I head back to work tomorrow morning after 10 weeks of maternity leave. I have been breastfeeding on demand and pumping in addition to build a small freezer stash (68 oz).
I am so nervous about how much to leave for my little one to eat tomorrow, nervous for what pumping at work will be like, etc. And super curious to find out how much I will produce in a day of work and if it will be enough! Also curious if the stress of work will affect my supply.
I work 9-5, mon- Friday. I live very close to work so for at least the first few weeks I plan on nursing on my lunch break. I am going to leave three bottle (3-4 oz each) for my mom tomorrow. And I plan on pumping twice at work around 10 am and 3 pm. I don't have a supportive or understanding boss so this should be interesting!!
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Unfortunately I can't link at the moment but check out the KellyMom website for some great info on pumping and bottle feeding.
Off the top of my head though I believe your LO will need approx 1-1.5 oz of breastmilk per hour you're apart (taking into account your lunchtime nursing of course). You'll probably also want to use the bottle nipple with the slowest flow and maybe try paced feeding to mimic a breast feeding.
Good luck!
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That is so wonderful that you can nurse at lunch and that your LO will be with your Mom. It's so hard to leave, but I would think that it will brighten both of your days to see each other for lunch
I hope your first day goes well and that it gets easier every day!
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Good luck! Being able to nurse should make a huge difference.
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Nursing at lunch will be great! In the beginning, I left frozen milk at daycare in case of a spill/my son being extra hungry. That helped me feel less stressed about him eating enough. I also know that I didn't pump too much in the first few weeks, but it increased over time. As for an unsupportive boss, look up your states nursing mother laws. Know your rights so you can stick up for yourself if need be! Here's a link to an overview of state laws:
http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/health/breastfeeding-state-laws.aspx
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@cmomma17: is your mom watching the baby in your house or at hers?
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Good luck! I would also consider leaving a little bit of frozen milk so you don't have to stress!
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@kemma thanks! I have read quite a bit on Kelly mom. I will leave an amount based on that math. I'm afraid the moms will over feed LO though! I have medela bottles with slow flow nipples. Paced feeding is a great tip!
@mrsf thanks!
@maisymay thanks, I hope so! I might not be able to do that forever (lunch nursing), but June and July are slow for my job so I will take advantage while I can!
@mewtill thanks for the link! I have HR on my side so I will let them know if I run into any problems. It's nice to hear your output increased over time!
@katsupgirl my mom will watch him one day a week at our house. Mom in law will have him two to three days at her house and we will stash some emergency milk at her house. I'm afraid mom in law will over feed him though!
@laineysmom thanks! I'm definitely leaving extra milk for everyone! Hope they don't blow through my hard earned stash though!
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@cmomma17: I just commented on your other thread...but WOW you get to nurse at lunch - that is AWESOME!!
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Is today your first day back? If so, good luck to you!! I'm sure your LO will do just fine with your mom! And that's soooooo awesome you can nurse at lunch - I wish I worked closer to our daycare so I could do that! And I think after a couple days, you'll have a better idea of exactly how much your LO needs during the day while you're gone and how much you can pump, and hopefully those two numbers are close to each other! I'm just BARELY able to pump enough for my LO, but so far I'm keeping up, haha. Hopefully you can too!
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@sotofamilia I know I'm very lucky! Hopefully it helps me reach my one year BFing goal!
@adira yep! Today is the day! My mom should be here in about ten minutes. One thing I didn't anticipate was LO nursing twice this morning (2nd is in progress right now). It's fine today, but won't be on the days I take him to my mom in laws!
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@cmomma17: Good luck today! Did he nurse twice in a row, or did he just not go as long between feedings as you were expecting? Maybe you can just try to give him to your in law's a little earlier with an extra bottle and let her know that he might be hungry immediately or something.
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Good luck! That's great you can go home during your lunch break to nurse...
there's definitely a transition period from nursing at home exclusively to pumping at work...it took me a while to get "set up" and figure out the most efficient way of doing things...lol...
also, i tried not to spend too much time worrying about how much i was going to pump because i didn't want to stress myself out...instead i just looked at pictures/videos of my little one
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@adira he nursed twice at a pretty regular interval. It was just hard to predict in advance since he doesn't wake up at the same time every day. I will have to leave an extra bottle on days he goes to my in laws. Those days I have to leave home at 745 instead of 830/845.
@butterbean I did look at some videos on my phone, it was nice
Thanks for the support everyone. The first day went okay. The room I'm pumping in is actually really nice so that's a relief! It's also close to the offices of two friends who are very supportive of my breastfeeding. My boss was clueless today. She was too distracted/busy today to realize what I was doing or how long it took. I expect resistance from her in the future.
I pumped twice. It took me 36 & 42 minutes. I pumped 6 oz total. My mom did okay with the baby and he ate about 12 oz total while I was gone. Nursing at lunch was nice but I felt really rushed!!
