I return to work in march and will need to pump. LO will be 7 months old. I'd love to see your pumping schedule for a work day! Please include when you nurse/pump before and after work and and if you're using a single/double pump. As an SLP in schools, I travel to up to 4 schools a day, and I'm not sure how pumping is going to fit in. It's important to me to keep BF until a year so I'm hoping to make this work.
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This is essentially where our schedule is now at almost 8 months:
7:30am nurse
10 am pump
12:30pm pump
3:00 pump
5:00 nurse
7:00 nurse
9:30pm pumpThen we nurse at least twice overnight when she wakes.
The morning session is kind of in flux for the last month or so - sometimes she's not quite hungry so I'll pump a little bit, or I'll do a short pump and then offer to nurse her before I leave for work. I pump more than most it seems, but I've never produced a lot so I have to have the extra pumps for my supply and to make enough for LO. We want to EBF to one year.
Good luck with your return to work!
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Up until I stopped pumping a week ago, my schedule was:
6:30am - nurse
9am - pump
12pm - pump
3:15pm - pump
7:30pm - nurseI block feed, so when I would nurse, I'd also pump the other side before or after the nursing session.
ETA: I kept that up from the time I went back to work at 3 months until about 2-3 weeks before his 1st birthday, when I started dropping pumping sessions in order to slowly wean from the pump (I still nurse morning/night).
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7:00 am: Nurse one side, pump the other side
10:30 am: Pump at work
2:00 pm: Pump at work
5:00 pm: Nurse
7:00 pm: NurseETA: I use a double electric pump.
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At four months, our schedule looks like this:
6:00/7:00 - nurse
10:00/11:00 - pump
2:00/3:00 - pump
5:30/6:00 - nurse
7:30/8:00 - nurseWe nurse 2-3 times overnight as well. She eats three bottles while I'm at work, so right now I'm able to make up what she drinks with two pumping sessions, and I have 1-3 oz. left over (she takes 9 oz while I'm at work).
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6 am - nurse
9:30 am - pump
1 pm - pump
3:45 pm - pump
6 pm - nurseThen I nurse on demand the rest of the evening and over night. I use a double electric and am currently pumping exactly the amount he is eating while I am gone.
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5am - nurse
9am - pump
12:30pm - pump
3:00pm - pumpI nurse when I'm at home with DS. I might pump once during the night depending on how much DS eats. I use a double electric pump.
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@delight: You should get those Freemie things and pump in your car! Unless one of the schools you travel to has a spare room you can use.
I'm a school librarian with a flex-scheduled library so I not just pump once at work (on my lunch break). I used to pump twice, but I would have students and teachers constantly looking for me to check out a book or to do something. I even got paged once in the middle of pumping, even though my principal told me to pump whenever and just close the library. Super frustrating, but everyone thinks their "book emergency" is the exception to the closed library rule.
Anyway. You have some flexibility in your schedule which is great! I would just find a mostly empty parking lot and go to town.
I EP so I now pump at 6:00 am (30 minutes), 11 am (30 minutes), 3:30 pm (driving home from work for 30 min), and 8:30/9 pm (30 minutes).
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@Anagram: unfortunately those freemies don't work with the medela swing. I think I'm going to hate having a single electric but my SIL gave it to me. I am only going back for 13 weeks and then it'll be summer holidays so don't really want to invest in a double. I totally am going to try to rig a hands free pumping bra and try to pump in car. I have a 1-1.5 hour commute each way! All the schools I go to will have a room for me to use, but I just feel awkward, though I know I shouldn't. I was hoping I could get away with pumping once. Looking at these schedules it seems most people pump at least twice! You are right, I have total flexibility in my schedule, especially since I'm self employed. I can leave the schools to pump in my car or wherever, whenever I like which is nice.
@Revel: @Alivoo01: @Meltini: @avivoca: @lawbee11: @littlebug:
Wow thanks girls for posting your schedules. It really is nice to have a visual of what other moms are doing. I will be leaving the house around 7-730 so I will be able to nurse one side and pump the other before I leave. -
When DD was the same age as your LO, this was my schedule:
7:30 am - wake up and nurse
10:30 am - pump
1:30 pm - pump
4:30 pm - pump
5:45 pm - pick up DD and nurse
7:15 pm - nurse at bedtimeI have a really fast letdown, so I only pump for 10-15 minutes each time.
I have a double electric (Ameda Purely Yours) and a Simple Wishes handsfree bra.
On weekends, I would still nurse on demand, which ended up being more like every 2 hours. I never had any supply issues with switching between weekday and weekend schedules.
In your situation, I think it would be really worthwhile to have a double electric with a car plug. Does your insurance not cover a pump (it should!).
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This is just my 2nd day of working/pumping, but here's what I do:
6-7am comfort nurse on and off
8am nurse
10ish pump
12:30ish pump
3:30ish pump
6pm nurse
8pm nurse
2-3 night wakings nurseI have a double electric Freestyle and the simple wishes pumping bra. But if you want to jerry rig a pumping bra, you can cut holes in an old sports bra. And I think you could totally use the single pump on a commute that long. Just get the flanges all set in your hands free bra and then move the pump from one to the other when the first one's done.
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@delight: I teach and here is my schedule:
5:15-5:30 ish wake up/ pump
6:30 nurse LO
9:30 pump
12:30 pump
3:30 pump
5:30-6:00ish LO nurses
7-7:30ish nurse LO goes to bed
10:30ish pump once more.LO usually sleeps through the night. She is going through a growth spurt or the 4 month regression and got up twice last night. I nursed both times.
I'm able to pump what LO needs at the sitter's (15 oz), plus a little extra--usually another bottle's worth.
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6:30 breastfeed
10:30 pump
2:30 pump
6:30 breastfeed
8:45 breastfeedNow at 5.5 months I am pumping about what LO needs, but from 6 weeks to 5 months I was pumping at a significant surplus, which is why I went to twice a day. I use an Ameda Purely Yours and a simple wishes pumping bra. I pump until milk stops coming after a second letdown. I think skipping the second letdown is what caused my supply to decrease. I have my own office, so I can keep working while I pump.
I would think you would really need a double electric pump if you hope to pump a significant amount. Besides being able to only pump one side at a time, the single electric pumps are not designed to be as strong as the double electric pump.
Also, I always have a strong letdown on the opposing side when I pump only one side, so I would at least want something rigged to catch that milk. Does your insurance cover a double electric pump? I have spent a significant amount on pumping items, although the time is a much more significant cost. -
DD is nearly 7 months.
Our typical schedule:
6 am wake up
6:30 am nurse
9:30 am pump
1:30 pm pump
5:30 pm nurse
6:30 pm nurse
7:00 pm bed
9:30 pm dreamfeed
**either sleep through the night or one wakeup with nursing, usually. If STTN, may squeeze two morning nursing sessions, maybe 6 am and 7 am. I am bursting/needing to pump before 9:30 otherwise, as she often only nurses on one side.I use an Ameda Purely Yours with hands-free Simple Wishes pump bra most of the time. You may want to consider the Freemie if pumping in the car would be useful for you.
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