Twelve Hour Days

Gracious1014 · June 2013

I start back to work next Monday and go back with a bang on a 12.5 hour day. My shifts are either from 6:45am-7:15pm or 7:45am-6:15pm with two twelves and one ten hour shift per week. The length definitely sucks but I'm hoping it will be worth it to have the rest of the days off to be with LO. I'm EBFing and will be pumping when I go back to work. I talked to my office manager and they have a lactation room ready for me so I'm glad I won't have to worry about that when I go back. I'm just concerned about getting a good pump schedule set up. Here is what I'm thinking:

Pump/BF before leaving for work (depending on when LO wakes up...her schedule is still kind of all over the place)

Pump at work every 3 hours - so 10, 1, & 4

BF right when I get home

Does this seem like a good schedule? The only people at work who I know have pumped have been either doctors or mid level providers and they just pump in their offices during built in breaks in their schedules so it's easy for them to get away. I work in registration so I'm going to have to be keeping an eye on my own time. I really hope that all of my coworkers are understanding of it. I know that my managers have my back so I don't worry about there being any issue there, I just think that coworkers might look at it as me taking a break instead of being a necessary thing.

Also, what do you do for lunch breaks when you're pumping? I think that I'm going to feel guilty if I also take a lunch break on top of leaving to pump. Should I plan on eating while pumping? Is that crazy or realistic?

Thanks ladies!

SummerBeans · June 2013

Your schedule sounds ok to me. I did not work 12 hour days though. I did eat while I pumped, I just did not feel right taking a separate lunch.

nursebride2be · June 2013

With my first I was an icy nurse working 12 hour shifts. I did a similar schedule to what you posted. I would eat during my 1 o clock pumping time. My son was ussually asleep when I got home closer to 8 pm so I would just pumped before bed.
After a while I went down to 2 pumps during the day, but would get more volume. On my days off I breastfed, but always pumped right before bed.

emberlee3 · June 2013

Your schedule sounds good. I think you will get into a flow, and your coworkers will get used to the routine, too. I pumped for DS when I was a medical resident; my schedule changed every 2-4 weeks and I had to explain my pump schedule to new people all the time. I had no designated pumping space; I borrowed offices, exam rooms, call rooms, bathrooms, anywhere that would lock. Some rooms didn't even lock, but I put a sign up. Anyhoo, it all worked out and people were generally understanding.

I ate lunch while pumping.

ilanat · June 2013

Your scheduled sounds good. I pumped three times a day at work at the height of LO's breastfeeding consumption. (I also pumped again at home at around 2:00 am.) I breastfed right before work and right when I got home and on-demand throughout the night. I ate (and drank tons of water) every time I pumped, partly because it was during lunch time, but also because I found I needed to eat A LOT to keep it up. I basically ate some kind of healthy full meal or snack every time I pumped. I did not take a separate lunch. I also did work while pumping, including sending business emails and working on projects. Perhaps you could also do some kind of work while pumping?

lcriordan · June 2013

Sounds like all of you ladies are medical professionals. I am going back to work starting with 12 hour days too but I am a CPA and feel super guilty about my hours away from the kids. Anyway, I am glad to hear it is doable and love hearing schedules that make it possible.

Twelve Hour Days

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