Breastfeeding Tips For Working Moms

As soon as I found out I was pregnant with my son, I knew that I was going to do everything that I could to breastfeed him. I didn't worry too much about it when I was pregnant, but I tried my hardest to educate myself on breastfeeding so that I could be as prepared as possible when he arrived. I didn't think we would make it at first, but somehow we made it to 13 months and I was so proud and thankful that I never gave up. Now that I am on month 8 on the breastfeeding journey with my daughter, I have learned quite a bit about being able to successfully breastfeed and work at the same time. My breastfeeding journey with my son and daughter have been completely opposite and have allowed me to have two different experiences while breastfeeding and working. Here are my top tips on how I have been able to work full-time and continue breastfeeding.

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FYI: this is not a post to teach you how to breastfeed. If you are needing a little help, I recommend kellymom.com. This website helped me with anything I needed to know about breastfeeding. You can find almost any answer there!

SAVING MILK

When I had my first child, I followed breastfeeding by the book. I always breastfed on demand and I never pumped until he was about 6 weeks old, allowing my milk supply to level out and be the most accurate that it could be. This was great because I never had to deal with an oversupply or clogged ducts, but this made it a little tricky when I was trying to save milk to go back to work. When he was 6 weeks old I began waking up and immediately pumping to save milk. My son always ate at 5:00 am. After I fed him and he went back to sleep, I would double pump and save the milk. The milk would range from 2-5 oz of milk. Once he woke and was hungry, I would feed him. If he seemed like he was still hungry, I would feed him a little of the milk I had already pumped in a bottle and pour the leftover milk into a milk storage bag and freeze. It may seem slow at first, but over the course of a month, my storage of milk had grown. When going back to work, you technically only need one days worth of milk for the baby to drink, so try not to stress.

If you have to return back to work early (6-8 weeks) then I would start saving milk at around 4 weeks. Since I had to return to work with my daughter at 8 weeks, I started saving milk at around 4 weeks and the process was so much easier. Until about 8 weeks, you have much more milk than you do than when you hit the 8-10 week mark (or at least I always did). When I started saving milk earlier, the amount of milk I was able to save per session was much higher since I had a higher milk supply. You can try either way, but saving milk sooner alleviated a lot of the stress on me! I will definitely be choosing this option again when we have a third child.

SCHEDULING PUMPING SESSIONS

When pumping away from your baby, it is important to try and mimic your babies' feeding schedule. Since birth, I trained my baby to only feed on one side at a time. My babies always fed about every two hours, so this meant that each side was getting emptied every four hours. So when I was away from them, I made sure I was emptying the milk out every 4 hours. I tried my hardest not to go longer than that so that my milk supply would not drop. Before heading to work, I made sure I was feeding the baby at home. After picking up, I would feed them as soon as my baby was hungry. It's okay if you just pumped too. You body will still make more milk for them! This will actually boost your supply too!

Below is my typical feeding/pumping schedule.

6:30 am - feed baby at home

10:30 am - pump at work

2:30 pm - pump at work

4:00-5:30 pm - feed baby

Now that Vera is almost 9 months, I have moved my afternoon pump to 3:30. In a few months I will most likely not use the afternoon pump and just feed her when I pick her up.

SUPPLIES

To be able to continue to breastfeed and be apart from your baby, you are going to need a pump to use. I highly suggest buying an electric pump since it will allow you to be able to pump with your hands free. I used the Medela Pump in Style Advanced for both of my children. It is still working well after all of its use. I don't have any complaints about the pump, but there are a lot of great brands out there. You don't have to buy the most expensive brand either. As long as it is electric pump, then it will do the job.

*Most insurances will cover for you to have a pump now. They give you a few choices to choose from too so make sure to check it out before you purchase your own pump.

CAR OUTLET PLUG

If you are someone who drives a distance to work, or would rather pump in your car and listen to music, then buy a car outlet plug for your pump! This came in handy for me many, many times. This is also another option to have if the electricity ever goes out.

