Practical Pumping Tips Wanted

[taysty]

Think storing in ice cube trays is really a good idea. For me I put them in those storage cubes (with lids) for baby puree/food. The ones I got said it is suitable for breast milk if I'm not wrong. You can use pencil and label accordingly. Once it become frozen, I just pop them out and double bag it in a zip lock bag. I froze then in 20/40ml.

 

[thanka2]

One important thing to remember about building up a stock of milk for returning to work is that it tends to be difficult to collect much milk while you are breastfeeding as well. So if you only get a small amount don't worry this is normal. You can add all the small amounts you manage to collect together until you have the amount you want. Once you return to work you will be expressing the milk instead of feeding the baby and so collecting the milk will be much easier.

It is often suggested to store the milk in small quantities rather than large ones. This way if your baby doesn't want much milk you don't waste it as once the milk has been given to the baby you need to throw away any that she doesn't drink. One suggestion to keep milk frozen in small quantities is to freeze it in ice cube trays and then store the small frozen cubes of ice in freezer bags. Remember to date the bags correctly.

Human milk will keep for up to seven days in the fridge, however, and fresh milk is much easier to manage than frozen milk. So I would consider a plan where you collect the milk one day to feed to the baby the next and try to avoid freezing the milk if possible.

As for the best time to pump your milk - the best time is when you find it easiest. Many mothers find that first thing in the morning is the easiest time. They feel full and the baby often only wants one side so you can pump the other. As someone else suggested pumping one side while the baby drinks the other side helps with the let down but can be difficult to manage unless you are an Indian goddess with multiple pairs of arms.

Although your baby drinks many times in the morning at the moment she is likely to drink more from the bottle and thus last longer between feeds. Babies tend to over eat when drinking from bottles, even when it is breast milk in the bottle.

La Leche League in Hong Kong has a special forum for working mothers who return to work. You may be able to find more tips about pumping from these mothers, http://www.lllhk.org/Englishindex.html

Best wishes,
SARAH

Sarah Hung IBCLC
www.lotuslactation.com

Awesome advice and encouragement, Sarah! Thanks so much.

Well, I feel pretty good. I started pumping in earnest yesterday. I am recovering from mastitis at the moment (BTW, for those who are BF, I recommend that if your letdown reflex starts to hurt when it initially didn't, check for plugged ducts--this started happening to me about 10 days ago and by 3 days ago I had already developed mastitis) so nursing and pumping a lot as well as fluids and bedrest are what I've been doing.

I pumped yesterday for about 10 minutes after I had fed my daughter because she didn't want the other side (the affected side) and I knew I needed to drain it. In total, I pumped twice after feedings yesterday (second time only for about 5 minutes) and collected about 80 ml (3 ounces) in total.

Today I pumped after a feeding in the mid-afternoon and was able to collect 120 ml (4 ounces). I will pump again this evening before we go to sleep just to keep my breasts from getting too full while I sleep.

Thankfully, even though I pump and then she might nurse a few minutes later, there hasn't been any hangup with my letdown so far so that was what I was worried about actually.

At this rate, next week when I have to go back to work, I'll have at least 36 ounces of milk in storage. I am going to start freezing the milk I pump now to be used next Thursday when I resume working but will try to avoid freezing when I'm actually back at work.

The one time that we gave my daughter a bottle she downed 6 ounces of breastmilk in one sitting (talk about overeating!) so I am using that as a gauge--if I can have at least 6 ounces of breastmilk available for each feeding she will need in the first couple of days back at work, we should be okay.

Thanks again everyone for the tips!

 

[thanka2]

Think storing in ice cube trays is really a good idea. For me I put them in those storage cubes (with lids) for baby puree/food. The ones I got said it is suitable for breast milk if I'm not wrong. You can use pencil and label accordingly. Once it become frozen, I just pop them out and double bag it in a zip lock bag. I froze then in 20/40ml.

Hey, tasty, where did you buy the storage cubes with lids? I would love to buy a tray to use for freezing breastmilk. Do you remember how much you paid? Thanks!

 

[taysty]

I think is $70 for 6. Can hold up to 40ml max. Lid is very tight and pop up very easily. The brand is brother max you can check on the web first. I got mine at bumps to babes. You better call them to see if they had stock before going as i know you live quite far.

 

[thanka2]

I think is $70 for 6. Can hold up to 40ml max. Lid is very tight and pop up very easily. The brand is brother max you can check on the web first. I got mine at bumps to babes. You better call them to see if they had stock before going as i know you live quite far.

Thanks so much! Will check.

 

[lalligirl]

hey thanka,

I pumped & fed when i went back to work after my first bub. I can't remember exactly, but my schedule went something like this:
(btw, i was away from home from approximately 6:30am - 4:30pm)

early morning (4:30ish) - dream fed one side, pumped the other
at work - pumped twice (stored in bottles in a cooler bag in the fridge)
after work - fed as necessary
before bed (11ish) - pumped (can't remember if i did one or both sides)

I may have pumped one other time after coming home from work, but i can't remember. I had a supply in the freezer, but tried to use the previous day's yield before freezing whenever possible. I often didn't pump much (or at all...) on the weekend, so dipped into the freezer supply then! I had a good supply, so could usually pump enough for the next day.

I'm guessing i'll go back to a similar schedule when i return to work in a couple of weeks.

hope it works out for you.