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Questions re pumping at work
For those of you who pumped at work...
1. How many times a day did you pump? Did you pump for each bottle LO ate?
2. Did you take your pump home with you every night or leave it at work?
3. Did you have two sets of pump parts or were you fine with only one?
4. If you used an office, what did you do if someone knocked on your door while you were pumping? Did you put a note on your door or something?
5. Any tips for keeping up supply? My supply is adequate, but only barely. If my supply starts to dip at all, I'm in trouble.
Thanks!
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Re: Questions re pumping at work
1) I pumped 3x/day at work for 10 months. It was tough! Yes, I pumped for every bottle that DS ate, that way I could nurse him on schedule during the weekends.
2) I brought my pump home every night so that I could clean it more fully, and it just fit in the bag where all my milk was, too, so it was just easier to bring it back and forth.
3) I was fine with just one set. Needless to say, after that much pumping, I did have to replace the shields once.
4) I was lucky in that my office had a Mother's Room specifically for pumping mothers. Often, if my office-mate was not in, I would rather just stay in my office, so I would put a note on the door - "Do not disturb. Back in 10 mn." since the door did not have a lock. I would close the blinds and hope for the best! It was nervewracking though.
5) To keep up my supply, I needed to take Fenugreek capsules. I just wasn't making enough otherwise. This worked great for me. I got mine at Whole Foods, but they're probably sold elsewhere too. The dosage is on the bottle. Oatmeal is supposed to help supply as well, in addition to the staples of keeping really well hydrated and getting enough rest.
It's such a challenge to pump at work and sustain your supply, but so worth it!! Good luck!
1. How many times a day did you pump? Did you pump for each bottle LO ate? I started out with 3x/day at work, which was once less than DD was nursing. I supplemented with a 4th pump just before I went to bed so I could get the 4 bottles she needed for the next day. There was no way I could pump every three hours at work.
2. Did you take your pump home with you every night or leave it at work? I took mine home for that bedtime pumping session.
3. Did you have two sets of pump parts or were you fine with only one? I eventually realized that I had extra parts (thank you extra post-partum hospital stay) and finally left one set at work and one at home so I didn't need to schlep them back and forth. I used the Medela wipes daily and the steamer bag every few days to keep them clean rather than bringing them home to wash.
4. If you used an office, what did you do if someone knocked on your door while you were pumping? Did you put a note on your door or something? I had a lock installed on my office door during my mat. leave, which is standard in my office. I don't trust my co-workers to respect a closed door.
5. Any tips for keeping up supply? My supply is adequate, but only barely. If my supply starts to dip at all, I'm in trouble. I supplemented some in the beginning until I got into the swing of things (but we had a rough start BFing, and my troubles when I went to work were more a result of that than some kind of problem switching from nursing during the day to pumping). Breast compressions while pumping really saved me - I got from barely keeping up to being a bottle or two ahead of DD's needs over the course of a few months. Oatmeal every day for my mid-morning snack, lots of water, More Milk Plus supplements 2-3x/day, and I kept eating a lot.
2. Did you take your pump home with you every night or leave it at work? Home every night. PITA.
3. Did you have two sets of pump parts or were you fine with only one? Fine with one. I just wiped the parts with pump wipes or paper towels between sessions and stored them in the fridge or with ice packs.
4. If you used an office, what did you do if someone knocked on your door while you were pumping? Did you put a note on your door or something? We rarely shut our office doors, so people usually respect them when they do happen to be closed.
5. Any tips for keeping up supply? My supply is adequate, but only barely. If my supply starts to dip at all, I'm in trouble. I took fenugreek, drank a ton of water and pumped a lot. If my supply dipped, I'd add an extra pumping session, like right when I got home (I used to get home before C & DH). Somedays that meant pumping 5x a day (and nursing 2-3x), but you do what you gotta do. I'm sure it helped a ton that I only worked 3 days a week, though.
1. How many times a day did you pump? Did you pump for each bottle LO ate? I pumped three times a day. Usually 9, 12, and 3. Then, I would often pump once a night after J went to bed to keep my supply up to his demand (this only worked once he started sleeping longer stretches, like from 7-1 or 2).
2. Did you take your pump home with you every night or leave it at work? Took it home every night so I could pump.
3. Did you have two sets of pump parts or were you fine with only one? Two. It was a lot easier because that way we didn't HAVE to run the dishwasher every night.
4. If you used an office, what did you do if someone knocked on your door while you were pumping? Did you put a note on your door or something? I do not have an office, sadly.
5. Any tips for keeping up supply? My supply is adequate, but only barely. If my supply starts to dip at all, I'm in trouble.Definitely pump for as long as milk comes out (don't try to time it) and massaging the breast as you pump helps, too. More Milk Plus and oatmeal, lactation cookies can help increase/keep up your supply. And, if you can, try to pump at night. It sucks, but it will give you peace of mind because you'll definitely have enough (or maybe a little extra to freeze).
FYI, I always got the most in the morning, the least around lunch, and then somewhere in the middle in the afternoon - so don't worry if your supply seems up and down. Good luck! You'll figure out your routine.
