When to pump at work?

kelly422

I'll be starting my new job as a Physician next month.  I'll be working primarily in a clinic with maybe a trip to the hospital to see patients before work.  I will be working four 10-hour days.  

Any tips on how to schedule my pumping? I'm thinking I'm going to have to have them block out my schedule from seeing patients in the morning and afternoon and then pump over lunch hour?

mariamaria

I'm not a physician, but have long days, too. I pump first thing in the morning and then 3 times at 9 am, noon and 3 pm. I block it off on my calendar so people know that's what I'm doing. I try to plan it with our care provider so that when I get home, baby is ready to nurse.

thedash

Yes definitely block your schedule a few times per day. You should probably start with a 30 minute block but could shorten it as you get more efficient at pumping. Also if you drive to work you may want to try out pumping while you commute since you have long shifts.

kelly422

thedash:

Yes definitely block your schedule a few times per day. You should probably start with a 30 minute block but could shorten it as you get more efficient at pumping. Also if you drive to work you may want to try out pumping while you commute since you have long shifts.

I've been EP the whole time, so it just depends how long it's been since I've pumped as to how long it takes.  If I go every 3 hours, pumping takes about 20 minutes, every 4 hours, about 30 minutes.  Unfortunately (and fortunately!) my drive to work is about 5 minutes, so that won't work  

Karla CS

Definitely block it off on your calendar if you can. At first, I felt really guilty about not being flexible with my schedule so that I could pump - REALLY? you want to schedule a meeting 5 minutes before? Nope, I have another commitment. Eventually, people realized it was my priority and started to work around it. If I know in advance I'll have a meeting during a time I normally pump, I can schedule around it, and spur of the moment interruptions don't seem to happen as much. 

 

TheBorg7of9

When I first went back to work I pumped:

1.) at home in the morning after the first feeding,

2.) 11:00 am at work

3.) 4:00 pm at work

4.) 10:00 pm at home

I had also built up a good frozen stash before returning.  So, I was able to slowly eliminate each pumping session.  I stopped pumping all together at 10.5 months, but he still drank my frozen milk for 7-8 more weeks.  I continued to nurse in the morning and evening until he was about 16 months old.