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March 2012 Moms
Zoe was born 2/24/12 (17 days early) and Isabella is so excited to be a big sis! Thinking about having one more kiddo...we'll see.
Debating on breastfeeding and bottle feeding
So I will be home with the kiddo for 6 weeks. But then back to work for only one month before being home all summer (i'm a teacher). During the month that I'm going to be at work there is absolutely no time during the day to pump. I only get a break of 25 minutes for lunch. It's pretty ridiculous. I'm wondering if I should do breast and bottle. But if I'm breast feeding at home only, I'm thinking my boobs might feel too much pressure during the 9 hours that I can't pump. What have your experiences been with this?
Zoe was born 2/24/12 (17 days early) and Isabella is so excited to be a big sis! Thinking about having one more kiddo...we'll see.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Debating on breastfeeding and bottle feeding
You have to do what's best for you and your baby. I would give BFing a try. Do you have any planning time? You can make this work if that's what you want.
Here's what I would do: get to school early and pump before there are kids around at the last possible moment. Then, pump at lunch while you eat. Get a hands free pumping bra so you can eat and pump at the same time. Pack things that don't have to be warmed up as you won't have time. Then, as soon as the kids are gone at the end of the day (and as soon as you can), I would pump.
This is how I managed to EP for DS when I went back to work at 8 weeks PP. My off times were at the very beginning of the school day and the very end (1st & 7th bell). I was excused from lunch duty for the one day each week we were responsible for it, and I made it work. It wasn't the easiest, but it did work. Also, I learned how to pump while driving (hands free pumping bra is a fantastic invention)... but that is something that I don't think is necessary, and until you figure out pumping not something I recommend.
Also, if you think you want to BF for a year, I would mention it to your principal as s/he is laying out the master schedule to try to put your 'off' times in the middle of the day to help support you next school year.
I am a FTM so I am no expert, but I posted a similar question a while ago and I was told that I would not be able to go all day without pumping. You will become engorged and it will be painful.
I work in early intervention (preschool) and there is just no time for me to pump at work either. I will probably just stop BF when I go back to work. Sorry I am not more help.
DD1 Born March 2012
DD2 Due November 2014
My only planning time is actually the first hour of the school day. So I can pump at that time, and then 2 hours later during my lunch time...and then at the end of the day. Hopefully that will work. All of your suggestions sound manageable. I guess I'm just not sure how often I will need to pump. I'm sure it's different for everyone. Hopefully 3 times during the work day will be enough. I'd prefer to breast feed only. I will definitely invest in a hands free pump also if I do this. Thanks for your suggestions!
kel716 gives good advice. You may be able to get away with pumping only 3x a day. That's what I did when I went back to work with DS, but that was at 6mo PP and he was already eating solids and on more of a schedule.
The first few days back at school you may feel engorged, but your bigger issue is going to be losing your supply during that month. Pumping is not as efficient at maintaining supply as the baby, and you are going to be switching to pumping relatively early while the baby would be increasing his or her needs and therefore increasing your supply. That said, it is definitely definitely worth a shot! I don't mean to sound defeatist - just that you should be extremely diligent about getting your pumping sessions in. Sounds like your schedule could make it work and if you can hobble through that month you have a great chance of continuing on. You should also consider adding a pumping session right before you go to bed to build supply and freezer stash. Good luck!
Pumping is different for everyone based upon their supply. I will say this: if you breastfeed the first 6 weeks, then return to school you will be miserable for teh first week back. You will probably end up leaking and having some embarrssing moments with kids! If you could make pumping working like you mentioned above, you'd be fine. Then you could continue feeding through the summer if you like. One of the hardest things about breastfeeeding is that a lot of it is trial and error.
I just had a hands free pumping bra- the Freestyle was brand new on the market at that time, so I used a PISA.
Your supply can increase until 12 weeks pp. At that time, it will probably hold steady or decline. As I said, I would try to pump 3 times while at school. Once you go back to school, the other thing you can do is BF your LO when you are home and immediately pump afterwards to keep your supply up. You should have your rhythm established when you go back to school, and remember it's for 4 weeks.
The other thing I would do is pump after feedings on the weekends.
BFing is totally a trial and error thing- if you want to make it work, I think you can figure it out. Once your LO arrives, you'll figure out what can/can't work.
This is a great plan.
I pumped about 2-3x a day for DD1 and that worked for me/her. I would recommend you check out www.workandpump.com it was incredibly helpful for me when i first went back to work. Since I didn't know what I was doing I started having supply issues, and this website helped me get back on track.
I was also working with students, visiting their schools and then spending the afternoons in the office. I would pump on the way back into the office while driving - hands free definitely helps.