I went back to work at 7 weeks and was able to pump 4 times/day at the start, gradually decreasing sessions throughout the year until I quit at 12 months. Nursed for 14 months. Work did not affect my timeline.
I went back to work at 7 weeks and was able to pump 4 times/day at the start, gradually decreasing sessions throughout the year until I quit at 12 months. Nursed for 14 months. Work did not affect my timeline.
61 votes
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
Partially. It wasn't easy to get away at work to go pump and I felt guilty during busy times having to excuse myself. I think it definitely cut into my supply although overall I was ok with my experience.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
No. I pumped at work and breastfed until 17mo.
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
Nope. I pumped at work until she was 12 months old. I do feel fortunate that my employer is supportive of BFing.
persimmon / 1364 posts
Yes. If I didn't go back to work I would have kept breastfeeding. The nature of my job made it extremely cumbersome to pump.
coconut / 8234 posts
Nope. I pumped until she turned 1. But I had a lactation room and a very supportive supervisor.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
Those that pumped at work, even with a room and a supportive employer and flexible schedule, did you have trouble getting work done? I found it cut into my time a lot and it was hard enough coming back to work and worrying about the baby.
cantaloupe / 6791 posts
Nope, I pumped until he turned one. I was lucky to work from 8:45-3:45 and my school was only 10 minutes from home. I only had to pump once at work around 12 and pumped the other two times right before I left and right when I got home.
pomegranate / 3895 posts
No, it did not. I went back to work at 8 weeks. I pumped and breastfed for 12 months.
@T.H.O.U.: No, I did not. I pumped while working, though. The only thing was hard was that I traveled for work with my boss and figuring out where to stop when we were driving somewhere. I will say a lot of my headspace was spent figuring out the timing of my pumps.
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
@T.H.O.U.: No, but I only pumped twice and for about 20 minutes each time. If I needed to I would take a shorter lunch and eat at my desk but usually that wasn't necessary.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
I sure hope works doesn't affect my pumping plans. We bought a cooler that touts it's stays cold for 24 hours. I'm going to have to pump in my car 4 days a week and store the milk in my trunk inside the cooler.
coconut / 8279 posts
I also went back to work at 7 weeks but was only allowed to pump 2x a day and it definitely hurt my supply. Some days I was so stressed I could barely pump an ounce.
I gave my all and we made it to 11 months. I would've continued for as long as I could've if things had been different.
coconut / 8279 posts
@T.H.O.U.: yes, I was really stressed out. I would plug in my laptop in the conference room and pump. I would be so stressed about work it was hard to achieve the letdown no matter what the pump settings were. Every now and then someone would come in to chat while I was pumping or they would call the conference room phone for me. It was really really hard.
I thought it would be so easy, I'd be like pumping bottles full and plenty every day.
(I couldn't have pumped on my lunch break. I lived close enough to the office that I went home to nurse.)
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@LBee: Yea I had to go up to a lactation room to pump, so it was time away from work and of course my boss always seemed to need me right around 10am when I would be up there.
@lawbee11: Ugh, I had to pump 3-4 times to keep my supply. As soon as I dropped to 2 pumps my supply dropped a lot. It also meant no eating out with friend or even eating a nice lunch myself because I had to go pump (three 20 minute breaks).
pomelo / 5573 posts
Not really - I had a year of mat leave so I was able to nurse exclusively for six months (which was good because I never managed to get the hang of the pump, although the fact that I never needed to probably also affected that) and then introduce solids. I started weaning him down to 2 sessions a day at around 10 months so that by the time I went back to work I'd be down to just first thing in the morning and bedtime. The only thing is that from there he weaned himself off completely pretty quickly, which I'm not sure if he would have done if I hadn't started limiting his supply the rest of the time, but we made it to about 13 months so I was fine with that.
pear / 1718 posts
@T.H.O.U.: Yes. Even though I had every advantage at work (private office, door lock, ability to set my schedule (for the most part)), it was HUGE strain to pump 2/3 times a day. I struggled with supply the first month I went back, and even though I could pump when I needed to, it was still very draining and added even more stress to the adjustment process. I stopped pumping at around 10ish months, but I nursed part-time until I weaned LO at 15 months. I wish I hadn't been so stubborn and pump weaned much sooner. It would have been a huge relief!
pomegranate / 3355 posts
I believe my going back to work did affect my timeline. I was able to pump however it still lead to a decrease in supply and DD eventually self weaned prior to my "timeline". I fully believe if I had been home to nurse all day we would have nursed longer.
cantaloupe / 6692 posts
Yes. I feel like pumping impacted my supply. His weight began to slow down around the time I went back to work.
