Breastfeeding and Working (Mom-to-Mom #21)
September 7, 2009 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under Mom-to-Mom, pumping
As some of us enjoy a break from working for the Labor Day holiday, I would like to ask your input on breastfeeding and working. I know all about juggling breastfeeding and the work of a stay-at-home mother, but I don’t have insight into breastfeeding and working outside the home.
Photo by Boris Peterka
- How did you prepare to return to work after maternity leave and what do you wish you had done differently?
- What was surprising to you — easier, harder, different — about working and breastfeeding?
- Did you face challenges with pumping? Was your employer supportive?
- Did your baby reverse cycle (nurse more at night to make up for the separation during the day)?
- Do you have any tips or other thoughts you would like to share on breastfeeding and working?
Thanks for your input!
I have worked and pumped for two babies now. My first was 6 weeks when I returned and my second 10 weeks. Too young, sigh, welcome to the American no paid maternity leave system. The experience of each were completely different–just like the babies! I pumped until they were both about 13 months, then we kept nursing, just not pumping. It’s kind of crazy to stop pumping after a year of the routine, but one day you just hang up the horns!
- How did you prepare to return to work after maternity leave and what do you wish you had done differently?
I purchased an Ameda double electric. I absolutely love my Ameda and I’ve used it for both babies. Make sure you have enough breastmilk storage bags and a plan of how to store your milk. Familiarize yourself with how long milk is good (a very long time) and how breastmilk differs from formula. If you have a caretaker that is used to formula, they may not know that breastmilk keeps longer and doesn’t necessarily need to be discarded if some is left in the bottle. If you’re up on your storage guidelines you’ll waste less milk.
Read up on what other women do because you never know what will apply to you in your situation. Get a book on nursing, I like the Nursing Mother’s Companion Guide, so that you can troubleshoot any nursing issues. Your baby will have growth spurts and nursing patterns will change, don’t panic, it’s normal, just nurse on demand whenever you’re with your baby.
- What was surprising to you — easier, harder, different — about working and breastfeeding?
Pumping can be both a grind and a time to relax during the work day. I had to almost go to another place while pumping, taking deep breaths, thinking of my baby, it’s kind of like meditating at first. It can be a challenge to find that kind of relaxation if you’re stressed from working. And you have to relax, otherwise your milk won’t let down. Pumping just becomes another thing that you do everyday, and you commit to it for your baby. You have to trust that your body will make the milk your baby needs. It’s surprising that working and breastfeeding becomes even more about trusting your body.
Keep a few extra pairs of nursing pads (love Lansinoh in the purple box) in your office or your car. You may think your time for leaking is past, but one day, you may be sitting at your desk and spring a leak.
- Did you face challenges with pumping? Was your employer supportive?
Both of my employers were incredibly supportive. My first employer allowed me to bring the baby to work for half days until he was about 3 months old. There was never an issue with taking the time I needed to pump. There was a mother’s lounge type room that was inside the women’s rest room. The lounge had a long, wide chaise and a door that closed and locked. It was marvelous. The only challenge was that there were three or four of us pumping and working. We just emailed each other to coordinate times to use the room if we knew we might want to go about the same time. We usually budgeted about 30 minutes each, just for a little leeway and clean up time.
My second employer was also wonderful, if I had to leave to go home and nurse the baby they were just fine with that (I only lived 10 minutes away.) We were a small, growing company so there wasn’t a lot of space for anyone (we were piled up 3 in an office.) I never had to pump in the bathroom, but I did need to move around to find an empty office or conference room that I could lock. Time was never an issue. I started this job when my baby was 10 weeks, but I’d discussed with my boss that pumping and my baby would be my priorities, they were 100% happy to accommodate anything I needed (and that’s part of the reason I’m still working there 2.5 years later.)
- Did your baby reverse cycle (nurse more at night to make up for the separation during the day)?
My second baby was a reverse cycler. In fact, he would often refuse a bottle until I got home, sometimes not eating for 6 hours. Don’t panic, babies know when they’re hungry. He’d make up for it by nursing while I slept.
- Do you have any tips or other thoughts you would like to share on breastfeeding and working?
I didn’t figure out sleeping with my baby until my second came along. It’s SO MUCH better if you can co-sleep. I got a lot more sleep and my supply never suffered. Co-sleeping is specially helpful when your baby goes through growth spurts and tries to up your milk supply by nursing constantly.
Freeze your milk in smaller portions, 2-3 ounces. It’s tempting to put 4-6 ounces in a bag, and you can occasionally, but try to keep smaller portions so that you only pull out what you’ll need. Sometimes I’d label the time of day on the bag, or the type of milk (more foremilk, more hindmilk, evening, morning, etc.) to make it easier to mix and match bags.
Try something called tandem pumping: when the baby nurses on one side and you pump the other. I did this with the first session of the day, often on Saturdays as well (an extra day or two of pumping on the weekend will sometimes help you get a little supply built up in the freezer. It’s a cushion that keeps your mind at ease.) Get the pump set up at night before you go to bed so you can just roll out and pump/nurse the baby. It’s a little tricky to get the hang of latching the baby and then the pump, but you can figure it out–a nursing pillow, like a Boppy, helped.
