\DS #1 born 05/25/2012
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DS #2 born 4/08/2014
BPF#4: 2/1/2016 --- 2/23/2016 suspected molar pregnancy--- 3/15/2016 D&E - diagnosis MM
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Working Moms
bornmommy
member
Any BF/pumping teachers out there?
bornmommy
member
in Working Moms
I haven't had my baby yet so clearly I haven't been back to work yet and am not pumping yet but I'm concerned already about finding space and time to pump when I go back to work. There is no classroom without windows and space is super limited because of our growing enrollment. Plus the timing issues... Any suggestions or advice?
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Re: Any BF/pumping teachers out there?
Luckily my plan time is nearly a perfect time to pump (I also pump during lunch). I pump in a teacher bathroom. It certainly is not ideal, but the only other option was the nurses office on the opposite side of school. After I was walked in on by a student, I decided the bathroom was a better choice!
I find pumping very stressful (but obviously worth it). I don't like not having any down time during the day or being available to students for extra help. However, this time around I got a hands free pumping bra, so I can get things done while pumping, so that has saved me some time. I highly recommend getting one, even if it just allows you relax a bit more.
I successfully pumped for almost the entire school year. I had a battle from the beginning, as there was supposed to be a floating teacher in my room while I had planning, and I had to really fight to get that moved so that I could at least pump in my room (I know others aren't as lucky, but my school isn't crowded-only two floaters).
I covered my windows and let those close to me know what I was doing. I had lots of support. It was very hard at first, basically because every planning/lunch period was tied up with pumping. I'd make sure to have papers to grade or something to do while pumping. I started with 3 pumping sessions and moved to 2 when DD was about 8 months old. At 10.5 months old I had a day where I wasn't able to pump at all, and I decided that was it. I had enough milk in the freezer to make it a year.
My planning periods rotate during the day, so I'd just pump when I had time. I also pumped on my lunch which was a PAIN but a necessity. It'd definitely challenging, but definitely doable!
Remember, it is your right to have time in the day to pump.
miscarriage on 11/26/09 at 5w6d
I teach elementary school. I closed a classroom bathroom and called it "my office". The children used the hallway bathroom instead and never used the one I used for pumping. I set it up so there was a small table in there, so I could correct assessments and work on plans etc.
I was lucky to have the support of 2 other teachers, who watched my students during snack time. They each took half of my class and I pumped at that time. I also pumped before school (at home) and during lunch. It wasn't fun but definitely dooable!
I agree that a hands free pumping bra was so important for me. I know there's a way to make any nursing bra a pumping bra with hair eleastics, but that didn't seem to work for me. I think it would work better for smaller chested women. I was a 36F while pumping.
House / Baby blog
I teach elementary school. I pumped until my child was 13 months old. I pumped on my plan time, which I requested be at 9:00 (about three hours after I pumped at home.) Since legally they have to allow you to pump, they were very accomodating about this because there was no way they were finding coverage for me to leave the classroom. Then I pumped again at lunch around noon. Then I nursed right when I got home. My advice about finding time is to go in with a schedule you NEED and lay it out in a friendly, but direct way. Don't ASK, TELL.
As for a place to pump, our school is open design, so we have classrooms without any walls! I chose to pump in closets around the building at first and then the site tech told me I could use the server room. This was awesome! Server rooms = great places to pump.
Some advice on saving time. I managed to pump in a 25 minute lunch break while eating! The best advice I was given was to use ice packs for everything. I put my milk in one cold pack and my parts in another. If you keep your parts cold (cold bag or fridge) you don't need to wash them between uses. I keep both my cold bags in a bigger bag with my pump and just took it with me as needed. If you can get all the parts set up and put together before needed, then it will go more quickly.
As far as "hands-free" goes, I always used this trick and saved a lot of money.
https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/hands-free-pumping/
Oh, if you haven't already found it. kellymom is a great resource, as is the jack newman website!
I pump during my prep and have light duties so that I can spend part of that time pumping. I also use my lunch. We have a rotating schedule, so some days work out better than others. When everything goes according to plan, it's been great. But when the schedule gets off for any reason, my usually supportive principal has been frustrated that I'm not very accommodating about changing my pumping schedule. At this point for me, everyday is a struggle to get enough milk for tomorrow and I've already burned through my stash, so I can't skip just 1 pumping session, and I know my principal thinks I'm just being a jerk about it.
I'm not going to lie. It's been rough, but very doable. I'm frequently asking for someone to cover a few minutes of my class our running around like crazy. while I have a great room, I don't have a great set up in here, so I find it uncomfortable to do much work and usually end up bumping on my phone unless I'm behind.