Going back to work full time--need help!

[peanut4us]

Ok, so I know that I should have been on this way before now, but i think I was in denial. I go back to work a week from Tuesday, and I am just now starting to think through the logistics. DH will be the SAHP, so at least I don't have day care to worry about.

I plan on pumping at work 3xs a day. Do you all put your milk into bags? Or just leave it in the bottles? If you put into bags, what do you do with your dirty bottles? Do you wash them at work? What about your pump stuff? My office has a lactina in a special room that we can schedule, but there isn't a sink, so I'd have to wash everything in the ladies' room. I thought that I would just bring a bottle of Dawn to work and leave a little bowl for washing. But where do you let the stuff dry?

Also, how many bottles should we have at home? I'm going to buy some 6 ounce ones. DD is finally starting to take a bottle. Not always without intense aggravation, but we're gettting there. Last week one meal was from a bottle every day. This week we'll make it two meals from a bottle.

Any other advice? Oh, should her solid meal (she gets pears once a day, sometimes twice if she wants...she won't eat any other solid and it helps keep her regular) be when I'm at work?

And the big kicker, that I'm worried about... how many of you have ended up needing to supplement? I only get about 4 ounces pumping, but she will eat anywhere from 3-6 ounces of pumped milk at a time. I don't want to lose bfing her yet.

[LD92599]

Joey:

I've been back @ work since early June...also w/ DH as the SAHP (you aren't near NJ, are you?!?!). DS has been exclusively BF'd or bottle w/ EBM. I got into the habit of pumping in the mornings before he nurses & i stop @ 5 ounces. He gets a 7 ounce bottle at 11am and another at 4pm, then nurses twice after that. I pump at 11am & get maybe 5 ounces if i am lucky. I pump again when i get home at 5:30 and get 5-6 ounces...i count the morning pump as my session to top offer the other 2 pumps. I also do this on the weekend, to add to the freezer stash.

I purchased extra horns, so i don't need to wash stuff @ work (i pump @ my desk but there's a kitchen down the hall); occasionally i will wash 'em anywau before i leave.

i pump into any standard bottle...esp the cheapies that i rec'd as gifts (we're using Avent). I also use the Gerber Bags ($5.99 in Target) and haven't had any problems.

I don't have a good routine for rotating the frozen EBM though...we'll use it for a few days to use up the oldest and then stop. Bad, i know! I think starting tomorrow we'll improve that.

If you live close enough to work...DH brings DS to the office & we go "out" to lunch...either the local park/zoo or even our local BJs. Though sometimes i do want that hour to do some shopping!

Email me if you would like...it was definitely hard going back to work...but it's doable & is better knowing that DH is home.

Laura
mom to William 3.5.2003

[stillplayswithbarbies]

My daughter is the same age as your daughter, but she is not getting any solids yet. Here is our routine.

I pump directly into the Gerber bags using the Pumpmate kit. (http://www.pumpmate.com) which I got at WalMart, but if I were doing this again I would just buy the blue adapter from their website and save money. I just started doing this and am still getting the hang of tightening the cap enough but not so much that it puts a hole in the bag.

I pump once before work, and this goes with her. I take two bottles out of the freezer to rotate my stash. Plus one fresh bottle that I pumped yesterday. (this way she is always getting some fresh and some frozen every day). I am sending four bottles, three with 6 oz each and one with 4 oz each.

At work, I don't wash my horns in between, I just put them in the fridge with the milk. I bring them home and wash them in the evening when I am putting together her bottles for the next day.

I put two bottles that I pumped that day in the freezer to replace the two I took out that morning. I take two frozen bottles out and put them in the fridge so they can start thawing for the next day. (you won't need to do this since she stays home. Daddy can just thaw them as she needs them)

Once a week, I take all the frozen milk from my freezer in the kitchen down to the deep freeze and bring up the frozen bottles for the next week.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[momma_boo]

My Sarah (middle name Anne!) was born two days before you. I've been back to work for approx. 1 month now. She's only had bm, no formula needed to supplement so far. She's not on solids yet (I figured I'll wait until we go to the ped for the 6 month visit).

I usually feed her around 6 am on one side and pump the other side. This milk gets frozen.

While at work I pump 2-3 times (I try to pump at 9am, 12pm, 3pm). I pump in my office and put the milk in bags (I prefer the Lansinoh brand ones over the Gerber. I think they are the same price). I rinse everything out in between and wash it all with soap after my last pumping of the day. I keep a small bottle of dish soap and a sponge, which I use to wash everything... in the bathroom. I usually lay out a bunch of paper towels on the counter and place everything on it to drip while I'm washing. Then I bring everything back to my office where I place it in a plastic container with a washcloth in it to air dry.

