Nursing on demand to Pumping at work transition

[moonstone523]

I nurse on demand now, but I will be going back to work after the new year. How many times a day should I pump when I go back to work? I work from home, so it really isn't a huge inconvenience.

FWIW, I have been pumping 2x a day for the past 2 months to build up a supply. I get anywhere from 6-8 oz in the morning and 4-6 oz at night. So I have a decent stash. I would like to EBF though and not give formula.

[Deleted]

Is there any pattern that you can recognize for how often your DD eats? If not, maybe pay attention over the next few days during your normal work hours just to get an idea of how often you'd need to pump.

[froggy76]

Agree with pp, but I would probably pump 3x per day in your situation. I struggled with my supply when I went back to work, but days that I worked from home (rare), were SO much better because I could pump more often and for longer... and continue working while I did it.

[moonstone523]

Yes, there is a bit of a pattern around her nap schedule. I'll pay closer attention tomorrow and see if I can come up with a routine.

[Brie]

I'm totally lurking here.

One thing I've been doing is trying to gently ease him into an every 3-ish hours schedule, rather than whipping the boob out every time he cries. Since he's a little older now, I can usually distract him with a walk around the house, or his playmat, or something. If he is seriously flipping out I'll still feed him, but if he's just whiny I'm trying to use other things to comfort him.

[moonstone523]

Dec 16, 2012 21:05:20 GMT -5 Brie said:

I'm totally lurking here.

One thing I've been doing is trying to gently ease him into an every 3-ish hours schedule, rather than whipping the boob out every time he cries. Since he's a little older now, I can usually distract him with a walk around the house, or his playmat, or something. If he is seriously flipping out I'll still feed him, but if he's just whiny I'm trying to use other things to comfort him.

Ha. My MIL was here this weekend and was pretty much saying, but not, that I need to get over this nursing on demand thing and get her on an every 3 or 4 hour feeding schedule. She is capable of it, and honestly since she sleeps so much, that is probably what happens. I'll see what happens tomorrow. I am not a spreadsheet/app mom so I don't know when everything goes down. It's normal so no need to track it.

[Brie]

Dec 16, 2012 21:51:48 GMT -5 moonstone523 said:

Dec 16, 2012 21:05:20 GMT -5 Brie said:

I'm totally lurking here.

One thing I've been doing is trying to gently ease him into an every 3-ish hours schedule, rather than whipping the boob out every time he cries. Since he's a little older now, I can usually distract him with a walk around the house, or his playmat, or something. If he is seriously flipping out I'll still feed him, but if he's just whiny I'm trying to use other things to comfort him.

Ha. My MIL was here this weekend and was pretty much saying, but not, that I need to get over this nursing on demand thing and get her on an every 3 or 4 hour feeding schedule. She is capable of it, and honestly since she sleeps so much, that is probably what happens. I'll see what happens tomorrow. I am not a spreadsheet/app mom so I don't know when everything goes down. It's normal so no need to track it.

Yeah, we are definitely not on a strict schedule, LOL. I'm mostly just trying to break my own habit of automatically nursing every time he fusses, KWIM? I've found that he sometimes will be fine with just a change in scenery or activity instead.

[Ashley&Scott]

I also nurse on demand & have been pumping 3x in a 9 hour period.

My schedule:
7am nurse
9:45 pump
12 pump
2:45 pump
5 nurse

[mrshandy]

I nursed on demand and when I went back to work I pumped 3 x a day 9AM, 12PM, and 3PM.

I continued to nurse on demand mornings, weekends, and evenings pretty much until DS weaned at 27 months. I never really to try to put DS on any kind of nursing schedule. He was still nursing pretty frequent like every 2 hours until 6 or 7 months. The boy just loved the boob.

He just settled into one based on his needs at the time. He easily transitioned from boobs to bottle when he went back to daycare.

It sounds like you have a good supply so you should be ok.

How long are you going to be away from your LO during the day?

[moonstone523]

Dec 17, 2012 8:27:08 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

How long are you going to be away from your LO during the day?[/quote

Well I work from home and we are getting a nanny. I'll be "away" from 9-5. She is refusing the bottle currently. But hopefully I will get things under control before I go back to work.