Working Moms

Ladybug2821

I'll be returning to work soon and I'm quite overwhelmed with how it's going to go and I'm sure I'm not the only one with questions. We can use this thread to talk about how things are going juggling work and home, best tips and tricks to make it work, and just how we are feeling about it in general. 

Ladybug2821

I BF so I will be pumping at work. Im not really concerned about the pumping part but should I nurse S before I go to work?  Right now she wakes at 3am for her MOTN feed and wakes for the day between 6:30 & 7:30. I'll be busy getting ready and leaving at that time. Should I wake her to nurse or just let H bottle feed her?

m6agua

@Ladybug2821 I am EFF so I don't have a lot of input on your question. I know my friend wakes her baby in the morning at the same time because her and her husband leave for work around the same time. I feel like our babies are at the age where we could probably get them up around the same time everyday instead of waiting for them to wake. I would say it is up to you if you want to nurse or not.

lajoliedreamer

@Ladybug2821 - I go either way. E's sleep schedule isn't super predictable so I bf if she wakes between 5 and 6 or if I happen to be on top of getting ready and have the time. Otherwise I give her a quick bottle or bring her to daycare hungry and let them know she'll need to eat.

SandNStarsNJ

While I haven't gone back to work this time yet, I was reading through the notebook we used at daycare with our first and I subscribed to the "only feed LO when she woke on her own". If she woke before I left for work, I fed her and told daycare what time to feed her next. If she didn't wake, I would send a note indicating she needed to eat first thing. To prepare for this time around I have been delaying LO's first feed until a time I know he would be at daycare. 

desoky01

I have been waking LO up before I leave for work, unless he seems very sleepy. He usually goes back to sleep during our feed though. My H and I work opposite schedules so no day care. 

sarac986

I wake him and feed before we leave. Sometimes he is up and he eats first and sits in his podster while we get ready. He really loves the morning

Ladybug2821

desoky01 said:

I have been waking LO up before I leave for work, unless he seems very sleepy. He usually goes back to sleep during our feed though. My H and I work opposite schedules so no day care. 

Our situation is the same so no daycare here either. 

LauraJosh11

I wake my LO to eat once more right before we leave. He normally falls back asleep in the car since work &my parents live 45 min away.

kvruns

I plan to feed him before we leave for daycare although if he wakes up at like 5 I'm not sure what I'll do since he usually won't go back down for sleep. 

Im a little nervous about daycare only bc B has been having some really rough days and not sleeping well unless held for naps. I know they can't hold him. Not to mention getting him to calm down is a chore and sometimes only solved by extra feeding. But I know this is their job and they know what they're doing 

MrsBigTime

I feed LO before I get out of bed to get ready.

anne11716

I wake up and get ready and pump and then I feed him at 6 and get him ready for the day. I thought it was going to be awful waking him up but he's really been great with it all! 

Ladybug2821

I decided to give S a bottle at bedtime tonight just to see how it effects her sleep. She normally only gets a bottle if we are out. For the BF babies that get bottles when you're at work, do you only BF when you are home?  If she sleeps longer tonight with the bottle, I may have to continue with that. 

leighry

@Ladybug2821 my husband and I have started giving baby boy a bottle at night no matter what. It's usually smaller than when I'm not home to nurse him but we have noticed he is still hungry after I nurse him. He isn't huge and was still only sleeping for a couple hours so we added and bottle and he sleeps so much better now!

kvruns

Today is my first day back in the office. I didn't feel any sadness leaving daycare, I honestly felt relief to finally get a break. Now as the day has crept on I'm feeling a bit anxious and afraid he's been crying all day. But he's with people who do childcare for a living so I know he will be ok

m6agua

@kvrus sounds like you are doing great for your first day back! It makes it that much better when you go and get your LO and the smile at you! When I was home all day every day with her I am pretty sure she got sick of looking at me.

ZoeFer

I try to feed her before I leave, unless she refuses to eat. Lately, she refuses to eat before noon and it is driving me crazy. Could it be because she is not hungry ? She nurses well throughout the night and after I get back home. I am not sure what I can do . My mom takes care of her and she also gets very upset if DD refuses to eat from the bottle.

