Working and Pumping Advice (Mom-to-Mom #19)
June 9, 2009 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under Mom-to-Mom, books, pumping
Working mothers deserve a lot of credit for the dedication it takes to pump at work. I loved seeing this question posted from one working mother to another, and I thought it would be perfect to throw out to all the working moms out there.
I am a working mom breastfeeding my 9 month old, I am one of those that at first thought it would only be for 6 months but here I am with no real signs of weaning anytime soon. Since you are a working mom still breastfeeding, I was wondering if you could answer some questions I’ve had that I can’t seem to find answers to anywhere…Do you still pump and if so how often? Have you dropped any pumps over the years and if so how/when? Does your child still nurse regularly or is it sporadic? My main questions revolve around maintaining a supply when they are not nursing as much as before. I’ve heard of extended breastfeeders whose babies only nurse a few times a week…how does your body maintain a supply if they are nursing so little? I really want to give up the pump before bed because it’s an extra pump that mainly just builds my frozen milk supply and it seems to add a good 30-45 minutes to my getting ready for bed routine (it’d be nice to be able to just go to bed when I’m ready without having to worry about pumping, cleaning parts, etc. beforehand). Any info, resources you found helpful or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Medela Pump in Style in its Backpack
. Another great resource for you is this article from La Leche League’s NEW BEGINNINGS magazine on Weaning from the Pump. I hope other working mothers will chime in with comments here on how they weaned from pumping and continued to breastfeed!
Congrats to you for pumping for so long! I know it isn’t easy.
I stopped pumping when my daughter was around 8 or 9 months. I had enough freezer supply to last a few more months and was really just DONE with the pump. Plus she was eating solids at this point so I was able to stretch the bm I was pumping for her a little further. I took one pumping session out at first and then only pumped every other day or so until I stopped all together. There would be times during the day I would swell and really have the urge to pump–and sometimes I did. But once I gave it up for good, I never had any supply issues. Once you have been steadily nursing for that long your body is able to adjust its levels more easily without completly drying up.
My daughter is now 17 months and is still nursing on demand. Sometimes she is too busy to be bothered and other days she is all over me. My supply has been able to keep up with her even though I work full time, and gave up the pump.
Good luck!
I pumped with two babies for one year each. At about 13 months I hung up the horns and continued to nurse for another year and a half (still have one nursling.)
I pumped twice a day, at the first morning feed and once while at work. Since I was only missing one feeding, that worked for us. If I was missing two feedings, I would pump twice at work. As baby grew older, I usually only pumped once a day while at work, and by around 9-10 months, rarely pumped in the office anymore.
Instead of pumping at night, when your volume of milk is lower (although you have more hindmilk) I pumped in the morning. Before I went to sleep I’d lay out the pump. In the morning, while my older baby nursed on one side, I’d pump the other. You get a lot of volume by tandem pumping like that. I’d keep that first morning pump even on weekends (although by the end I let that go as well) and stashed that in the fridge or freezer for backup.
Generally, by 9 months or so, the baby was nursing only about 5-6 times a day, so even just the morning pump session would work for me. It really depends on how much your baby is nursing and will require your milk. One of my kids became a reverse-cycler around that point (nursing more at night) and asked for less milk during the day.
At a year, I stop pumping. Baby was nursing about 4 times a day then and could often wait until I got home from work, as well as the morning sessions. They drank other liquids and ate solids at that point. Between 12-24 months, both my kids went from about 4 times a day to 2 times a day, sometimes more on weekends, and occasional middle of the nighters. Right now, with a 27 month old, he nurses 2 times, sometimes only once before bedtime (if I can distract him with breakfast when he first awakens.)
I love nursing while I’m working, it’s such a great way to reconnect with the babies after I come home, to really dedicate the time and energy to keep that bond. Did that help?
I haven’t weaned from the pump, but I have gone from pumping 3x day at work to 1. My baby is 13 months old now with no signs of stopping breastfeeding (which is fine with me!), but I feel proud of the gradual changes we’ve been able to make with less milk during the day (and more solid foods, which she fortunately enjoys). I look forward to the day when I don’t have to pump at all at work, but I am definitely less stressed about pumping “enough” milk now that she’s eating more solid foods. We’re focusing more now on the connection that breastfeeding affords us, and that connection is definitely greater in person
Hi,
My baby is 6 weeks old,have to get back to work by 12 wks,
when should i strt pumping and giving bottle.i will work frm 6-3pm.plz guide me.
Go ahead and start pumping now and offer a bottle occasionally but do not force it. It’s helpful to build up a freezer stash of milk. Check out this information from Kellymom.com for more tips on pumping and working:
http://kellymom.com/bf/pumping/index.html
Good luck!
p.s. Your body makes the right amount of milk for what your baby demands. If your baby starts nursing more, you’ll make more. If your baby starts nursing less, your body will make less. It’s quite the awesome system. I wouldn’t worry too much about numbers, and concentrate on what your baby seems to be asking for.
My daughter is 7 1/2 months and I work full-time. I only pump during when she takes her bottle–every 4 hours, so twice when I’m at work. I HATE pumping but am glad for her to have the milk. I refuse to pump more to build a stash though, because I just despise it. If I do pump more than she needs, I will freeze those few ounces for days when I don’t get as much as she needs.
She does nurse a LOT when we get home at night, but then sleeps at least 9 hours at night usually. It’s nice to have that bonding and if she’ll sleep, I’m game!!
I started pumping when both my children were six months old, my oldest b/c I went to finish school and my youngest b/c I went to work part time. With both, I simply finished school and quit my job after about six months and stopped pumping cold turkey, as they were with me full time again.
My son is now two and a half, so I am going off memory. I actually only went back to work around nine months (I know, I was lucky!), but I was pumping three times a day when I did. Around one year, I dropped to twice a day, and then worked my way down to giving up the pump. During that time, however, I continued to nurse on demand when we were together. He never was good about taking a bottle at daycare, so I had plenty for him during the day as I dropped sessions and because he reverse cycled, he always had plenty at night too.
At two and a half, he still nurses two to three times per day, but I have noticed the sessions are getting shorter! Also, I was gone last week (Sunday through late Friday night) for work, and I only hand expressed to relieve pressure, yet Saturday he had all the milk he wanted! I’m constantly floored at the wonders of the human body!
I really admire you nursing working moms! As a sahm, I only pumped once a day for the church nursery and when I left the baby with daddy or my mom to get a bit of a break…and that was hard enough! I second pumping during the first morning nursing session, you get a ton of milk then.
I pumped for my son until he was 12 months. I started at 3x per day, dropped to 2x when he was about 10 months old, then down to one the last month. He is now nearly 16 months and still nurses about 3-4 times a day when I am at home and I don’t pump anymore. For me, I just adjusted the timing of my pumping sessions to gradually taper off. I had a large freezer stash, so he was able to slowly wean off a bottle at about 13-14 months and onto cow’s milk during the day.
Congrats on continuing to pump – I know it is difficult! Your body adjusts to what your baby needs, so if you do it gradually it won’t be painful.