Breastfeeding and returning to work

marijaa333

Hi everyone, Our son arrived 3.5 weeks ago and I will be going back to work full time in September, when he is around 4 months old. My job involves international travel a week at a time, about once a month, sometimes once every two months, although I could probably avoid this in the first two months back. I am trying to figure out how I can continue to breastfeed once I'm back to work. Does anyone have advice on how to set up a schedule, how many times to pump, whether to build a freezer stash, whether to pump and dump (gasp!) while abroad, etc.? If there are other older discussions on this topic, I would appreciate having the links! Thanks a lot and it's nice to "meet" everyone here!

rspalding001

When I went back to work my DD was around 4-5 months. In the beginning I pumped 3 times a day at work. I kept that up for a couple months then dropped to twice a day at work (few more months) then dropped to once a day. I noticed a supply drop when I went down to pumping only once a day at work. I would recommend working on a freezer stash, when my supply dropped we used that to extend the time we could keep giving our daughter BM, we also used the freezer stash when we transitioned to formula around 10 months which is when we stopped breastfeeding. I kept up the breastfeeding as long as my daughter was waking up at night to feed because I wanted to be able to keep breastfeeding her at night. At 10 months she started sleeping through the night so that was when I decided to transition to formula.

In regards to traveling, you will have to pump and dump while away at the times you would normally feed your LO in order to maintain your supply. Its sad but there really is no way around it. the only other thing you could do is look for BM donation places where you will be staying and donate your pumped milk so it goes to a mom in need possibly?

marijaa333

Thank you @rspalding001 - much appreciated. That sounds like a reasonable schedule.

mexicolombiana

Ditto to everything said above.  You just have to treat pumping like a completely necessary thing you must do every few hours, or you will lose your supply.  I would avoid traveling as long as possible until you have a really good schedule going.

My friend travels a lot and pumps for twins and she doesn't throw the milk away, instead she freezes it and then ships it frozen or she keeps it frozen until she has to travel and then packs it up and brings it home with her still frozen.  This is tricky and you have to figure out how to make it work but I would try really hard not to throw milk away!

marijaa333

@mexicolombiana thanks! I would definitely be interested in freezing and bringing the milk home, but I normally travel long-haul, usually with at least one change of planes, and for a week at a time and I'm guessing that 20 hours of travel time is too much for any container, whether packed with dry ice or regular... 

Fnkymma

Would shipping it frozen be possible? If you could do that, it would be so much better than dumping (gasp!). Whatever you choose, it will be the best choice for you. Wishing you luck!

marijaa333

@Fnkymma I'm not sure -- I travel to pretty random countries so it would have to be shipped with DHL; I'm guessing the cost would be astronomical (given the cost of regular DHL shipping internationally).

SharonB222

At 2-3 months I started a mid-morning pumping to stash frozen.  When I stayed in fancy hotels a medium-sized fridge would be provided upon request and I could store my milk (and ice packs) and bring it back. 4 days easy (for me even up to 7 days refrigerated - I know BM spoils sooner for most folks). I'd bring a full-size cooler with ice packs. It was a pain in the butt (dealing with luggage), but I didn't travel as often as you or as long, and my supply starts diminishing when I return to work and I am too cheap to buy formula. I did pump and dump a few times - and that was ok too. My largest problem was that every time I was away I'd get a blocked duct (in part b/c I didn't pump as often as babies fed) - thankfully it would happen the day I was going home and my kids would suck that problem away when I met up with them ... but if I do this again I'll need to be better prepared on how to prevent the blocked ducts and treat them away from home.

marijaa333

@SharonB222 I never thought about that but I'm *sure* plugged ducts would be an issue (they are already if I don't pump regularly)!  Thanks for bringing it up.

nosoup4u

I bet there might be women in the countries you go to who would take donated milk. I can think of the name, but FB has groups for milk-sharing.

marijaa333

@nosoup4u (hehe, good nickname!) Good point. We supplemented for a week with donor milk and I would *gladly* donate what I can't use or pack. The more I think about it though, the more I'm leaning toward pushing hard not to travel to very remote places until he's six months old. That'll be only 2.5 months of restricted travel once I'm back at work.  And if I go to places where it's not too inconvenient/dangerous to bring him, DH has already agreed they would come along.

Do you know where I can look for these FB milk sharing groups?

mexicolombiana

https://www.facebook.com/hm4hb

https://www.facebook.com/EatsOnFeetsHome

HookEmNelson

It looks like you got some great advice! If you are committed to this, it really just works its way through and is great! Good luck and congratulations! You've got this!

fusionbride

I'd be worried about the long flights most of all-- if you travel when baby is eating every few hours, you'd have to pump on the flight, and while I'm sure it has to be legally protected/allowed, I can't imagine it being comfortable or easy to do in your seat or in the plane bathroom.  pumping in the airport should be fine, though.

avoid long trips as long as you can!

I pumped and dumped when I traveled for work after baby was 6 months old-- I would pump and dump at the beginning of the trip, and then keep the milk from the last 48 hours in a cooler and bring it back with me.  Baby had stored pump milk and formula when I was gone.  It was sad to pour that first bottle full of freshly pumped milk down the sink, but then it was fine.  And I was glad to be able to continue nursing between travels.

marijaa333

Wow, it's been forever since this was posted. I have now traveled, with and--mostly--without LO for work. I pump and dump when I'm out and about at meetings, but I keep the milk pumped (actually hand-expressed nowadays) at the hotel, including overnight. Before leaving on the trip, I ask the hotel to make sure there's a mini fridge in the room. On the night before departure, I find someone working in the kitchen who is willing to deep-freeze the milk overnight. Then in the morning after I check out, I put the frozen milk in a cooler and surround it with TechniIce, and put the cooler inside my checked luggage. This way, the milk can survive 20 hours without thawing. It's sure been nice to replace or nearly-replace what's missing from the freezer when I'm back.

crsanchez87

That's Amazing! Great Job!

marijaa333

Thanks  @crsanchez87 

@fusionbride 

yes the flights are tricky. I aim to express before boarding and then twice during an 8-hour flight, ideally during meal service when there is no rush for the lavatories. I tell the flight attendants ahead of time what I'll be up to and ask them to knock on the door if there is a line-up forming. The worst part is the arrival airport. The last thing I want to do is express again before getting home (or to the hotel) so I try to do it as late as possible during the flight so I can make it to my destination without having to take another pit stop.

NLewis1

Marijaa333 have you ever heard of freemies breast cups? They fit in your bra and you could pump in your seat on the plane. Worth looking into maybe if you have an extended breast feeding relationship and continue to travel far distances.

also would be good for women that commute that don't want to pump in the car under a cover

marijaa333

@NLewis1 You know, I bought those and never used them! They're sitting in the closet, waiting for another woman or another baby... They look like they would work ok, but they're pretty bulky, actually.

4N6s

What is TechniIce? I Googled it and I can't find any info on it!