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Breastfeeding
jgoetz1
member
Pumping at work tips?
jgoetz1
member
I just had my first full week back at work and found it really difficult to have enough time to pump enough milk for the following day's feedings and clean all the parts each time. I am a teacher so can only pump when my students aren't with me and have to work around meetings so it's been tough. Here are my questions:
1. Is it a law that women have to be given time to pump every 3 hours? I thought I heard that somewhere. My vice principal gave me a hard time for being late to a meeting because I was pumping.
2. Are you supposed to keep the pumping parts in the fridge between uses?
3. Do you have to clean the parts with soap or just rinse between uses?
4. I have a slow flow of milk. Is there anything I can do to make it faster?
5. If your supply dipped when you first went back to work, how long did it take to go back to normal?
Thanks!
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Re: Pumping at work tips?
1. Is it a law that women have to be given time to pump every 3 hours? I thought I heard that somewhere. My vice principal gave me a hard time for being late to a meeting because I was pumping. That is state dependent. Not all states are BF friendly.
2. Are you supposed to keep the pumping parts in the fridge between uses? You are supposed to keep them cool if you don't wash them. I rinsed between uses and left them on the counter and then washed nightly, but I had a private area to pump. You can bring a cooler to store your pump parts in so it is more discreet.
3. Do you have to clean the parts with soap or just rinse between uses?
4. I have a slow flow of milk. Is there anything I can do to make it faster? It may take your breasts some time to get accustomed to the pump. Some women just don't respond well to the pump. Other than adjusting pump speed and suction, which I would caution you to be careful with as you can really hurt your nipples, it just may be how your body works.
5. If your supply dipped when you first went back to work, how long did it take to go back to normal? The faster you can be relaxed about pumping and be sure to keep up the fluids the faster it will be "normal". I don't recall the actual time frame for me. maybe a week?
1. Is it a law that women have to be given time to pump every 3 hours? I thought I heard that somewhere. My vice principal gave me a hard time for being late to a meeting because I was pumping.
I believe it's actually a federal law now. I want to say it was part of the healthcare reform. Here's a good link with more info
2. Are you supposed to keep the pumping parts in the fridge between uses?
I do. Remember, that pumped milk is good left out for up to 8 hours (depending on which rules you follow) so technically you could just give your parts a quick rinse and leave them out. I put mine in a fridge because I have a little one in my office.
3. Do you have to clean the parts with soap or just rinse between uses?
A quick rinse should do the job or you could get some of those wipes by Medela. A lot of times, I don't even rinse my parts and just stick them in the fridge between sessions.
4. I have a slow flow of milk. Is there anything I can do to make it faster?
Lots and lots of massage. I do a ton of breast compressions and not only does it allow me to get more milk, but it also helps it flow a lot faster.
5. If your supply dipped when you first went back to work, how long did it take to go back to normal?
When I first started back, those first few days I had super high output, the next few days it dipped, and then it went back up, but not to what it was originally. It took maybe 2-3 days for it to recover.
And totally unrelated, but I'm from MD too!!
1. Is it a law that women have to be given time to pump every 3 hours? Not sure, but fortunately my employer is flexible in giving me the time/space.
2. Are you supposed to keep the pumping parts in the fridge between uses? I put in bags in the fridge just to be on the safe side.
3. Do you have to clean the parts with soap or just rinse between uses? I don't but I also have the Medela wipes so I do a quick clean of the shields but that is it.
4. I have a slow flow of milk. Is there anything I can do to make it faster? I do manual compression to help and play around with suction.
5. If your supply dipped when you first went back to work, how long did it take to go back to normal? I've only been back 2 weeks but I'm part-time so only at work 3 days and then home and nursing the other 2 so I think that is partly why my supply hasn't dipped. I also try to drink A TON at work.
I just want to mention that I was frustrated with flow while pumping during first few days after baby was born, so I naturally turned the pumped to high/fast. It made my nipples horribly sore and somewhat calloused, and breastfeeding AND pumping became very very painful.
I read somewhere that the pump being on too high can cause this, so I turned the pump down (expecting to get NO milk this way) and the slow, long draws vs. the quick hard ones actually drew out much more milk. This might be worth a try if you had the pump up high?
I have been pumping for a total of 21 months between 2 kids and I have never refrigerated pump parts. I don't even rinse them. BM is good out of the fridge for 8 hours or so, so I don't see the need. I've never had any problems.
I try to make pumping as painless as possible. For me, rinsing or refrigerating parts would add hassle, so I don't do it. I just toss them in a bag or tupperware between uses, then throw them in the dishwasher at night.
I am also a teacher, and I have had trouble getting a private space and having coverage for my class to leave twice a day. Thanks for the links, I am sending some of those documents to HR to request a private space.
I do not rinse or refrigerate the parts. I also do not refrigerate the milk after the first session because the second is 3 hours later.
Your 'reasonable break time' must be every 2-3 hours according to the link that someone else posted about FLSA if that is how often your baby nurses. I only pump twice a day because LO only nurses from one side per feeding.