HAND PUMP

I discovered using a hand pump when my son was about 6 months old and it was LIFE CHANGING! It sounds dreadful, but really it saves so much time. Since I have to pump at work, I hate having to pump unless I absolutely have to. If I needed to quickly pump out a bottle and didn't have the time to sit and plug in, then this baby came in handy. I can walk around the house, put on make up, and drive with a hand pump! It gets the milk out much faster too. So if you are limited on time, then try out a hand pump! You aren't technically "hands free", but it is a much cheaper option. I also used this in the very beginning of my daughters life when I felt a little engorged and needed to relieve the pain.

BOTTLES

Your pump will most likely come with a few bottles, but unless you want to wash them everyday, then I suggest buying several extra. Since I have a Medela pump, I bought the small 5 ounce bottles to attach on to the top part of the pump. I usually bring 2-4 of these with me to work everyday. If I am bringing four bottles then I will put a cap on the bottles and store in my mini fridge. If I am only bringing two bottles then I will pour the milk from my first pump session into milk bags. For my afternoon pump I will use the two bottles again, but I will just screw on a cap and be good to go.

HANDS-FREE STRAP

If you want to be productive when pumping then you need a strap to hold the pump up to your body so you can relax. I found one on Amazon and have used it for both kids. They can easily be washed as well. I sized to my normal shirt size and the fit was perfect. Target has some options as well. If you don't have the money to spend, then try cutting some holes in an old sports bra. I have heard that this works!

STORAGE BAGS

I have tried many storage bags, but my favorite are the bags from Lansinoh. Some bags can be very pricey, but these are in the middle ground for price and do a wonderful job of not leaking! I have tried the cheap bags before and they tore very easily. If you are looking for a less expensive brand, the I would try out Target's off brand. I tried these many times and they did a good job too.

PUMPING BAG

With my son, I used the black bag that came with my pump. After using the pump for over a year, it became pretty beat up and reeked of sour milk. I quickly threw the bag away. When I started pumping with my daughter, I looked for another bag on Amazon and found a super cute backpack that didn't look like a pumping bag. It was also very sturdy, super roomy, and very inexpensive. You can use any bag that you already have, but this has a front zipper pocket to keep the pump at easy access when you are ready to use it.

ICE PACK & BOTTLE CARRIER

If you do not have a fridge with you at work, then you can use an ice pack to keep your milk cold. Medela actually makes an ice pack that will fit in their bottle carrier bag and it has kept my milk cold during an 8 hour work day! Breast milk will last up to 6 hours at room temperature, but I would suggest keeping it as cold as possible to be safe.

I like to transport my bottles of milk to and from childcare in a small black carrier bag. It has a convenient handle to help carry and the milk bottles stay nice and snug inside. Also, the ice pack I mentioned above can fit inside with your milk bottles to keep the milk cold. Since I use Medela bottles, I use the small cooler bag, but they also make a taller version for taller bottles.

FREEZER STORAGE

There are many ways to store your frozen milk via Pinterest. If you have a ton of milk to store then I would suggest buying a small deep freezer. I bought one at Sams Club for around $100 and it did a wonderful job at keeping the milk cold enough to store for a year! A deep freeze can keep the milk stored for up to a year, versus a regular freezer will only last about 6 months.

When I had minimal milk, I bought a storage container to keep them in. However, you can find cheaper ways to organize them by date. On Pinterest I saw people use soda boxes to store all of their milk. Super cheap and easy way to organize!

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INCREASING MILK SUPPLY

The first couple of days away from your baby might add some stress on you, and this can affect your milk supply. It always takes me at least a week to adjust to be apart from them. Below are some tips to keep your supply up.

-stay! hydrated. Try & drink half of your weight in ounces a day

-look at a picture/video of your baby when pumping, it will help your milk let down

-take deep breathes and think happy thoughts about your baby

-turn down the lights or listen to music, it will help you relax

-drink mother's milk tea, this can help increase your supply

-taking fenugreek capsules daily worked wonders for me

-pack some extra nipple pads for your bra. You may leak in between pumps

-pack an extra small towel with you to dry off the pump parts after using

Hang in there Mama! I promise, it gets easier. Feel free to reach out if you need any help.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional lactation consultant, doctor, or nurse. My opinions are all based on my own experience as a mother. My experiences may be different from yours.