Oh one other tip - I blocked out my pump times on my calendar. That way people rarely tried to schedule meetings over top and I didn't have to worry about missing or being late for a session.
TTC #2: BFP 12/17/11, m/c 1/7/12 and D&C 1/12/12
baby blog/cooking blog
1. How many times a day did you pump? Did you pump for each bottle LO ate? I pumped every two hours. Trust me, your boobs will remind you if you go too long without pumping/BFing.
2. Did you take your pump home with you every night or leave it at work?
I hauled it home every night, because sometimes I'd pump at night as well.
3. Did you have two sets of pump parts or were you fine with only one? I had two. Washing pump parts is the worst part of the whole process!
4. If you used an office, what did you do if someone knocked on your door while you were pumping? Did you put a note on your door or something? I just put a Do Not Disturb sign on my door. Of course, that did not stop one of my male coworkers from walking in on me! If you have a lock, use it!
5. Any tips for keeping up supply? My supply is adequate, but only barely. If my supply starts to dip at all, I'm in trouble. I have no advice here. My supply was never fantastic and once my period came back, it was all over! I managed to eek out enough between BFing and my freezer supply to EBF her for 9 months.
Disclaimer: I'm not necessarily endorsing my methods. I ended up with an oversupply and clogged ducts. For what it's worth, here's what I did:
1. Pumped 3 times per day every three hours. I did pump for every bottle.
2/3. I took the pump home every night along with the pump parts although I had two sets that I rotated. I kept the little wipes in my office so that I could just wipe down in between uses during the day so I didn't add a ton of time to my pumping session for clean-up.
4. I put up a sign that said "Do Not Disturb" and had a picture of a cow on it. I work in a small section of a big organization so everyone knew what that meant and I never had any problems.
5. I was worried about my supply too but it all went fine. I drank a lot of water, ate oatmeal, and was vigilant about pumping. I also kept a pumping session before I went to bed every night which provided a freezer stash which made me less stressed. Also, because stress has something to do with the amount you produce, I tried to make the time I was in my office pumping enjoyable. I spent time on the bump, read the paper, and relaxed a bit. I think that definitely helped.
Good luck!
1. How many times a day did you pump? Did you pump for each bottle LO ate?
I only had to pump twice at work (and 2-3 times at home) to have more than enough for DD for the next 24 hours.
2. Did you take your pump home with you every night or leave it at work? I EPed so I had to take it back and forth. But, I did buy one of those hand pumps and kept it at the office because there were a few days I forgot the pump.
3. Did you have two sets of pump parts or were you fine with only one? I had three sets of parts
4. If you used an office, what did you do if someone knocked on your door while you were pumping? Did you put a note on your door or something? I put up a sign that simply said 'please do not disturb'
5. Any tips for keeping up supply? My supply is adequate, but only barely. If my supply starts to dip at all, I'm in trouble.
I drank tons of water and ate oatmeal for breakfast.
1) I pump 3x a day for 20 minutes each time. That's one less session that bottle - so I generally get up before LO gets up in the morning and pump for just 10 minutes, and then I pump again before I go to bed. I still nurse LO in the morning and evening and before she goes to bed. And I scheduled pumping sessions as private appointments on my work calendar so nobody schedules meetings during those times.
2) I take the whole kit and caboodle to and fro every day.
3) I have three sets of pump parts and this has been a lifesaver for me. I only use one new set a day - and I clean in between sessions with pump wipes. But there's always clean pump parts for me to use this way. I would strongly recommend getting at least one back up set of parts.
4) We have a special room for pumping at my office with a lock, so it works out great. There's already a sign on the door that says to knock before entering - but there are only three of us who use the space, so I never worry about someone coming in.
5) All of a sudden my supply has been a mess this week. I was with LO all last week on vacation and nursed her fine, but I've been getting way less during pumping sessions so I'm going to start herbs and drink more tea. I have about a month in the freezer just in case. But this is a constant worry for me, too.
Hope this is helpful!
1. How many times a day did you pump? Did you pump for each bottle LO ate?
3x a day at work and either once in the morning or once at night. Yes.
2. Did you take your pump home with you every night or leave it at work?
I took it home every night but I also drive to work.
3. Did you have two sets of pump parts or were you fine with only one?
One set, although I replaced them about halfway through the year since my tubes got yucky.
4. If you used an office, what did you do if someone knocked on your door while you were pumping? Did you put a note on your door or something?
Note on the door, although it was not my office, I borrowed someone else's.
5. Any tips for keeping up supply? My supply is adequate, but only barely. If my supply starts to dip at all, I'm in trouble.
I was in the same boat, lots of water and not stressing were the things that worked best for me. I also ate oatmeal for breakfast a lot and when my supply dipped I took More Milk Plus.
1. How many times a day did you pump? Did you pump for each bottle LO ate? 3x/day until DS after turned one and we started mixing breastmilk and cow's milk. Then I dropped down to two sessions a day, then one. DS weaned himself at 16 months, a little over a year after I went back to work.