I usually end up with 12-14 ounces for the day. When I pick up DD from daycare, I drop off two bags with 5 oz. They have a stash of frozen milk that they use for her third feeding (4 oz). We found that she would eat 4 oz or less at her third feeding. This way, she gets both fresh and frozen milk. Fortunately, the daycare is a home-based one and she keeps the frozen milk in her freezer in the basement, so that I can leave enough to last a few weeks.

I usually BF her from one side soon after we get home, and pump the other. Initially, you feel like you are constantly pumping, but it isn't so bad once it becomes part of the routine. Plus, it helps to build up the frozen supply, eliminating the need to supplement.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

[momma_boo]

OOPS! I forgot to add one more thing:

Make sure to drink lots of water! I also read someone suggested on the board that eating oatmeal will help your milk production. Quaker makes these oatmeal squares. I was just munching on one earlier!

[bjiang]

Hi, I worked full time and pumped since DD was 10 weeks old and until she was 15 month old. The Medela Lactina is a very nice pump. If you pump 3x a day, you should have no problem keeping up the milk supply. You will soon figure out an routine that works best for you.

For me, I found it to be a pain to wash pump parts at work and I didn't like touching cold pumping parts (storing them in fridge) so I just bought 3 sets of everything.

It's best not to freeze EBM if you know you will give it to your baby the next day. The freezing and thawing process kills some of the live cells in breastmilk. I usually pumped directly into Avent bottles on Monday-Thursday. The bottles were stored in the fridge (not freezer) and were given to DD the following day. I pumped directly into storage bags on Friday, and those bags went into freezer to be used on the follwing Monday. I either used Lasinoh bags which can be directly connected to the pump or used binder clips to hold the Gerber bags directly onto the pump. That way I don't have to pour milk from one container to another and no extra bottles to wash.

Good luck with pumping :)

p.s. If you have additional questions on pumping, check out the breastfeeding.com website
http://www.breastfeeding.com
They have a message board for Moms who are pumping and working outside of home. There are a lot of useful information there

[stillplayswithbarbies]

How do the Lansinoh bags connect directly to the pump?

I am using the adaptor from the Pumpmate system, but to use that I have to put the bag in a bottle and screw the adaptor onto it, and sometimes that makes a hole in the bag.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[bjiang]

I haven't pumped for almost 6 months. It looks like now Lansinoh has changed the design of their milk storage bags. They now have zipper seal just like the Gerber bags, instead of the twist tie which could be used to connect to the breast pump directly. I used binder clips with Gerber bags to hang them directly on the pump.

[hellokitty1]

My hospital had a class on bf'ing and returning to work and their suggested schedule was to only pump twice at work. So I pump around 6:30am at home on the breast dd doesn't feed on. Then I pump at work at 10:30 and 2:30. Then nurse as soon as I get home and then before bed.

As far as the pumping routine goes, I have a Medela PIS and pump directly into the medela bottles that came with it. After the first pump at 10:30am, I rinse the pump parts in warm water and use the new medela microwave bags. You just put in the rinsed parts and add water and microwave for 3-5 minutes. Since the steaming gets so warm, the parts are dry for the most part, after the microwaving is done. I have two ziploc bags..one for CLEAN and one for DIRTY. In the morning, the pump pieces are in the CLEAN bag. After pumping, I put the pieces into the dirty bag and go to our kitchen are (this is strictly to be discreet). After sterilizing in the microwave, they go back into the CLEAN bag. Then at 2:30, I pump again and just put the pump pieces into the DIRTY bag and don't wash til I get home. I like the medela microwave bags bc it doesn't require soap.

For the pumped milk, when I pump at 10:30, I just keep the milk in my bag at room temperature. This allows me to pump directly into the bottles again at 2:30 and then I can either place in the work fridge or just put a ice pack in my bag til i get home. I am only able to pump about 2.5 ounces on each side per pump so I can use the same bottles.

But I have questions for you more experienced pumpers...Can I attach bags directly to the PIS? If so, how? I don't know if I want to pump into the bags because it's more difficult to measure the amount to store. And I have to wash bottles anyway so two more bottles don't seem like a big deal. I do have the Avent adapters but until I pump more milk at one sitting and need hte 9 ounce bottles, I am just using the 5 ounce medela bottles. Do you think I should be pumping more than twice at work? You all seem to pump more than that and get more volume at one sitting. Does my milk supply seem low to you?

TIA for your advice. The pumping routine is getting to be okay but I'm either scared that I don't pump enough or that I'll come home one day to feed DD and she'll reject me over the bottle :-(

[stillplayswithbarbies]

you are getting 5 oz per pumping session, that's great! I get about 5 or 6 oz when I pump at work. I get more at the morning session, but just an ounce or two.

If you are pumping as much as baby is eating, you are doing fine.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03