back to work tomorrow

PaMommy02 · September 2012

Tomorrow is my 1st day back to work. My little guy is EBF, he is 12wks. Im going to be pumping twice a day at work. Im going to nurse in the morning, evening and at night. He is going to get pumped bottles during the day. I work 8 hours a day plus a 40 min. commute each way. Do you think I will get enough milk pumping just twice? He nurses about every 2 hours, so I will be away from him for about 5 feeds. Im thinking he will take about 3oz at each feeding. Every time I pump I get about 4oz...I just dont see how this is going to work. How does everyone else do it? Do you pump enough at work for baby to eat the next day? Thanks!

KristenS09 · September 2012

I would pump as many times as he eats (if your schedule allows it). I work 9 hours a day and pump 3 times. Most days i get just enough milk for her bottles (3 4oz bottles) Also when I first went back to work (DD was 10weeks) I would get really engourged if i didn't pump every 3 hours. Now I can tell I'm full but not in pain if i stretch pumpings out to 3.5-4 hours if I'm busy.

cltk12 · September 2012

I would pump at least 3 times for the first few weeks. My lo ate every 1.5-2 hours while on leave. He's been at dc for 2 weeks now and during the first week there he stretched his feedings out to every 3 hours. Pump as much as you can to maintain your supply then decide if you can go done to 2.

emberlee3 · September 2012

Pump in the car on the way to work. I don't think twice will be enough unless you have a really great supply.

Jelliebean1982 · September 2012

I highly suggest you pump in the car on the way to work. That way you'll get an extra session in without affecting your work day. There's a lot of different factors that will affect your milk production.

Some women respond better to the pump than others. You can help yourself respond better to the pump by making sure that you have the right pump parts for your breast size. Making pump time stress free can also help. Although I had a hands-free pumping bra I could never work and pump even though I was at my desk. I used that time to look at pictures of my baby and surf the internet. The relaxation helped.

Some women have a larger milk storage capacity than others. If you have a small storage capacity you will need to empty your breasts more frequently than someone with a larger storage capacity in order to maintain supply.

When I went back to work I found THIS ARTICLE very helpful in determining how many times I needed to pump at work. Every woman needs to nurse or pump a certain amount of times a day to maintain milk supply long term. As long as the amount of pumping times + nursing sessions is equal or greater to your magic number your baby will have enough milk.

Good luck! The first few days can be stressful, trying to figure it all out, but after a while it becomes second nature.

lisac1017 · September 2012

Do you have the option to pump 3x a day? I would think you'll need that extra stimulation to produce more, plus you'll get pretty engorged if you don't. I worked it out with my employer that I take 3 20-minute breaks instead of one lunch hour and I just eat at my desk while I work. I can pretty much pump, clean my parts and get back to my desk within 20 minutes, and the last one of the day I don't clean them at work so it's even more efficient. I've read a lot of women here too don't clean in between sessions but keep the parts cold until the next pump session so the milk doesn't go bad. Like PP said - you want to pump as often as LO nurses. I didn't go back to work full time until 8 months so we were pretty well established by that point though. Good luck Mama - I am sure it will work out and you can always adjust your plans.

back to work tomorrow

Re: back to work tomorrow

Choose Another Board

Search Boards