2. Did you take your pump home with you every night or leave it at work? I left it work. I commuted with DS in the ergo on the metro/bus and there was no way I could carry everything I needed to. I had a hand pump at home that I would use in a pinch. Every now and then I'd bring it home on the weekend if I thought I would need pump (if we were going out one night for example).
3. Did you have two sets of pump parts or were you fine with only one? Two sets for sure. I think I started with one, but a couple of times I left parts at home when I took them home to wash so I bought a second set so there would always be one at work.
4. If you used an office, what did you do if someone knocked on your door while you were pumping? Did you put a note on your door or something? This only happened to me twice. I don't have a lock on my door, but I would block it with a chair. When someone came knocking I would just yell "Just a minute!"
5. Any tips for keeping up supply? My supply is adequate, but only barely. If my supply starts to dip at all, I'm in trouble. Thankfully I didn't have too much trouble...but I agree that relaxing and drinking water helps,
1. How many times a day did you pump? Did you pump for each bottle LO ate?
In the beginning I pumped twice at work and actually went to the daycare to feed the baby during lunch; then my supply dropped after about two months, so I ended up pumping at night as well. Once the baby was on solids, I skipped going to feed her and just pumped twice at work.
2. Did you take your pump home with you every night or leave it at work?
I lugged it home every night since I needed to pump in the evening to keep up my supply.
3. Did you have two sets of pump parts or were you fine with only one?
I had plenty of membranes, but only one flange and tubing and that was enough. I would just throw it in the dishwasher at night. It was horrible on mornings that I realized we had forgotten to run the dishwasher though.
4. If you used an office, what did you do if someone knocked on your door while you were pumping? Did you put a note on your door or something?
I had a lock on the door and was very vocal in the office that I was still breastfeeding, so usually if someone knocked and I didn't answer, they knew what was going on. The maintenance guy tried to get in once though, but luckily my co-worker caught hi.,
5. Any tips for keeping up supply? My supply is adequate, but only barely. If my supply starts to dip at all, I'm in trouble.
Mother's Milk Plus tea helped me a bit; but when I really tanked the first time, I was luck enough to have Kaiser. There is a LC on hand (who is a NP) and she actually gave me a prescription medicine which worked wonders. She was the one who actually encouraged me to pump at night (I hated pumping) and that really helped the supply as well. She actually said to aim for 10-12 nipple stimulations a day (baby or pump)--not that I was ever able to do that!
1. 2-3 times a day
2. I was lucky enough to have a nursing mother's room which included a Medela Symphony, sink, refrigerator and microwave.
3. I had two sets of parts - one for home and one for work.
4. N/A
5. My supply was fine until I started ovulating. I pumped at night and on the weekends to makeup for any shortcomings. After I started ovulating, when pumping, I got like half of what I had been getting. He was ~9 months old at the time, so I just supplemented with formula.
I pumped 3 times a day for about 20 minutes.
I pumped for DD #2 in a specific room (with a lock) set aside for nursing moms. We worked out a schedule so we wouldn't walk in on each other. For DD #1 I pumped in a room that was basically used as a storage closet (this was before Obama said you had to have room set aside - our building admin. was an ass) and I put up a sign that said Meeting in Progress Do Not Disturb or something like that. Still, people did try to come into that room. Knuckleheads.
I brought my pump to and from work because I EP. I have three sets of pump parts so I don't have to mess with washing them at work - the kitchen is far away from the room I pumped in, and it's very public - didn't want to sit there necessarily and wash pump parts while people wandered in and out heating up their lunch.
I just skimmed the answers, but ditto to the person who said don't try to multitask - take the break. You need to RELAX to get a proper let down and decent take. I just read a book - fiction, not work related - reading relaxes me. I also listened to my iPod to block out any noise.
I'm a little late but I'll weigh in.
1. How many times a day did you pump? Did you pump for each bottle LO ate?
I pump 3x/a day usually around 8:30, 11:30 and 2:30. LO takes 4 bottles of 4 oz each and I usually pump between 16-20oz.
2. Did you take your pump home with you every night or leave it at work? I commute on the Metro and Metro bus. So I only take my pump home on the weekends. I EBF when at home. I've even left it at work on the weekends sometimes.
3. Did you have two sets of pump parts or were you fine with only one? I do have two sets of parts but I really only use one. I bought an accessories kit and it came with an extra set and the little Medela storage bottles. I like having an extra set of these.
4. If you used an office, what did you do if someone knocked on your door while you were pumping? Did you put a note on your door or something? I have a lock on my door. So I shut my door and put a sign up saying "Do Not Disturb". If someone knocks then they are just a little obtuse and I don't answer it.
5. Any tips for keeping up supply? I haven't had any problems with supply. I've never skipped a pumping session at work. Figure out a hands-free option so you could even pump and work if necessary. I use rubber bands, other people use nursing bras, etc. Eat lots of food and drink lots of water.
Off to the beach
DS 7/18/2010
Handy 2.0 Due Early August
2011/2012 Races
12/17/2011 Christmas Caper 10K
2/11/2012 Have a Heart 5K
3/17/2012 DC RNR Half Marathon
4/22/2012 10M Parkway Classic
10/28/2012 Marine Corps Marathon