You don’t have to freeze all your pumped milk. You can keep expressed milk in your fridge for a week, so you can combine milk from sessions to make one bottle or for one package. Just use the date of the oldest milk.
Babymoons are wonderful. If you can spend an occasional day skin to skin with your baby, with free access to nursing, it really helps keep your supply.
Your baby will go through growth spurts when they want to nurse or eat more often to increase your supply –DO NOT PANIC– simply try to sneak in an extra pumping session or two, even if it’s short like 5-10 minutes, it will help. You can also try to pump after your baby is down for the night, just for a couple days. Your supply will increase and they’ll settle down again into more manageable times.
Azucar, your tips were so helpful! Thank you very much for taking the time to share all of your advice. My summary post will be up on Monday, September 28.
This topic is on my mind too since I’m returning to work full time in exactly a week! I shared some of my thoughts and plans here.
To add to that in response to your questions, I would say that one thing I wasn’t prepared for was how time-consuming work-pumping can be. I used to be able to use break time to get things done, go for a walk, and build relationships with my coworkers. Pumping fills all that time. It’s important, and of course it’s worth it for my baby. I just didn’t realize how full my day would feel!
Thanks Christina! It’s wonderful to hear how you’ve made it work for you!
I returned to work when my son was 15 weeks old – luckily we’d made it past that 3 month growth spurt, so upping my supply via pump was never an issue. The baby stays at home with my husband all day, who is a wedding photographer and now a stay at home dad. He’s ten months old, and I’m still pumping, although I’m starting to think about how pumping may change after he reaches his birthday.
How did you prepare to return to work after maternity leave and what do you wish you had done differently?
The week before I went back to work, I started pumping during “work hours” and feeding him by bottle. I thought it may ease the transition to bottle feeding for him if it was me still giving it too him. Also, it would give me a chance to gauge how much milk he was drinking, and if there would be any issues (hello sore nipples!). I’m glad we did this week long “trial run”. I was able to toughen up a little to the new way my breasts were being sucked on, and we also learned that our bottle nipples were too slow flow for him to be satisfied. These were two things we didn’t have to worry about during my first days back.
- What was surprising to you — easier, harder, different — about working and breastfeeding?
I was surprised how normal I felt being back at work. (Of course I would stay home in a second if we could figure out how). I was pretty easily able to slip pumping breaks between meetings. The worst part of working and pumping is washing all the bottles and equipment every night. I really hate doing that.
- Did you face challenges with pumping? Was your employer supportive?
Really, everything went really smoothly. I work for a very large consumer goods company, who provides a Medela Pump-in-style double electric pump to any breastfeeding mom for a small co-pay. I also was offered free lactation counseling, and had the sweetest old lady checking in with me before and after the birth to make sure everything was working smoothly, and to answer any questions I had. She also made a special call just to discuss pumping at work. I work in California, so my employer is required to provide a non-bathroom place to pump. Our campus has two “Nurture Rooms” with a hospital grade pump, a couch and a fridge. Work also provided spare parts for the multi-user pumps (the Medela Lactina, I think). I was pleased that the bottles and horns worked with my Pump-in-Style. There is a small employee lounge right by the restroom closest to my desk which is where I usually pump. I started out pumping three times a day for a few weeks, then moved to twice a day when I realized I could get roughly the same volume of milk in two vs. three pumps. I always pumped way more than I needed, because I was so worried about losing my supply. Fortunately, my milk was abundant, and I have donated over 1000 oz of milk to a family and a milk bank. Once solids were firmly established, around 8 months, I cut back to one pump a day.
There have never been any negative comments, or trouble at work with the breaks I’ve taken to pump. (I’ve never really asked, or told my boss about my pumping schedule, I just do what I have to do). There have been a couple of times, I’ve been in a different building without a Nurture space all day, or at offsite meetings, but everyone has been incredibly supportive in letting me borrow empty offices, or supply rooms. I’ve never had to pump in a bathroom.
- Did your baby reverse cycle (nurse more at night to make up for the separation during the day)?
Yes, yes, yes. This was really hard. From four months to eight or nine months he was feeding at least three times through the night. We eventually started co-sleeping, which helped, but caused other issues for our family that made me have to force the issue of him sleeping in his crib. People have asked me how I handled all the night feedings and going to work in the morning. All I can say is that you just do what you have to do, rise to the occasion, and remember that it’s not forever. I figured that if I couldn’t be with him during that day, then it was good that we got extra time together through the night. It’s a compliment, really, that the baby prefers getting his milk directly from the source…
- Do you have any tips or other thoughts you would like to share on breastfeeding and working?
