.kellymom.com/ for tons of helpful information.

Good luck!