SandNStarsNJ

You know that feeling of dread that you have to return to work? I just got it. Ugh. 

hoosiermama-2

Yes And my company has pretty much been imploding the last couple of months, so I'm dreading going back even more. Meeting with the CEO tomorrow for a "checkin" (even though I met with my team lead and have been in communication with her ) bleeeehhhhhhhh


@m6agua I say that to my husband almost every day, haha. Poor her. She's so excited and talkative when he gets home!!! 

Megz1902

@sandnstarsNJ I am still getting that feeling of dread, this is my 3rd week back.

Those who are BFing and Pumping, does your SO help with night feeds? After Nora was 4-6 weeks, she was sleeping longer stretches at night and I let DH off the hook for night feeds. The last 2 weeks she has steadily been sleeping more poorly. I am up every 1-2.5 hours, where it used to be every 3-5. I'm so exhausted today, I nearly called in. I'm going to have to start having DH give her a bottle the first time she wakes up, so I can get just a little more uninterrupted sleep. I feel like I have a newborn again, but this time I can't nap when she does to make up for the lost sleep at night. I take back all the times I said I was tired before baby...this is real tired...

SandNStarsNJ

@hoosiermama We are falling apart as well. Apparently the union is threatening strike... again. And then there's the vermin infestation. 

@megz1902 With our first, DH never got up for a single feed. He did have to get up to soothe when she clearly didn't need to eat. And I did feel like the walking dead every single day. It was all a blur as I expect this to feel like as well in another two weeks. 

sarac986

Walking dead here too. I've been back for about a month. My 45 minute drive too and from work is hard being so tired. I feel like I'm sleeping with my eyes open. Trying to get LO in his own room but dread having to get up to sooth him. We can get 5 hrs straight out of him now

lajoliedreamer

@MegZ1902 - DH helps with all night feedings. He picks her up and brings her and the boppy to me in bed then gets a bottle together while I bf (she doesn't get enough from me). Once I'm done with her I change her diaper and give her to him to feed the bottle while I pump to empty out more. If she doesn't fall back to sleep while eating the bottle he typically stays up with her while I go back to sleep. The sleep deprivation is really hard on me, especially with my anxiety, so I'm lucky that DH does what he can to help me get more sleep.

desoky01

I have an evening training tonight and I'm dreading it so much. I'm used to my 8:30-1:00 shift now, but being expected to come to a training outside of those hours really bothers me. It's the hardest time of the day for LO and thus for H also, so I'm really not wanting to be gone. Not to mention LO eats more often so I'm worried about pumping. I keep trying to tell myself it's just one night this week (3 total this month.) I wish working was more baby friendly! It's just a training on our computer system so I also wish they'd just let me bring LO. 

kvruns

I was really worried about pumping at work but thus far (just 3 days in) I like it. My output is way better than expected and better than I would get at home. I think it is because I'm relaxed, I'm not worried about a baby waking up or wanting to get it over with so I can go to sleep. It is 30 min I can sit in a comfy chair, play on my phone and relax. I'm not pumping enough to make up for what he eats at daycare, but i don't care because I never planned to pump enough for that (he gets free formula at daycare, although I'm sending 1-2 BM bottles because my freezer is full and no way there is room since I am actually pumping decent)

Ladybug2821

At home I only pump for 10 mins in the morning to build up a stash. Am I going to have to be pumping for 30 mins a session while at work or is it different for everyone?

SandNStarsNJ

Ladybug2821 said:

At home I only pump for 10 mins in the morning to build up a stash. Am I going to have to be pumping for 30 mins a session while at work or is it different for everyone?

It's all different and dependent on a lot of variables - how much you need, stress, the type of pump, how hydrated you are, etc... I've only recently realized that I can handpump 5oz in about 10 minutes but to electrically pump that much it's a good half hour. So I think I'll be sacrificing the hands free for the mobility and time difference. 

lajoliedreamer

Ladybug2821 said:

At home I only pump for 10 mins in the morning to build up a stash. Am I going to have to be pumping for 30 mins a session while at work or is it different for everyone?

