Breastfeeding & Working Tips

So by the title of this post you can guess what it's going to be about.  MILK!  Specifically, some tips on continuing to make milk after you've gone back to work.  I know that most of you will just skip this post altogether.  That's fine.  But maybe you know someone who has had a baby or is about to have a baby or you will one day have a baby and you want to breastfeed said baby and after a while you want to, gasp, go back to work and, double gasp, continue to breastfeed said baby.  In that event, I think there are some tips that are definitely helpful in this arena and I wanted to share those.

Lukas turned 7 months a week ago and we're still going strong on the nursing front.  My goal of nursing for a full year is looking attainable at the moment and I may even continue beyond that a bit (more on that later and yes I do see all of you rolling your eyes at me thinking I'm becoming one of "those" mothers, and I'm OK with that.  Does it help if I mention that part of the desire to keep nursing is to continue having big boobs?  No?  Ok, forget I said that then.  It's just a thought at this point anyway.)

So here are some tips to continuing to nurse and be a working momma.

In order to continue to nurse after you've gone back to work, you'll need to become good friends with your breast pump.  As such, you need to buy a good one.  A double, electric pump is a MUST.  I'm a fan of the Medela pump-in-style, but to be honest its the only one I've tried and for all I know the others could be just as great.  The key is DOUBLE and ELECTRIC.  And pumps aren't cheap, but it is worth it in the end.  Supposedly you save something like a $1000 if you breastfeed instead of buying formula, so take out the $300 for the pump and consider yourself to have saved $700ish.   However, I would not recommend spending the extra money on the the Medela "hands free" pump, as I've heard its just really complicated and not worth the extra money.  Instead, buy a hands free bra  that allows you to pump hands free so you can type or do whatever with your hands while you pump. I'm pretty sure having that bra is one of the reasons I've stuck with it the past four months.

Another "mechanical" tip as far as pumping and working is to buy extra parts. I pump 3 times at the office so I have three sets of parts (breast shields, valves, etc.).  This way you don't have to wash the parts at the office and can just wash everything at one time at night.  And as far as that goes, I throw everything in the dishwasher in little dishwasher caddies.   You only need the 4 bottles to pump three times at work - use two during session 1, use the other two during session 2 and then combine all that milk into just two bottles so you have 2 empty bottles for your third session.  This has always worked for me, but in the event that I should have a huge output day, I keep freezer bags in my pump bag just in case.

I think the other biggest tip is to pump when the baby eats and try to stick as close to the baby's feeding schedule as possible.  If the baby drinks three bottles at daycare or with the nanny, then you should pump three times during the day.  It's how you'll keep your supply up.  Also, don't skimp on the pumping session and try to get it over with quickly.  I'm sure everyone is different, but I personally get more milk if I pump for 15 full minutes as opposed to stopping at say 12.  I also do not get more milk if I stretch out the time between sessions and pump for longer.  My supply simply goes down the longer I go between pumping sessions.  I've also found it helpful to nurse Lukas as much as he wants to when I'm home and on the weekends.  I try not to stick to any schedule on the weekends or at night and just allow the baby to set the schedule.  I've read that if you keep a rigid schedule as far as actual nursing goes, your supply might go down.  So don't worry if the baby just ate 30 minutes ago, if he seems hungry, feed him! 

Breast milk or formula is supposed to be the baby's primary nutrient source until they are a year old.  But of course they start eating some food way before that.  Once your little one starts eating "solids" your supply may go down.  I was very concerned about this and then I read something somewhere that has helped me.  Always breastfeed your baby BEFORE you give them solids.  This way they are filling up on milk rather than food and your supply will stay up.  Eventually the solids will become the main source of food and the milk will just be extra, but until then, making sure the baby gets as much milk as possible is OK.  (But I'm not a doctor, so talk to yours if you have concerns about this.  This is just what's working for me.)

So now that you have an awesome pump (and the necessary hands free bra), extra parts, and pumping often, the final and possibly most important tip is this: change your attitude.  It is ALL about your attitude.  Don't think of yourself as a cow having to be hooked up to a machine "milking" you multiple times a day. Though admittedly, from a technical stance, that is what's going on. Well, not the you being a cow part. Think of this as something you are doing for your child. A sacrifice, if you will. And pumping is a means to an end. You have to pump during the day to continue to be able to nurse your precious baby when you are together with him/her. Nursing is my bonding time with the baby and is something I really have enjoyed. If I didn't pump, then I'd have to give up this bonding and special time. I'm just not ready to do that yet. So make peace with your pump. It's necessary.

As a side note, especially to anyone on the fence about nursing in general - I was really against breastfeeding when I was pregnant. It just did not appeal to me in any way, shape or form. But Mr. Cob convinced me to give it a shot, and I am SO glad that I did. Its hard to explain, but there's just an amazing bond I feel with the little man when he's nursing. I'm sure mommas who choose not to breastfeed bond with their babies in many other ways too, but for me, nursing has been amazing.

I also think people are a little shy to talk about breastfeeding and the questions they may have.  One reason I know I've had success with continuing to nurse and work is that I have a very supportive boss and have had some friends give me tips along the way.  Most of those tips are above.  So I want to pass along the info!  As always, feel free to ask if there are any other nursing questions you have!

Being a working momma is hard.  Being a momma is hard.  But you can be a working, breastfeeding momma if you want!  Unless you're a dude.  In which case you're shit out of luck.