Had I not had to pump and stayed home with him all day to nurse I think I would have lasted a lot longer with BFing.
nectarine / 2951 posts
Yes, I was back to work after a 4.5 month maternity leave. My school does have a pumping room, but it was far away in the nurses office, the door didn't lock, it was freezing, and you could hear kids come and go to the nurse. Plus my teaching schedule made it hard to pump as much as I would have needed to keep up my supply. I think if I were at home, I would have pumped for much longer.
wonderful olive / 19353 posts
Nope because work was really accommodating about my pumping schedule. Otherwise, I'm sure it would have since I didn't exactly have the best supply.
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
Yeah, in that I accepted that it would probably affect it. I only pump once a shift at the ER, which is less than while I'm at my desk job. And I started working there when T was 4 months old. But, hey, extenuating circumstances, and formula is goodness in my book.
Pumping is a PITA. I'm pretty over it and feeling like I'm ready to quit soon, anyways, and only nurse a couple times a day. It's also been really eye opening into the world of non desk jobs-it's nearly impossible to find the time, sometimes
pomegranate / 3658 posts
@T.H.O.U.: It is tough. I am able to get work done while pumping to a certain extent since I can just bring my laptop into the pumping room, but it makes scheduling meetings difficult. Add in the fact that I have to leave work earlier in order to get home before she goes to bed, and it's a time crunch. I am looking forward to quitting pumping at some point after she turns one.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
I was able to pump at work, but there are times when meetings would delay (or sometimes severely delay) a pump, or make me miss a pump. I also had to travel into a diff office a few times and that messed with my pumping too.
I don't think this alone hurt my supply, but certainly did not help when I was already struggling.
pomegranate / 3595 posts
@T.H.O.U.: I am able to work while I pump and it is kind of a nice time to have uninterrupted thinking time. I am a supervisor so I have my own office and set my schedule which helps a lot. I just use my hands free pumping bra and get set up then work on paperwork or the computer until my timer goes off.
clementine / 756 posts
Not yet. I have a very supportive work environment and fairly flexible schedule. And great pumping rooms that have a Symphony. I try to pump 3 times per day and only miss a pump once every week or two. I also pump at home 1-2 times per day. I've been able to maintain my oversupply and start donating to our milk bank, which I absolutely love. It is a struggle to get work done in less time but I've decided I'm just not going to feel guilty about that. Luckily, I work in a very female dominated field, so people are usually pretty understanding. Plus I'm the senior leader in my group, so I kind of get to set how things are done.
pomelo / 5000 posts
It didn't affect my timeline, but I'm lucky. I walked into a classroom to find a fellow teacher in tears b/c she was having such a hard time finding the time and being supported to pump. Unless you have a teacher's aide, it's challenging to find the time just to use the bathroom, let alone pump! Teaching elementary school and pumping is challenging for sure.
pomelo / 5258 posts
So far work has not affected my timeline. I only manage to pump twice a day even though I have three times booked on my calendar. Luckily I'm making do with 2. If I needed a 3rd I'd be stressing a lot more.
grapefruit / 4418 posts
If anything, made me go longer than I expected since I enjoyed the bonding aspect after being away all day.
persimmon / 1436 posts
Yeah, I was EPing when I went back to work after my first was born and just couldn't make it work with a full-time job. Ultimately breastfeeding was not that important to me. I'm very supportive of other people BFing but it is just not for me.
persimmon / 1101 posts
@T.H.O.U.: I also pumped until one and didn't think it affected my productivity. I took no lunch break or other breaks, and worked extra hard so that no one would accuse me of or think I was slacking. It was crazy tough to schedule, though!
I am still working full time and nurse my two year old once before bed.
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