I expected C to nurse right when I got home at 5 (and my boobs did too!!!) but he ate at 4:45 so I had to pump instead. Of course he started fussing and crying while I was pumping, ugh! Stressful! Hopefully things will go smoother in the future. -
Sometimes I call the nanny when I'm getting ready to go home to make sure she doesn't feed the baby right before I get there. It drives me nuts to get home and find out she's just eaten! Caregivers can tend to overfeed....
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@cmomma17: I don't know if you'd be interested or willing to do this, but since I HAVE to be at work at 7:30, I wake up Xander to feed him in the morning. He's not too thrilled to be woken up, but it's the only way I can make sure he eats at a reasonable time and I get to work on time. Plus once he starts eating, he doesn't seem to mind that I woke him, and he goes right back to sleep after. It might be something to think about for you if he continues to be unpredictable.
Oh my gosh, I HATE it when I pick up Xander and want to nurse him right away only to find out he JUST ate and then I have to pump instead. It's such a bummer! Hopefully as you guys get into a routine, when he eats will be more predictable and work out for you better.
What are you using for a pump? Is it electric? Do you do both sides at the same time? 6oz doesn't seem like a lot for the day, though I know you went home to nurse and ended up pumping at home. Is C EBF or do you supplement with formula? Are you worried about being able to pump enough?
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@sloaneandpuffy I'm so worried about all of them over feeding! I found a good article on Kelly mom about bottle feeding breastfed babies and emailed it to everyone, hopefully they read it! Maybe I need to set a cut off time, like don't feed him past 4:30 because mama will be home soon?
@adira I am interested in the waking up idea! I think it will help with our schedule. I'll give it a few more days and see if I can figure out the best time for all of us. My DH's work schedule varies each day and week (he's in retail) so that makes things more confusing for me.
I pump both sides with a medela pump in style electric pump. I am definitely worried about producing enough for him.
Yesterday I pumped 4 oz in the am at home, then 5 or 6 oz at work, then 2 more oz at home. I don't want to make the evening at home pumping a regular occurrence if I can help it.
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This morning I only pumped 3 oz. Also C nursed more in evening last night, I wonder if he just missed the boobs and it was mostly comfort nursing? I'm telling myself he missed me
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@cmomma17: I hear you about pumping in the evening! I HATE doing that, but sometimes I have to in order to have enough milk for the next day, or because Xander ate too recently and doesn't need nursing. You could always try to take some supplements to boost your supply - that might help you get a little more output at work to cover all of C's feedings. And supposedly eating oatmeal helps - I've started eating oatmeal every morning to help my supply.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if C missed you and that's why he nursed more in the evening! Do you know how well he napped? He could have also been tired. Xander doesn't nap great at daycare and so he tends to nurse for longer in the evening because he's taking a light snooze while he's eating, haha.
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I know it's super hard but try not to stress especially while you're pumping. Are you trying to work while you pump? Don't do that! And don't watch the milk drip drip drip into the bottles. Look at pictures of your baby, or smell some article of clothing of his, and think about him. Or meditate, pray, play candy crush or whatever else can distract and relax you.
And for SURE set a cutoff time for them feeding him. I'd say an hour or 90 minutes AT LEAST before you get home. Caretakers often want to feed so the baby will go to sleep or just chill out but they can distract the baby for at least that long while they wait for you.
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@adira I've been eating oatmeal every day since I was TTC.
I do have some fenugreek I was gifted by a girlfriend so I could start that if needed. I re did the math and I pumped 10.5 ounces while C ate 9 ounces. Do you ever pump on the weekends? I'm thinking I might to stay ahead of the game.
My mom said he napped and I had her write down the times, definitely less than he sleeps with me at home.
To answer your previous question I EBF and have never given formula.@sloaneandpuffy no stressing I promise!
and definitely not doing any work! I'm eating snacks and playing on my phone during pumping time. Thanks for the advice!
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@cmomma17: 10.5 while he ate 9 is great!! Xander eats 15 oz at daycare and I'm lucky if I JUST BARELY pump that much during the day. Sometimes I have to pump at night to make up the difference.
And I always pump on the weekend. Xander is starting to sleep through the night now, so when I feed him around 5:00, he usually eats most of one side and very little from the other, so I have to pump or that side would be engorged. I usually use it to top of some of his bottles during the week, or sometimes I'll just freeze it. I also usually send an extra bottle to daycare just in case he goes through a growth spurt and gets extra hungry.
Also, I'm not sure if you have a freezer stash at all, but what was suggested to me is that you should freeze what you pump on Friday and then thaw out your oldest milk on Monday. That way you're using up your old freezer milk, but always replenishing it.
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@adira you've got a hungry boy!
I think I will aim to pump twice on the weekends for now. I built up a 68 oz stash before going back to work and I'm so afraid of using it up fast. On the advice of an LC I'm rotating through my stash. So like you said, I pull out the oldest milk to make his bottles, then I freeze my newest milk in the evening. Hopefully it all works out! I pumped 5.5 so far today and am pumping at work right now! How old is Xander? I love his name.
I hope your first day goes well and that it gets easier every day!
Yesterday I pumped 4 oz in the am at home, then 5 or 6 oz at work, then 2 more oz at home. I don't want to make the evening at home pumping a regular occurrence if I can help it.
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