BFing and working moms- I need advice

[azurely]

My baby is 2 months old. I go back to work in a week and a half and my mom will be watching him during the day. How much milk should I send each day? How big should the bottles be? I'm not sure exactly how much he eats at a feeding, since I always BF him when we're together.

I'll feed him at 5:45am and my H will leave to take him to my mom's at 6:30. He'll be there until 3:45, so about nine hours. I'll feed him as soon as we get home, so around 4:00.

Also, does this pumping schedule sound ok? I'm a teacher, so my schedule is dictated by my plan and lunch times unfortunately. I can pump between 9:30-10:30 and 11:15-11:45. They are really close together, I know... Should I pump again after school at 3:00 before I go pick him up? This might be hard to do, but I could make it work. Would you pump before work too? I don't leave for work until 7:00, so I could pump at 6:30.

I want to maintain my supply and pump at least as much as I'm using each day. I have been doing a morning pump session for the last month during his nap and usually get 6-9 oz each time, but I'm not sure if that'll continue when I go back to work.

Thanks for any advice or thoughts!

[thejackpot]

I teach and pumped until my dd turned one. It is doable but it is def hard work managing pumping at planning periods. I would send 4 oz bottles and 3-4 bottles a day. I would pump after school too. I pumped while driving which was my best pump of the day. (you may not feel comfortable with that). Make sure your mom doesn't overfeed so you can keep up.

[countthestars]

Does he usually take both sides in the morning? I would probably nurse at wake up and pump the other side after that before you leave at 7. I would probably then pump at 11:15 and see how your output is. I'm not sure I would want to pump during your plan and lunch since it's so close together.

I think DD took about 3 3-4oz bottles at that age. Will your mom keep a frozen stash at her house so she can prep bottles for you, or are you going to bring them prepped? I left a bag full of frozen milk at my in-home and she prepped the bottles as needed which made it a lot easier on me, if your mom is willing.

[Velar Fricative]

First, I commend teachers who pump given the scheduling issues!

I found the 1.25 x the number of hours gone to be a good rule of thumb for DD. So I would aim for ~12 ounces. DD ate frequently and ate 15 ounces (nearly 12 hours separated each day), 3 oz in each bottle. If you have a bit of a stash your mom could use that if she finds that he goes through the 12 ounces quickly. Just note that he might do that in the beginning - this will be a new adjustment for him so he's still going to need time to figure his intake out. So make sure your mom is ready for the unexpected and can be flexible with his eating (and follow paced bottle feeding).

As for the pumping schedule, you could pump the other breast while he's nursing in the morning. Then I'd pump right at 9:30, and then closer to 11:45 (unless that's when you can start pumping, I assume that's when you have to be done pumping) to give yourself some spacing there. You could pump after school if you want but I'd see how it goes without pumping unless you see output issues (also normal in the beginning!); otherwise perhaps you can pump the other breast while he's nursing in the afternoon.

[aqualuv]

Hello! Congratulations! I went back to work when my son was 7 weeks old. I sent (4) 4 oz bottles and he is dropped off at 6:30 and picked up at 4:30. I nurse him right before we leave in the morning and when we get home. I've started nursing him on the lower producing side in the morning and pumping the higher producing side in the car on my way to drop him off. I've started to get more milk doing this. I also still pump 3 times while at work.

Good luck! I can't speak to the teaching schedule and pumping although I know there are other teacher nursing moms on the board.

[andthentherewere10]

Jan 15, 2015 11:27:27 GMT -5 azurely said:

My baby is 2 months old. I go back to work in a week and a half and my mom will be watching him during the day. How much milk should I send each day? How big should the bottles be? I'm not sure exactly how much he eats at a feeding, since I always BF him when we're together.

I'll feed him at 5:45am and my H will leave to take him to my mom's at 6:30. He'll be there until 3:45, so about nine hours. I'll feed him as soon as we get home, so around 4:00.

Also, does this pumping schedule sound ok? I'm a teacher, so my schedule is dictated by my plan and lunch times unfortunately. I can pump between 9:30-10:30 and 11:15-11:45. They are really close together, I know... Should I pump again after school at 3:00 before I go pick him up? This might be hard to do, but I could make it work. Would you pump before work too? I don't leave for work until 7:00, so I could pump at 6:30.

I want to maintain my supply and pump at least as much as I'm using each day. I have been doing a morning pump session for the last month during his nap and usually get 6-9 oz each time, but I'm not sure if that'll continue when I go back to work.

Thanks for any advice or thoughts!

I am a teacher too.  I generally fed around 5am from one side and pumped the other for the first bottle.  Then I'd pump around 9:30am and 11:15am if i were you.  Your body will likely adjust to provide what you need.  Don't want to pump too much at 3pm because then baby won't have much to drink.


I'd start out sending 3 ounce bottles and bump up from there. 

[ringstrue]

Do you get home at 4pm or 7pm? Or are you saying you have another evening job?

Being away 9 hours id plan to pump 3x a day - possibly 2x after a while if your supply does ok with it. I'd aim for evenly spacing them as much as is reasonable to avoid getting too full.

I send about 18oz a day but usually I get back an oz or two. The daycare also has some frozen milk just incase.

[MamaMaui24]

I'd plan to send 12 oz/day.

Bottles:
9 am
12
3 pm

3-4 oz each

Also keep 24 oz (or however much) frozen back up for her freezer.

[tigress]

My babies eat a lot.

But I started sending 4 oz bottles. I am gone similar times (I drop off DS at 7am and pick him up a little after 4pm) and he has been eating 5 bottles a day (sometimes 6...). My DD2 usually ate between 4-5 4oz. bottles back when she was a baby and the timing was similar also.

