Pumping & returning to work

[Koan]

I started pumping about 2 weeks before I returned to work (DS was 9wks when I went back) so that I was used to the pump and had some milk ready. You don't really need to prepare much. Enough for your first day back is the minimum, but it's reassuring to have extra just in case.

We introduced the bottle when DS was about 4 wks old. He was fine and never had any issues going back and forth between the breast and the bottle until I was home all summer nursing directly and he forgot how to bottle feed!

Pumping was hard in the beginning but it's become routine for me. I'm still pumping at work and nursing at home and my son is 22mnths old.

Also, you don't need to wash or sterilise your pump parts at work. I put mine in an airtight lunchbox (or you can use a ziploc bag) and stored it in the fridge at work. That saved time.

 

[FutureHKmom]

I started pumping a little more than a month before I went back to work in order to store up a supply in my freezer. I knew that I would not be able to pump enough milk in one day for all the feeds I would miss the next day, so I wanted to make sure I had freezer stock that I could use. Once I returned to work when my son was 4 months old I pumped twice at work on weekdays and once on Sat and Sun. The weekend pumps were to replenish my freezer stock. Occasionally I would come home to feed my son at lunch too - but that practice has long stopped.

My months is 8 months old now and about a month and a half ago because of how busy work was, I went down to just one pump a day and now I'm not even pumping at work anymore. I just pump right when I get home. Luckily, my son is eating two solid meals a day now, so his milk intake is less.

Pumping takes a lot of perseverence when you work full time. Good luck!

 

[merrymum]

hi everyone,

thank you so much for sharing your experiences and advice. i have started expressing in the mornings before/after his 7am feed and will start pumping after his 10/11pm feed as well to start building that supply.

i am now trying to overcome another challenge where the little one is now cluster feeding! didn't know that i can get even less sleep than i did previously! =P