It's definitely different for everyone. I pump for 10-15 minutes each time, though I don't have a great supply (I only get 2-3 oz per session). I didn't increase the time at work from what I'd been doing at home before then. I've heard of women that can fill their bottles in 10 minutes, so it just depends on how quick you let-down and release the milk.

desoky01

I get a 15 min break and I pump during that time (sometimes adding a few minutes depending on how fast I rush to get set up.) I usually pump for about 10 min and get 6-8 oz a session during the morning. I only pump once during my 4.5 hour shift. We'll see what happens at my 4 hour training tonight for pumping. 

kristah2

I'm really lucky and I don't have to go back to work until end of October. However I found out yesterday I am actually BEHIND in finding child care. Are you kidding me?! I have to try to meet with a bunch of providers and get him onto waitlists now.. and hope something is open for October. And it's $50 per day. How stupid. 

lajoliedreamer

kristah2 said:

I'm really lucky and I don't have to go back to work until end of October. However I found out yesterday I am actually BEHIND in finding child care. Are you kidding me?! I have to try to meet with a bunch of providers and get him onto waitlists now.. and hope something is open for October. And it's $50 per day. How stupid. 

Childcare waitlists are ridiculous almost everywhere. I was very lucky to find an opening because I should have looked when I was halfway through my pregnancy and didn't until E was born. And I pay $299/wk for full-time care. Not the cheapest in the area, but I feel comfortable having her there when I definitely visited a couple less expensive centers that made me uncomfortable.

Ladybug2821

If you are pumping directly into bottles at work, how many do you find that you need in order to pump at work and have enough at home/daycare?

kvruns

Ladybug2821 said:

At home I only pump for 10 mins in the morning to build up a stash. Am I going to have to be pumping for 30 mins a session while at work or is it different for everyone?

I'm usually about 20 min for pumping. At work I'm staying on longer only because I can and am hoping for more let down each time 

I pump into storage bottles and have 3 at work because I pump 5-6 ounces at a time total. I have some storage bags at work just in case I pump extra and need the bottles for more punping

Megz1902

Ladybug2821 said:

If you are pumping directly into bottles at work, how many do you find that you need in order to pump at work and have enough at home/daycare?

I pump into the medela 5 oz storage bottles. I bring 6 of them, 2 for each session. Then at home I transfer milk into bottles for DC and freeze any extra.

lajoliedreamer

Ladybug2821 said:

If you are pumping directly into bottles at work, how many do you find that you need in order to pump at work and have enough at home/daycare?

I bring four bottles and combine what I pump into one after each session so I always have enough bottles. (I do 2-3 sessions a work day). Partly I do four because it's what I fits in the cooler set I bought: https://www.amazon.com/Medela-67068-Breastmilk-Cooler-Set/dp/B00H5OI9XO/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1489078671&sr=8-1&keywords=medela+bottle+cooler&th=1

Megz1902

The Skip Hop bottle coolers hold 6 medela bottles. But that is a great idea to combine bottles after a pump, makes less dishes at home that night.

https://smile.amazon.com/Skip-Hop-Insulated-Double-Triangles/dp/B00SKL8MAG/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1489083136&sr=8-3&keywords=skip+hop+bottle+cooler

ZoeFer

I  bring 4 bottles to work and I use Medela`s cooler bag which holds 4 bottles . I usually pump two or three times at work, so if I will need the bottles for the third time, I combine the milk and use the bottles again.

kvruns

@megz1902 I just bought that exact one Tuesday for pumping bottles

Megz1902

This is my 4th week back and it feels harder than the first week. I just don't want to be here. I'm starting to think I'm just not cut out to be a working mom. 

lajoliedreamer

This week has been hard for me, too - it's my 9th week back. Total TMI, but my discharge has been thick so I'm wondering if I'm ovulating so am just hormonal. I wish the IUD could stop the hormones instead of just stopping the egg. 

@Megz1902 - if you haven't at all started to feel better about working while LO is at daycare, you may want to look more at your family budget and see if you could go down to PT or jump into SAHM. When we start talking about having a second LO I plan to do the schooling needed for Medical Billing so I can work from home and still have an income - maybe that could be a good fit for you?

Megz1902

@lajoliedreamer we've talked about me staying home or finding something part time. We are currently getting our house ready to sell, as we stand to make $$ on it, which can pay off my student loans debt and a down payment on a new house. So I have to tough it out til we sell at least. I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it still is hard to be here and not with her. I know she's happy enough at daycare but if there is any way I can spend more time with her, I will find a way to do it.