I would send at least 4 4oz bottles. I would maybe send a 5th. And I keep an emergency 4oz of frozen milk with my daycare provider and if she uses it I send another one the next day as I have a healthy freezer stash.

[AmyRI]

I'd nurse in the morning on one side and pump the other. If you can fit in another pumping session before you leave, that's great, too. Then pump right at the beginning of plan at 9:30, and then again at 11:15. It gives you almost 2 hours so it's definitely worth doing. As to pumping at the end of the day, call and ask if he just ate. If so, pump. If not and he's due for a bottle, tell her not to feed and nurse when you're together. If you're engorged since you've gone 11:45 to 3:30? without pumping or nursing, then nurse one side and pump the other.

Can you do a weighed feed at a BFing support group? That can help tell you how much to put in bottles. Generally it's somewhere between 3 and 4 oz and it just takes some time to settle into a routine. Be sure to teach your mom how to pace a bottle feeding and tell her any cues he has to distinguish between upset and hungry, since often times new care providers will confuse upset for hunger.

[azurely]

Thanks everyone!

Yes, he usually eats from both sides in the morning. He's sleeping 6-7 hours now, so he wakes up ready to eat. I'm usually pretty full in the mornings though, so even with him eating at 5:30am, I could probably get another 4-6 oz at 6:30am.

Pumping on my commute isn't really an option, because it's really short, only 8-9 minutes. I'd rather just stay home an extra few minutes and do it here.

I think I'll start out pumping right at 9:30 and again at 11:15 and see how it goes. If I'm too full or not producing enough, then I'll add a 3:00 session too.

Good idea on keeping a freezer stash at my mom's. I think she'd be fine with that and it would definitely make things simpler for me.

ringstrue sorry I meant I leave for work at 7:00am. I will pick him up at 3:45pm and be home by 4:00pm most days. I'll be away from him nine hours.

[Blue Moon]

I have a 4.5 month old and I just went back to teaching in January. I let my H bottle fed my DD for two days before I went back to see how much she would take from the bottle. She settled on 5 oz bottles every 3-3.5 hours. I send 3 5 oz bottles to daycare but she typically only eats 2 of them. I pump right when I get up, and then nurse DD at 630. She's at daycare at 7 and eats a bottle around 9:30 and 12:30 and is ready for me to nurse when I pick up at 3:15. I pump only once during the school day around 12 because that's the only time I have. I don't really get engorged and can usually get a good amount of milk. I pump again at night after DD goes to bed and I'm able to cover her needs + have a little extra from my 3 pumping sessions. I tried to pump during my 30 min lunch from 10;45-11:15 but it just took me too long to get situated and pump that it wasn't worth it.

[zarapipe]

I get up and nurse from one side and pump the other or if she takes both sides I will pump both and drain them, there is always milk left even if she takes both sides. This is at 630AM

I pump at 10AM, 2PM

I then nurse her the minute we get in the door at 5PM and she then nurses at 6PM before bed too.

I send 4 3.5oz bottles and sometimes she takes 2, 3 or 4, depending on the day. Its really baby specific.

If I were you I'd nurse and pump before you leave the house and see how pumping works when your back. Maybe try both times the first day and see how it goes? Good luck!

[smock]

My DD started daycare around 10w old, and started with 2-3 oz bottles every 2 hours. My DCP suggested sending in an extra bottle the first week in case she was really hungry. At that age, you're probably safe sending 3 oz bottles with an extra if he's hungry.

And I'd try pumping at 6:30 and 11:15. Going from 11:15-4pm might be a bit uncomfortable, so you might need a quick pump after school, or maybe take a manual to relieve engorgement.

[july]

I would start out with many small bottles 3oz. Daycare would give her multiple bottles in one sitting if she was hungry. I would check this, but I think you can give a half used bottle at the next feeding.

I pumped while driving, but you said you can't so I would recommend a morning pump since it will be highest then.

[linz]

I dont BF but mine take 3 oz every 3 hours. I'd pry send enough for 4 oz and any leftover you can still use the next day.

[nessness]

My baby takes 16 oz and nurses at lunch time (she's 3 months now but started at 2 months). I would send a lot the first few days, like 20 oz, then adjust when you see how much she drinks.

[gretchenindisguise]

This is my current schedule:

morning - nurse baby at some point in there with right side (depends on night of when it was)
5:30-6:30 - pump side baby didn't nurse
11:30 - 12:30 - pump at work. It varies by day of when I get to it -but it's usually in that window.
evening - nurse baby on left side
9:30 - 11:30 - do a dream feed with left side
9:30 - 11:30 - pump side baby didn't nurse

I send 4 4oz bottles. First week he was eating all of them. This week he seems to only be eating 3.

[gretchenindisguise]

And the first few days - I sent extra for just in case.

I also brought 4 oz for my dcp to keep in her freezer in case anything ever happens and she runs out.

[spk926]

I teach first and pumped for a year. I would wake up before DD woke up and pumped both sides. I would get tons from this pumping session. So that was at 5:30 am. Then I would pump at lunch at 11:45. That's it! DD was at daycare 7-4:15 and so I would nurse before dropping her off and immediately after picking her up. If needed I would've added a pumping session at prep at 2 or after school at 3:30 but I never needed to. DD preferred me though and only took 4 3oz. Bottles a day.

I would start with small bottles at first until you get a feel for how much she's eating. Better to use 2 small bottles then waste part of a big one!

Sent from my SM-G900P using proboards

[fortmyersbride]

I would definitely pump after BFing in the AM if you have time. Even when my babies BFed on both sides, I could usually get a few oz out of both sides and found my yield was highest early in the AM?