Our little family had a wonderful Christmas, and I wanted to do a Christmas & New Year's post this morning; however, my camera is dead, so I have to charge it before I can get all of our photo's off to share with you all, so I'll work on a Holiday post for tomorrow!
Anyways, I've been off work for two weeks now, and I just returned to work today, so I have lots to catch up on at work and not much time to post; however, I've been asked by a couple of different people about my experience with breastfeeding and returning to work, so I wanted to share my experience and how I did it. Weston will be a year old on January 20th, and I'm still nursing him in the morning and night. I no longer nurse him or pump during the day, but I have been able to continue nursing and not supplement with formula for the full first year. I know that everyone is different and not everyone wants to breastfeed at all, but I really wanted to have that experience, and it was one of the things that I really looked forward to experiencing, so I really wanted to be successful even though I was returning to work full time.
Here are a couple of questions that I've been asked:
How you prepared to go back to work after maternity leave?I didn't really prepare...I probably should have, but I was just so overwhelmed with a new baby that I didn't think much about it. Weston had his first bottle when he was about two weeks old. I was SO exhausted that my mom came over for the night to watch Weston, so I could sleep, and she gave him a bottle of breastmilk during the middle of the night. I was SO blessed that he didn't have a problem going back and forth between the bottle and me. I did pump quite a lot, so I would A.) keep my supply up and B.) have milk stored up for when I went back to work. I pumped after he nursed in the morning, then I pumped if he only nursed from one side and I pumped before I went to bed at night. By the time I went back to work, I had a LOT of milk stored. I also had a really great milk supply, so I was able to pump lots of extra when I pumped each day.
Did you have a frozen milk supply before you went back to work?As I mentioned above, I did have a frozen milk supply before I went to work. I had at least 500 ounces of frozen milk stored before I went back to work. When I went back to work, I pumped about 16 ounces while I was at work, and I pumped another 6 ounces before I went to bed, so I had adequate milk for him to have a daycare the next day, as well as, extra to continue to freeze.
Was your daycare willing to give breastmilk?Yes. We use an in-home daycare lady who keeps a few children in her home. She is awesome, and I would go ahead and make his bottles and send her the pre-made bottles each morning, and she would give them to Weston. She also kept some frozen milk in her freezer for emergencies. Now that he is not drinking from a bottle but drinking from a cup, I just send her either cups of milk or a cup of milk and an extra small bottle of milk for refills. Having a daycare that is supportive of your desire to breastfeed is very important, and it was key to my success.
How often do you pump at work?I pumped anywhere from 2-3 times a day at work and sometimes only once. At first, I pumped two times a day while at work, but then I started having supply issues, so I started taking Fenugreek and began pumping three times per day at work, so I could have enough milk for W. Shortly afterward, I realized had so much stored, that I moved down to 1 pumping a day at work and now I don't pump at all during work.
What is your pumping/feeding schedule?My typical pumping/feeding schedule during the first year of Weston's life looked like this (before solids were introduced)...
6:30 AM - Wake Up & Nurse
8:30-9:00 AM - AM Nap
10:30 AM - Nurse & Pump at Work
1:00 PM - Nap
2:30-3:00 PM - Nurse & Pump at Work
6:30 PM - Nurse & W in Bed
9:30-10:00 PM - Pump before I go to Bed
As Weston begin eating more solids, his schedule looked more like this...
6:30 AM - Wake Up & Nurse
8:30-9:00 AM - AM Nap
10:30 AM - Pump at Work
11:00-11:30 - Lunch at Daycare for W
1:00 PM - Nap
2:30 - Pump at Work
3:00-3:00 PM - Snack at Daycare for W
6:00 PM - Dinner
7:00 PM - Nurse & Bed for W
9:30-10:00 PM - Pump before I go to Bed
During Weston's first few months, he was eating every three hours, as well as, waking up during the night usually once, so his schedule was similar to the four hour feeding, but he ate more often. I only pumped twice per day on average once I went back to work.
Any other tips/advice for breastfeeding working momsMy biggest piece of advice is to relax...I honestly didn't worry about it too much. I knew that I wanted to do it and be successful, but I knew that I didn't want to stress out too much, and I didn't know what to expect, so I didn't know what to worry about or plan for. I pumped as much as possible before I went back to work, but sometimes, I didn't pump at all during the day. I just didn't feel like it, and I didn't want to burn myself out pumping and hate it so much that I quit, so I just didn't pump the whole day, and it was fine. I also recommend buying a good pump, as that is definitely key to your success!
Nursing Weston for the whole first year was one of the most amazing things that I've ever done, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity. The emotional bond that I have with my son is so awesome, and I enjoy it! It's the ONLY time that Weston is still right now, and he sits in my lap. If he's not nursing, he's on the go, so it's a nice time for us to relax together.
I did have some supply issues towards the end, and I did all kinds of things to increase my supply. Some worked, some didn't, but I figured it out, and I was able to make it through. If anyone has any questions about supply issues, feel free to email me or comment on this post, and I will email you back. I also recommend finding a place that you are comfortable at work to pump. I have an office with a door that shuts and locks and doesn't have windows looking in...I have photo's of Weston, and I'm comfortable in my office. I'm not nervous that someone will come knocking or looking for me when my door is shut, and I can lock it for that extra piece of mind. You have to be comfortable and relaxed when you are pumping or it will definitely have an effect on your supply.
I've pumped everywhere, so it can be done! I've pumped in my car while driving down the road, I've pumped in my car while someone else was driving, I've pumped in my office, I've pumped at home, I've pumped in the bathroom, I've pumped in the airport and I've pumped on an airplane. It was tough, and it sometimes had it's awkward moments, but I am VERY modest and discreet, and I never had any moments where I felt like people saw anything. I also never nursed in public in the entire first year. I'm SUPER modest, and I just can't do it. I don't want to see it when I'm in public, and I don't want to do it in public. So, I didn't...I planned our trips around his nursing schedule, and I would nurse him little early or late, as needed, so we could be out and about, and it wouldn't cause an issue. I would just nurse him in the car before we went in or at home before we left, and it was never a problem.
If anyone has any other questions, please let me know. I'm happy to help out anyone and answer any questions.
Disclaimer: These opinions are my own opinions, and it's how I did it and was successful and comfortable nursing my son through his first year. I know everyone is different, and we all do things differently or find different ways to be successful. I don't think that my way is better than any other way, it's just the way that worked for me, and I hope that some of my suggestions work for someone else. :)
