I am going back to work at 12 weeks...need advice!!!

[new_mom_mry]

Time flies by so fast and what do you know, DS is already 8 weeks old and I am going back to work on February 1st, while the kiddo will be watched by a nanny when I am gone. I am planning to pump 3 times a day while at work (have the Medela PIS backpack version). So far DS has been an exclusively breastfed baby, with the exception of drinking a probiotic mixed with half an ounce of water every day from a bottle, and 2-3 times he was given the bottle to replace a feeding. We have not purchased bottles/nipples just yet, so I need advice re: brands and how many of each to get.

My pump came with 4 Medela bottles, so this may be a silly question, but how many oz should I pump from each breast during each pumping session when I am pumping at work? Should I then transfer the milk from the Medela bottles into the bottles DS will be getting milk from when I get home?

Also, any general advice about how to prepare for going back to work in respect to continuing to breastfeed successfully will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much!!!

[pharmjenn]

Odd that no one has answered yet.
As for type of bottles, that is very subjective, and sometimes dependent on the baby. The medela bottles work great for pumping into, and many moms use them to feed the baby. What brand of bottles/nipples will you be feeding the baby with? I used the Avent bottles, and Avent makes an adaptor to the Medela pump, so you can pump directly into them. If I knew the bottles were going to be used that day, I did that. You can also pump into pump/storage bags directly. This makes it convenient to get them right into the freezer without pouring from the pump bottles.
If you end up having trouble getting the baby to take the bottles from the nanny, sometimes the problem is the nipple. Other brands have varying shapes of nipples that end up working better.

How much you pump is very individual as well. I think I only ever got 3-4oz per breast when I was pumping. Other women report getting much more. I was able to pump twice during my 10hr shift, netting 2-3 6oz bottles.

[BabyBearsMom]

Originally Posted by new_mom_mry

Time flies by so fast and what do you know, DS is already 8 weeks old and I am going back to work on February 1st, while the kiddo will be watched by a nanny when I am gone. I am planning to pump 3 times a day while at work (have the Medela PIS backpack version). So far DS has been an exclusively breastfed baby, with the exception of drinking a probiotic mixed with half an ounce of water every day from a bottle, and 2-3 times he was given the bottle to replace a feeding. We have not purchased bottles/nipples just yet, so I need advice re: brands and how many of each to get.

My pump came with 4 Medela bottles, so this may be a silly question, but how many oz should I pump from each breast during each pumping session when I am pumping at work? Should I then transfer the milk from the Medela bottles into the bottles DS will be getting milk from when I get home?

Also, any general advice about how to prepare for going back to work in respect to continuing to breastfeed successfully will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much!!!

I went back to work at 8 weeks so I know how you feel. As for brands of bottles, I agree with PP that it is subjective and every kid likes something different. DD will drink from any bottle and couldn't care less, but I know some kids are very picky. We use Avent bottles and sometimes use Playtex Drop-ins. At 12 weeks, I think DD was drinking three or four 4 oz bottles, but I can't remember exactly anymore. Once I found the bottle that LO liked, I would probably buy 5 (4 to use while you aren't home, and one extra).

When you pump, you want to pump to empty the breast, so not a set amount of time. Otherwise, you will sacrifice your supply. My breasts were slow, so I had to pump for 20 minutes, some people are fast and can do it in 10. You are supposed to pump until a couple of minutes after the last squirt/drip of milk comes out. I always pumped directly into the Medela bottles. Then at night, when I got home from work, I would transfer the milk into the bottles for DD for the next day.

Something to prepare for is that you won't pump as much milk as you produce for your LO when they nurse and you may not produce as much as you would like at first. Also, being away from your LO can take a toll on your supply. I know I had a small drop in production after I started work. So just mentally prepare yourself for that.

[wendibird22]

I pumped into the Medela bottles, combined them to make up 4oz bottles and that's what I sent to daycare the next day. Both girls had no problem drinking from them and it was so much easier to pump and feed from the same bottles. If I had extra (which I was lucky to in the early months) I would transfer extra into storage bags for freezing. Both my girls never drank more than 3 4oz bottles during a 9hr day. I was able to get that with 3 pumping sessions.

If you have extra and can build a stash just be sure to keep it rotated so that you don't have milk expiring. A system that worked for me was to freeze all the milk I pumped on Friday and then use older thawed frozen on Mondays. That way I always had new going in and old coming out.

ETA: I have 9 bottles on hand (I think they are sold in sets of 3?). Four go to work with me each day and 3 go to daycare so I have 2 extra.

[HonoluluMom]

I've been pumping at work for over a year. I started off pumping 3 times a day and am now down to 2 times a day.

Bottles - DD always drank from the Medela bottle with Medela nipples.

Pumping Equipment - I have 6 full pumping sets meaning I have 6 bottles, 6 shields, 6 valves and 6 membranes. I would bring 3 sets to work. If I got home that night and was too tired to sterilize everything, I would have an extra 3 sets for the next day

How long to pump - I agree with the PP, pump until your breasts are fully drained. The amount you get each session will probably vary.

Filling bottles - I pumped directly into the Medela bottle. I would take the bottles I pumped that day and combine them to make bottles for the next day or two (just make sure the milk you combine is the same temperature). I bought extra Medela bottles for this purpose. In the beginning, I had an extra supply, so I would freeze the milk in Lansinoh freezer storage bags.

