Working moms

StephRN23

I've asked a couple coworkers what they did and I got different answers. For breastfeeding/pumping, do you try to send all fresh milk to DC or do you send frozen? One friend sends all fresh and if she didn't pump enough the day before, she supplements with frozen. The other sent all frozen, then froze what she pumped to keep up stash. Also, what do you do on your days off? I'm only working 2 to 3 days a week when I go back, so I'll be home a lot to nurse. Do I throw in a couple pumping sessions in during the day when I'm home to keep fresh milk? Currently I only pump once in the morning and once at night and I get between 12 and 16 ounces for the day. Sorry so long, I'm going back to work next week and I'm stressing about it. TIA!

ETA: stupid mobile. There aren't even 23 days in a week! Lol

dee & bee

Ah, don't stress. You'll find what works for you.

The week before I went back to work I started pumping during day to get my boobs on a schedule (nurse him when he wakes, pump at 8, 11, 2, nurse for the rest of the day/night). Turns out I make much more than he drinks so I'd give him a bottle of the last pumping session's milk right before I'd pump. Bc of that, I was able to build up a small stash and O got a mix of fresh/frozen the first day of DC.

Its only been two weeks since I've been back at work and he eats about half of what I pump each day! He was sick for a while though and just this weekend has had an appetite spike so this week may be different. Anyway, I send O to DC w/fresh milk and freeze all the extra milk. If I end up not making enough then I will supplement with frozen but until then, he will get fresh...afterall, I would want fresh

Also wanted to add, I pump 7.5-9oz at 8am, ~5oz at 11, ~7oz at 2 (total of 20-22oz per day). O drank 13oz/day the first week but then got sick and his whole schedule was a mess.

skibi83

H gets frozen. I just take about 100oz and the daycare stores it in there deep freeze and then I send more as my freezer starts to get fillup. I always have about 120oz on hand at home. If he drinks frozen than I know that he is drinking the oldest first so that it is always pretty nutrient compatible for him.

For pumping, I pump in the morning, then at work during my 15 and during my lunch, on school days I pump in my 10min breaks at lunch and after class.

This and that

Baby H hasn't started at DCP yet, but when he goes in a month and a half, I plan on using the frozen stash first do that I'm sure to be using the oldest and not letting it expire.

Kristen050

I've been debating this too. With DS1 I always sent frozen. He almost always drank more than I could pump at work. Luckily I had a good stash before I went back. I got thinking about it, and I wonder if the reason he drank more was because he was always getting milk that was nutritionally made for him about 2 1/2 months earlier. I rotated the stash so he always got the oldest stuff. I think I'm going to try to send fresh thus time around. It just seems like the frozen bags were easier but daycare does it either way so I don't know why I even worry about it.

rachael_c26

I send frozen milk. The oldest milk gets used first. I have a pretty substantial stash so I want to get the oldest out. I know there's concern that the calorie content of older milk isn't as dense as what's in the milk that's fresh, but to me that's all the more reason to get it used and out of there.

As for pumping on my off days (as I only work 3 days a week too), it's a non issue. I have a pretty lenient work environment though. So I get to pretty much simulate Cu's eating schedule. I nurse him before leaving him with the sitter, then I pump both sides about two hours later (which is when I usually get 3 extra ounces to go back toward my stash) then for the rest of the day after that, I pretty much just pump one side every 2 1/2 hours to simulate Cu's eating.

Anyway, I'm also still getting up to pump in the MOTN and getting about 6oz then, and I still pump one more time in the morning on my days off (pretty much the same as pumping both sides that first session on days I work), so aside from what is just "breaking even" on the days he uses milk, I'm putting away 9oz/day.

Sorry if all of that was really wordy.