Pumping tips

[billie]

Hey all! I go back to work on Monday. LO is six months old.

I'm gonna try to pump at work (never done it before). Any tips for success?

Also I have some noob questions. How much should I leave for my first day back? Is it better to give baby the refrigerated milk from the day before or to freeze all milk and use the oldest first?

All my admiration to the moms who pump at work, this stuff is hard!

Thanks in advance!

[erinshelley21]

I store my parts in a Ziploc bag in the fridge between sessions and wash every night. It saves time which comes in handy if you have a time limit to breaks or something.

I've always just given refrigerated milk and tried to keep an extra bottles worth in the fridge in case I get held up at work or don't pump enough during the day. I freeze anything beyond 1 extra bottle if I have it, which doesn't happen these days.

I haven't been rotating fresh and frozen in case I got to the point where I am now, which is i can't keep up. This is due to DD being up all night and me not being able to get up before her and pump, so my freezer stash is supplementing for me. I'm also saving it for a couple overnight trips in the fall.

As for how much to leave for your first day, how often has your baby been eating and how much has LO been taking by bottle?

[sdlaura]

Agreed, pumping is hard, which is why I don't plan on doing it with this baby

With DS1, I never made quite enough each day so I would use the fresh milk from the day before and thawed whatever was oldest from the freezer. Another tip is to put the parts in a ziploc bag and refrigerate between pump sessions so you don't have to wash them each time.

Good luck!

ETA - I posted at the same time as Erinshelley and we said the same stuff

[supertrooper1]

Drink lots of water. I pumped more milk in the morning so my pump times would be closer together in the morning. I would also nurse DS on one side in the morning and simultaneously pump the other side.

[waverly]

Bring extras of everything and leave at work. Extra flanges, white thingies, bottles, caps etc. Bring a towel for your lap and a nursing cover. Make a list of everything you need and put it in the refrigerator so when you are packing up every morning you remember everything. Have lots of extras so in case you don't do dishes one night you are still ok.

I did fresh milk Tues-Fri. Monday I took the oldest frozen milk. Then I froze Friday's milk. This rotated my freezer stash.

I too pumped more in the morning. I pumped during my half hour morning commute. Then at 10:30 and 1:30. If I was too low I added a Sat morning pump or a Sunday morning pump.

Also I never sent more than 5 ounces a feeding. I know every baby is different but overall they tend to need less breatmilk than formula. My formula fed baby would have 6-7 ounces. The childcare provider needs to feed them more slowly and paced bottle feeding so they aren't as hungry.

Do you have a freezer stash? If not start on it now. Pump once a day from today -Sunday so you will at least start out with a small stash. Another way to grow a stash is to pump once in the weekend.

[twinmomma]

Try to make your pump time sacred by blocking out your calendar at work. The more you can stay on track with how long you go between pump sessions, the better your supply will stay regulated.
Skip the expensive pump part wipes and just do the ziploc bag of unwashed parts others suggested.
I used to bring milk storage bags and bigger bottles to store what I pumped in, instead of those tiny Medela bottles, but I had oversupply issues and it was easier for me that way.

[billie]

erinshelley21 he doesn't often take a bottle but when I've been gone for a couple of hours he usually eats about 4 ounces or so in a bottle.

He eats about every 3 or 4 hours during the day

[billie]

waverly thanks for the tips! That sounds like a smart way to rotate the frozen/fresh

I have a very small stash, about 12 ounces frozen. I'm hoping to pump some more Saturday and Sunday.

[erinshelley21]

I would send enough for him to eat 4oz every 3.

[erinshelley21]

Also, I don't know what pump you have, but I have a medela pisa and keep extra membranes (the white things) in my bag. I've gotten to work before and found that one ripped or if it's been a while since I've changes them I've been able to do it at work.

Something I've started doing this time is just bringing the bottles that I send to MIL's with milk for storage. It cuts down on bottle washing and I don't have to make bottles at night. I've also got a few nipples for the bottles that go with my pump.

[2chatter]

Put an extra shirt and bra at your office. I made a mess of myself
more than once or leaked.

Schedule more time than you need on the calendar, especially in the beginning.

Try a manual pump if an electric doesn't work. I exclusively used a manual pump and EBF.

Mothers milk tea and lactation cookies, plus fenugreek and tons of water.

[campermom]

All the above plus get a hands free pumping bra. I don't know how I ever managed without one for my first. When I pumped for my 2nd and 3rd I would type away, swing by my file cabinet in my wheelie chair and our stuff away, etc. it was so much better!

[judyblume14]

Just re-iterating the following:
-zip-loc bag of part in fridge; just wash at night.
-keep pump times as consistent as possible.
-oldest frozen milk on Mondays, fresh from day-before on Tuesdays-Fridays. Freeze Fridays milk.
-Simple Wishes hands-free pumping bra
-babies who are exclusively breast fed take between 1 and 1.5 ounces per hour. So, if you nurse at 6am and not again til 6pm, that's 12 hours: between 12 and 18 ounces
- extra pump parts, extra clothes

[billie]

erinshelley21 I don't have a full set of extra parts (need to order some, thanks waverly) but I do have a pair of extra membranes that came with the pump, I'll bring those with me

LO is staying home with a nanny so at least I don't have to pre make bottles

[billie]

2chatter and judyblume14 excellent point about extra clothes, hadn't thought of that!

[k3am]

Extras of everything in the office.

Refrigerate all your pump parts vs. cleaning them.

Block out your calendar - if pump time isn't sacred to you, your coworkers wont respect it either.

I LOVED pumping pals. Best investment ever.

Tablet + wifi + streaming TV = best thing ever. It will make you sad when you stop pumping.

[kbw]

I subbed my 15 minutes of break time for pump time twice a day and did 15 minutes at lunch.

I tried to stay on the same routine with others as far as days I used fresh/frozen. I only froze in 2 oz and 4 oz batches because he didn't typically eat more than 4 oz in a sitting. I found I had less waste that way.

I invested in the reusable sandwich bags that could go in the dishwasher because I got sick of buying ziplock bags. Also make sure you have plenty of ice packs in case you don't have access to a fridge.