Pumping - I have always had to massage my breasts while I pump, so I couldn't do hands free pumping. Instead of just sitting and staring at the wall, in the beginning I would look at photos of DD, but as I got more experienced, I would bring a book and read.

Hope this helps!

[BabbyO]

First I'd say if you haven't started pumping, START NOW! I went back to work at 12 weeks and my ped told me to start pumping about the 4-6 week mark. It gives your body a chance to get used to the pump, it gives you a freezer stash (which means you're less stressed because you have backup if you have a day where you produce less, etc)

I was always SUPER full in the morning so I'd nurse DS on one side and pump the other. At one point I was able to pump more than 6 oz from one side in the AM. That said, I think when I first started I was only able to get about 1-2 oz.

There is a learning curve with each pump and you and your body will have to learn what you need to do to get the "let down" reflex. I think that since I pumped and simultaneoulsy nursed for quite a while before going to work, my body responded to my pump very well while at work.

Now, as for what you pump at work. I pumped 3x a day (basically about the times my DS would normally nurse) I usually pumped nearly enough each day to provide for the next day. So if DS was drinking three 4 oz bottles while I was gone...I'd pump about 10-12 oz total for the day. Usually my weeks would go something like this:
-Sat, Sun, Mon AM pumping provided milk for Monday while I was at work. I may need to supplement with frozen.
-Monday, pump what I need for Tue, (supplement with frozen if needed)
-Tuesday, pump what I need for Wed and on through the week.
-Friday, freeze whatever I pumped for stash.
Nurse as normal in evenings and mornings.
As DS got older and cut out bottles, I dropped pump sessions.

ETA: I transferred milk to other bottles because, well, we never got nipples that fit on the pump bottles. However, my cousin found that to be a PITA so she just got more bottles for her pump and used those.

Also, I'd highly recommend getting a few extra bottles to pump into and spare flanges/horns for the pump. I think I had 8 bottles total. I probably could have gotten away with 4-6. You may want to wait on getting spare flanges until you get you're pumping routine down. I HATED having to wash my pump parts 4 times a day, so I got spares and just rinsed after using, then washed all at once at the end of the day.

Now, my DS jumped from 4 oz bottles to 6 oz bottles the week after I started back at work. The only explanation that I can think of was it was a comfort thing for him. That said, he NEVER took more than a 6 oz bottle, even as he approached 12 mo.

As for the bottles, pp's are right. It depends on the baby. DS took Born Free wide nipple and Playtex Ventaire wide nipple bottles really well. They were the first and only bottles he used. (I'd read somewhere that BF'ed babies may prefer the wide nipple bottles because they more closely resembled the breast...don't know if there's any truth to that or not.)

You may also want to give your LO a bottle of EBM occassionally to get her used to the bottle before mommy is gone.

It seems like a daunting task, but it can be done. DS was BF'ed or had only BM until he was 13 mo and I work full time. Best of luck, and be sure to ask if you have any other questions!

[new_mom_mry]

thanks everyone so much!! a few more quick questions--if say I pump 3 oz into each of the two 5oz bottles during the first pumping session, can I continue pumping into the same bottles during the next session until they are full, or should I be using empty bottles during each pumping session for some sort of sanitary reasons?
When I transfer the milk into the bottles DS will be drinking from, should I transfer at 4oz increments or even less than than to make sure that unfinished milk doesn't go to waste? In other words, should I only pour into each bottle however much he will usually be drinking during one feeding?
What did everyone do with the bottles with pumped milk at work--store them in the common refrigerator or store them in the cooler pack throughout the day?
Finally, how many nipples should I buy? In theory, our nanny can just wash them right? Should I only buy a few?

Thanks so much!

[HonoluluMom]

Originally Posted by new_mom_mry

thanks everyone so much!! a few more quick questions--if say I pump 3 oz into each of the two 5oz bottles during the first pumping session, can I continue pumping into the same bottles during the next session until they are full, or should I be using empty bottles during each pumping session for some sort of sanitary reasons?
When I transfer the milk into the bottles DS will be drinking from, should I transfer at 4oz increments or even less than than to make sure that unfinished milk doesn't go to waste? In other words, should I only pour into each bottle however much he will usually be drinking during one feeding?
What did everyone do with the bottles with pumped milk at work--store them in the common refrigerator or store them in the cooler pack throughout the day?
Finally, how many nipples should I buy? In theory, our nanny can just wash them right? Should I only buy a few?


Thanks so much!

I did not mix different temperature milks (room temp milk never mixed with fridge cooled milk). So, after I pumped, I placed the milk in the Medela cooler pack with ice and that went in the office fridge. The second time I pumped, I used a new bottle. That new bottle went into the cooler pack and back into the office fridge. Same for the third time I pumped.

At the end of the day, I went home and made bottles with the amount of milk DD drank. In the beginning, you may have to try different amounts, but you/your caregiver will figure out what your LO's needs are. As your LO gets older, he'll probably need more milk. You/the caregiver will figure it out.

I bought a lot of nipples. I think I had about 9+ in rotation. I always sterilize everything after they are used, so it's just easier to have enough nipples to last throughout the day and extra in case you're too tired to sterilize.

Hope this helps.