?breast feeding and working full time

dlr10/12/07

I am only 11wk pregnant but I really want to try to breast feed and go back to work full time.  I am a catscan technologist at a hospital and I work full time during the day.  I get a good maternity leave, 16wks, but would like to keep breast feeding when I go back to work.  I was wondering if and how often should I expect  to pump during the day?  Any full time moms breast feed?

MaestraMama

I went back to work PT when DD was 3 months old.  I pumped 2x a day and was able to have enough supply. When I went back FT (DD was 7 months), I also pumped 2x a day. It was much easier to pump when I worked FT because I had my own office. Will you have a good place to pump at work?  I have the Medela PISA and that also helped cut down on the pumping time.  I was able to pump and be done in about 15 minutes.  I also suggest getting an extra set of bottles that go with  your pump, along with extra shields.  I had 3 sets of each and just rotated them through the week.  When I got home, I threw the dirty things in the dishwasher and had the clean ones out on the counter ready to reload everything in my bag for the next day.  GL!

tosababy

I went back when DS was 12 weeks and pumped until he was about 12.5 months (and then fed him in the am and pm for another month or so after that).  It was hard, but definitely worth it.  I pumped 3x a day most days.  There were a couple of times that I had supply dips/sickness/growth spurts when I would pump 4x a day for a week and then go back to 3x a day.  You can totally do this ... best wishes to you!!

MrsAmers

With DD I went back to work full time at 12 weeks.  I pumped until a couple of weeks before her birthday and continued nursing whenever we were together.  She self-weaned at 22 months old.

I returned to full time work at 14 weeks with DS and I'm pumping again.  I pump three times while I'm at work.  The pumping takes about 10-13 minutes, so I'm away from my desk for 15-20 minutes.

trinny

I work full time and went back when DD was 17w.  I pump 1x (7am) before work and 2x at work (11 and 3) and nurse as much as I can otherwise.  DD usually takes 15-18 oz a day.  So far it is working for us and I hope I can continue EBF until she self-weans. 

JLS0320

I went back when DS was 12 wks old, I work full time and pump every 3 hrs and nurse as often as possible when we are together.

kertybird

I always feed DS when he wakes up around 7, then I would pump at 10am and 2pm and then would BF right when I ot home.  I don't have to do it as often anymore.

blondie75

Plan to pump every 2-3 hours, especially in the beginning.  I returned to work when DD was 4.5 months.  I pumped 3 times a day.  At around 8.5 months, I dropped to 2 pump sessions.  At 1 year, I dropped to once a day.  This week I'm going to stop pumping.  You can also post on the BF board if you haven't already.  There are lots of moms who work FT and BF. 

yellowcar

I've been BF'ing and pumping since returning to work in February, and DS is now 9 months old.  I pumped two times a day up until recently and visit him at lunch to feed him.

I work full time, but I have my own private office so I can just close the door to pump.  I was using a Medela PIS electric pump, and it was adequate to keep my supply.  You just need to be consistent and drink a lot of water and eat well with lots of whole grains.

I also started pumping at home in the morning at the first feeding of the day so that I overproduced (you are sort of naturally full first thing in the morning, once baby starts STTN) and I actually got an extra 4-9 ounces that way.  I was able to build up quite a nice freezer stock that way.  Now that DS is cutting back on his milk intake due to solid foods, it is nice that I don't have to pump as much at work and can start cutting into that freezer supply.  I've actually cut down to pumping once a day.

DallasHorn

I have made many posts with tips for working moms & BF, so please look for those. But to answer your question...generally I would say 3 times (mid-morning, lunch and mid-afternoon) is pretty standard.  That also means nursing before work and after work.