I was just reading this thread about how much maternity leave one should take, and it raised another question -
I’m not pregnant, or trying (yet), but we are thinking about trying soon. If we do get pregnant, I will almost certainly not be able to take more than 6 weeks of leave (I don’t get any paid leave at all, just whatever sick leave I have left, and then unpaid leave). My husband has just gone back to school so I have the bigger paycheck and we just won’t be able to afford much more than that. However, I do want to breastfeed as I’ve been reading about how important that is for a number of reasons. Is it possible, with a breastpump and maybe visiting the baby during lunch hour, to keep breastfeeding in this kind of situation? Have any of you gone back to work after 6 weeks and still been able to keep breastfeeding?
Just curious
Cricket
(who is taking pre-natal vitamins just in case we decide to try…)
Yup, for most moms. Any breastmilk your baby gets is a benefit. Get a good pump, a Medela Pump-In-Style or rent a Medela Lactina. A good pump to buy will cost over $200, but that’s how much you’d dave on formula in a couple months, so you still come out ahead.
I know quite a few moms who pumped and had no supply problems, so it can most certainly be done. Many times, they will pump between once and three times a day at work, and breastfeed the baby when they are at home. Usually, you want to pump more frequently in the beginning but as the baby gets older and eats solids, you can pump less frequently.
Feel free to email me for more info, if you’d like. I worked and pumped for my first child (was working from home when #2 arrived) and did so successfully. He nursed past age 2 and did fine.
I went back to work at 9 weeks with Gabe, and pumped for him until he was 11 months old, when my ‘for-the-pump’ supply crashed and we switched to cow’s milk during the day. I then continued to nurse on evenings, mornings, and weekends for a great deal longer than that.
I went back to work at about the same age with Brendan, and am still pumping for him at just past a year. He’s allergic to dairy, and hates the other options, so I’m still pumping for him. I’ve had a few supply crashes (at 6 months, and again in the 10-11 month range), but have gotten past them with more rest, oatmeal (my favorite supply-booster), and fenugreek (an herb that helps supply).
I use a Medela Pump-in-style at work, and sometimes hand express if I have time (it works better for me, but takes more time). I initially had to pump in a variety of places, from bathrooms to conference rooms to other moms’ offices to the car, and for a while got the joy of having a lactation room available at a client site. But that was back when I was the very first woman pumping at my company. Now, we’ve got a privacy room (also used for employees to make private phone calls, such as to their doctor), used by all the staff, including the two other moms who are currently pumping.
It takes a few weeks to get used to pumping at work, but it can be done. I’ve written an article at a pregnacy/birth/parenting site on how to get more from your pump, let me know if you want a link (email).
Thanks for all the input and advice ('specially from FairyChatMom - who could not want input from the mother of The Perfect Child?) It sounds like going right back to work and still breast-feeding would take some pre-planning but is definitely possible. I’m glad to know that.
I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to go look at the La Leche League Web site myself, but I’m glad to have the personal anecdotes.
I like this thread, especially since I am in my office, reading the SDMB and pumping (and typing with one hand). It certainly can be done. My baby is almost one now, and we’re happily pumping and breastfeeding away.
One thing–even with good planning (pumping while you’re home to get a frezer stash, for instance), you, like me, may find it difficult to pump enough. I have tried all of the remedies hedra mentioned, but they didn’t help me. I have never pumped enough for my son’s daily needs.
No need to give up though: I pump as much as I can and when daycare runs out of milk, my baby gets formula–usually only one bottle a day. He still gets all the benefits of breastmilk–we nurse in the morning, in the evening and sometimes in the middle of the night, and throughout the day on the weekends–and I learned not to feel guilty about the occassional formula. I’m proud I have made it this long.
HAH! I can’t imagine any more up-to-the-minute advice that to hear from someone that’s practicing what she preaches at this very moment!
I don’t know why, but it never occured to me that you could use a combination of formula and breast milk if you had too. I’m learning so much! If I go ahead with this (and if we do manage to get pregnant!) I’m gonna spend a long time searching out every pregnancy thread on this board.
Cricket
I’d like to put in a recommendation for a breast pump if you decide to go that route. Look into the Avent Isis breast pump. It’s small, easy to use, inexpensive and works well with their disposable bottle system. You could buy a few bottles and pump directly into the bottle, put a nipple on it and send it to the daycare. The important thing to remember about pumping is how the pump gets the milk out. Most pumps, especially electric pumps, work primarially on suction, pulling the milk out. The Isis works by stimulating your breast the way a baby does and activating “let down”. When this occurs the milk flows on its own with very little suction needed.
My wife has used our Isis for two children so far and we love it. Although we don’t bottle-feed often(she’s a stay-at-home mom), we still like to have the option when we need a night out or have to take some time away from the baby.
I have an Avent Isis, too. The problem for using it daily at work is that it isn’t a double pump. I get very good results from it, but it takes (not too surprisingly) at least twice as long to do one side and then the other as it does to do both sides at once with an electric double-pump. Not to mention that my hands get very sore (repetitive stress) when I need to do a whole 8-12 oz pumping session. OWIE. 4-5 ounces, no biggie, takes 10-15 minutes. But the double electric is a boon indeed when you’ve got to fit three pumping sessions into your day and still make a full day’s work and also make it home in time to pick up the cutie from daycare.
Great for travel, though- even on the airplane! (had to go overseas for a week, once, and came back with a higher supply than I had when I left!) Best manual pump on the market, IMHO. (and I use their bottles, too - not hard to use with other pumps at all, just bought the pump adapter and off we went!)
We fed both formula and breastmilk because I couldn’t pump enough to meet my son’s supply (some breasts are just stubborn like that). But I did do it daily, using my handy-dandy Pump in Style and sometimes my Avent Isis. Amidela also makes very good pumps. My coworkers knew to stay away when the office door was shut, and they respected my little bottles in the fridge. Many a time I typed with one hand while holding the pump horn to a breast with the other.
There are tons of support groups and such on the web for this. I belonged to a “pumping moms” email list for awhile.
I’m with Cranky and hedra. I have the Pump in Style and the Avent Isis. If you’ve got to pump for daycare, got the electronic double-pump route. Ameda also makes good pumps.
The Isis is good if you’re away from the kidling and you need to pump to lessen the pressure. I used to take mine with me when I had to go to a doctor’s appointment or something and was going to be away for awhile. I carried an insulated container with frozen ice packs. It was great.
I’ve also used the Isis at home if I need to pump some extra. I leave my Medela at work because it’s heavy.
As for pumping with one hand, I just read somewhere that Sarah Jessica Parker bought a “pumping bustier” so she could pump with her hands free. I wonder if it was this one: http://www.growinglife.com/Bras/expression.htm
Although I went back to work sixteen weeks after giving birth, I pumped at work. Well, actually I hand expressed. I found manually expressing the milk to be much less painless than all the aformentioned pumps. I also thought it was quicker, too.
Luckily for me, I had my own office so I would just close the door when the time came and express away.
We’re (well, mainly I’m) expecting our third little one and I plan to breast feed this one, too.
