Pumping at work (HS Teacher) question.
As you can see from my ticker I am not due for another 10 weeks but I've been thinking a lot lately about pumping when I return from my maternity leave.
I am taking off until November 5, 2012 and will hopefully still be breastfeeding then. Once I return to work I would obviously need to pump during the day. Currently our school runs on a 4 period per day block schedule. If I needed to pump now, there appears to be ample time during the day for me to do this (enough prep periods, lunch, etc). I teach, have a break, teach and then have a break.
But next year we are switching to a rotating waterfall schedule. There will be 6 50 minute periods in the day and I will be teaching 4 or 5 of those periods. The other periods will be my duty and prep periods.
I am having a hard time thinking of when I would be able to pump. If I am teaching straight through the end of the day, with no breaks (except at the end), how on earth would I be able to break for 15 or 20 minutes and pump?
The schedule does not get done until the summer so I'm not sure if I should just wait and talk to my principal then about it. Also, with a shortage of teachers, schedules are typically set and not flexible. If the principal says I must teach then, am I stuck? Also, what if I end up not bfing when I return. I can imagine my administration would not be happy with me.
Any thoughts of advice would be greatly appreciated. TIA!
Oh and I already spoke to my union president and he had no idea, lol.
Re: Pumping at work (HS Teacher) question.
House / Baby blog
My few thoughts . I am a middle school teacher. I teach 6 classes and have one forty minute lunch and 1 forty minute plan period.
A few things from my perspective. First, don't doubt yourself. Breast feeding is one of the biggest challenges a woman can face. The more you approach it with the attitude of "I will be breast feeding when I return to work" the more likely that will be.
A) I would allot about 30 minutes comfortably for a pumping session . Could you do it in less? Yes. But you will be more successful if you have a bit more time . More relaxed=more milk. More time=more milk.more milk= more success at being a pumping working mommy.
C) I Would mention this to your building principlal or whoever makes your schedule. I would say something in may or early June. I would not say " I might be nursing" I would say " I will be nursing" and " I will need a quiet time to pump in between the times of ---&---. I just want to give you a heads up before you put together the master schedule" My boobs were overflowing an uncomfortable by about 11:00 at the latest. I only pumped once per day. Your body will adjust to your pumping schedule, just be aware that your body naturally makes more milk in the a.m. It would be doing everyone a favor to be proactive instead of reactive.
D) if for some reason you are not pumping as planned when you return, it's really none of their business. I cannot imagine an admin who would come and say "are you still breast feeding your child? you better be since I made your schedule special for you. " not a chance .
I wish you all the luck in the world. I nursed for ten months, pumped at work for four of those. Still wish it were longer, but proud of what we did.
I am a high school teacher on a similar schedule. When I returned last March I pumped for 2 months. I pumped before I left at 6:30. ( this was right after I got up and enough time after our 4 am feeding.) Had to leave at 6:50, 30 mins drive and then report to school at 7:20. I then did not have a break till 11:45 (lunch followed immediately by prep). That was my first chance to pump. It was tough. I think the only other way I would have been able to go it was to take sick time for coverage, and we have a contract rule that it must be taken in 1/4 days so that did not work plus I would have had to do sub plans. It really does take 20-30 mins to pump and that is half a class period. It would not have worked for me to miss alf a class period every day. I went with it. Some days I pumped before I left too becuase I either had a meeting after school or DD was not always ready to eat when I got home. It was not ideal, but those were my options. I did it as long as it worked for us.
I teach middle school. When I first went back (DD was 9 weeks), I pumped three times; during break (I had 10 minutes around 10:00), at lunch (20 minutes around 12:30) and right after school (20 minutes around 3). It SUCKED not having any planning time or breaks or lunch but it is what it is.
When I went back in Sept, I pumped twice. two of the days, I had to get someone to cover 10-15 minutes of my class but I found a mom who had breastfed and she did it for me. I don't even think the admin knew.
I'm going to echo some pp's
I think the hard thing for you will be that waterfall schedule so you can't count on having your prep period at the same time every day. You should plan to pump every 3 hours if possible. I would probably pump right before school, at lunch, and right after school given your schedule. If your school has a mid-morning break, that may work for you too. Some things that helped me
1) get a hands free pump bra (let me be hands free and also afforded protection when I was walked in on) make sure you can put it on over your clothes.
2) don't count on admin for support. I requested alternate supervision time (instead of break) and was told my request was denied because they didn't want to set precedent. Also, as you're already finding, don't count on your union for support.
3) get a mini-fridge and keep your parts in it. Keep everything hooked up as much as possible and store in the fridge so you don't have to wash. I wasn't in love with the cold pump parts but I had NO time to wash.
4) If you have some close friends who you're comfortable with, invite them to join you for lunch while you pump. the hardest thing for me was the isolation.
5) some pumping is better than no pumping so, do a partial session if that's all you can fit in
6) have a change of clothes in case you drip. also consider your clothing choice. There were things that were great for nursing (one side at a time) but not very good at all for double sided pumping. Also, keep a cardigan in your room in case you're cold or find you have to take your shirt off to pump
7) kick your kids out. get them to pack up and ready to go before the bell. Also, get them used to waiting in the hall for you and don't let them in until the last minute. If you can, it may be helpful to eat in front of them so you don't have to eat while you pump
8) gather a list of other teachers and their prep periods. You're going to need others to cover for restroom breaks because you'll be drinking more and will find it hard to make the trip to the bathroom during your pump time (you may also need this when daycare calls and you have to drop everything and get LO)
9)Keep an extra set of pump parts and containers (or bags) at school in case you forget something or something breaks.
it was hard. I cannot believe how hard it was but I really liked nursing and didn't want to give it up on the weekends and breaks so I knew it was important to keep up my supply during the week so I could continue to nurse on the weekends.
I pump right before I leave the house, on my planning period at 10AM, and then lunch at 1:15. I nurse DS when I get home at 4:30. We have 7- 50 minute periods plus a 30 minute lunch.
You could try to talk to them now to try to make sure your planning time and lunch are not back to back. But of course, like you said, you don't even know if you will breastfeed that long. I am planning on asking if they can keep my schedule the same next year since I know I will be pumping and the way it is now, it works perfectly.
I am a high school teacher who also helps with the schedule. Talk to your principal!! They can help arrange a schedule for you for next year. Even if they use a computer system to do the schedule, you can set certain plan periods for certain teachers; they might have to research how to do it but it can be done!
I go back to work in 2 weeks and am apprehensive about pumping at work as well, but at least the schedule will hopefully work out for me...
Good luck!
Thank you SOOO MUCH for the advice, I really appreciate it!
Once the baby is born, I plan on speaking to my principal and asking for a separated prep and lunch. I assume she would also let me miss my duty if need be (she's done this for others in the past).
I'll be saving this post for next year..l. thanks again!
The pp.'s gave you some great advice. You can do this, if you really want to!!!
I don't have much to add on that hasn't already been said, but I would like to share that I clearly remember all of the anxiety I had about pumping at work. Now, after doing it for 6 months it is like second nature. Best of luck to you!