I made the commitment to myself when I went back that my baby and breastfeeding take priority over my job. This means that if I have to pump, I do, even if it makes me late to a meeting. When I had a clogged duct, I took a sick day to work it out before it got worse. I encourage other moms to keep it up, even when it’s hard. Pumping at work is a big commitment, but if you have to be away from your baby, your milk is the best thing you can leave behind for him. I know pumping can be much more difficult than it was for me, but if you can only bring home 4 ounces a day, it still counts! If your having trouble, get help! Connect with other moms at work who have done the same thing, and don’t give up!
I returned to work when my daughter was one year old, since I’m Canadian and we have long maternity leaves. I didn’t do any particular preparation, and I didn’t pump. At that age my daughter wasn’t willing to take a bottle of my milk, and my research suggested that most moms stop pumping around that time anyway.
However, my daughter did start reverse cycling. Knowing that it was likely to happen did help me when it actually happened.
Something happened that surprised me. I worked Monday / Wednesday / Friday from the office. The other days I was working at home with my daughter. My work days were long – we were apart for 9-10 hours at a stretch. On days when we were together, my daughter nursed frequently. And on days when were apart, my body just adjusted. It was amazing to me how it just seemed to ‘know’ whether it needed to make milk or not, especially because it alternated days. The human body is a truly amazing machine!
Thanks so much Amber! I appreciate your advice!
I had so many thoughts after reading this that I made a full post about my experiences Breastfeeding and Working.
- How did you prepare to return to work after maternity leave and what do you wish you had done differently?
I went back to work way too early (5 weeks). I think this in large part due to my own insecurity and also PPD. I plan on taking a longer leave next time and would encourage everyone to do the same.
- What was surprising to you — easier, harder, different — about working and breastfeeding?
It was definitely harder. I did my best to soak up all of the information I could find on the topic, but it still hit me like a ton of bricks.
- Did you face challenges with pumping? Was your employer supportive?
My employer was borderline supportive – as in, I could do it without being harassed (which is better than some), but not particularly supportive. In partiular, they were willing to help out with that early on, but then wanted me to return to a more “normal” schedule a few months in.
- Did your baby reverse cycle (nurse more at night to make up for the separation during the day)?
Jack started reverse cycling when he was a few months old, waking every 2 hours to nurse. He’s 20 months old now and still has the same night nursing schedule. Some habits are hard to break…
- Do you have any tips or other thoughts you would like to share on breastfeeding and working?
I think that to be successful breastfeeding and working, it needs to be a very strong commitment. Despite thinking that it’s so hard, I still think it was worth it and would do it again in a heartbeat.
Thank you Amber! Your honesty is refreshing and will help a lot of other mothers!
I returned to work at 4 months and made the decision to only work 3 days for a total of 20 hours. I can’t imagine working more than that. I felt lucky to have also made it through the 3 month growth spurt before returning to work (it blew my mind).
- How did you prepare to return to work after maternity leave and what do you wish you had done differently?
I wish that I hadn’t worried so much about leaving my son. He is with a friend, my mother in law and my husband…I couldn’t have had a better situation and still, I worried. That being said, I know it is completely normal. I had been pumping for about 2 months prior to returning to work and my son was not a bottle lover, so it took a while for him to take to one (Adiri). I spoke with my employer about pumping times and a spot to pump early on, I made it clear to her that this was a priority and in my mind there was no other option but to have the time and place to pump. I also perseverated on how my son’s nap schedule would work…DON”T, they change so much that there is little consistancy with the napping anyway!
- What was surprising to you — easier, harder, different — about working and breastfeeding?
I am a very proud breastfeeding mother. Everyone knows that I breastfeed and pump twice daily at work. I am so pleased at the dialouges that have opened up with other women regarding breastfeeding and our children in general. I was amazed at how pumping just becomes a part of what you do during the day. That being said, I can’t say I particularly enjoy pumping and some days I downright hate it! The most difficult part of working and BFing for me is that my son will only fall asleep easily if he is nursed. This has made it difficult at times for others to get him to nap during the day. I
- Did you face challenges with pumping? Was your employer supportive?
I have an oversupply problem so I had to be careful in the beginning not to pump too much or my sensitive supply would go crazy. My employer is amazingly supportive and offers her office all of the time for me to pump in. I think it will be interesting to see if everyone remains as supportive when I continue pumping following my son’s first birthday in December.
- Did your baby reverse cycle (nurse more at night to make up for the separation during the day)?
In the beginning, no he didn’t. I feel that he is doing it more now (he is 9 months old) but this could be due to being very active during the day and going through some separation anxiety.
- Do you have any tips or other thoughts you would like to share on breastfeeding and working?
I feel that in order to pump and continue to EBF while working, you need to be completely, 100% commited to breastfeeding. Otherwise it is too easy to start to drop pumping sessions and as a result have a decrease in supply. I also feel so fortunate to be able to be home with my son more days than I am at work…the more days that we breastfeed at home, the better for my supply. If you have any flexibility with your job and finances, work part time. I love my job and the socializing at work and I feel like I have the best of both worlds.
Thank you very much Sara! I appreciate that you took the time to share your helpful advice!