Pump, Pump, Pump It Out

Fears of returning to work:

• Leaving my baby with my husband
• Turning into a dairy cow

After I got over the fact that I would be leaving my baby all day because I had to return to work, I started to focus on what I will need to do to feed my baby while I am gone.  Exclusively breastfeeding (EBF) my baby was a huge commitment...pumping all day would be an even bigger commitment and I am determined to make it to at least a year on breast milk alone.  Here is what I have figured out from the two months where I pump the day away and nurse the night away.

Getting the Right Equipment:

I had to wait close to 10 weeks to have my personal pump come in from the insurance.  I went with the Hygeia Enjoye and I have been happy with this so far.  It is super light for transport and the customer service at the company is great.  Before I had that pump, I rented a hospital grade one that worked wonders to get every last drop of milk.  I use a hands free nursing bra every time I pump so I can do other things to pass the time away.

Building up a stash:

Before I returned to work I wanted to have some milk stored for those first couple of days because I had no idea how it would go.  When you EBF it makes it very hard to fit in a pump session but I was able to store up at 50 oz before I went to work.  This caused a lot of stress because this was only about two full days of milk, so if I didn't' respond well to the pump I would have no reserve, but at least we had something to start with.

Creating a system:

What milk do I feed on Monday?  How much do I need to pump and when?  How many bottles should I leave?  How should I freeze the milk?  How long is it good for?  I had so many questions so I will walk you through how I pump everyday.

I started pumping and placing right into storage bags, but I found that it was time consuming to measure out amounts while at work and I was wasting a lot of bags.  I switched over to bottles for storage for less to waste.  Every mornings I pack 4 bottles and 3 lids.  This will change based on if you yield more than what one bottle holds per pump session.  I store these bottles in a personal cooler to avoid having them in the employee fridge.  I just rinse my pump parts in between and really do not stress about sanitizing them...lets be honest, do you sanitize your boob before your baby eats?

My pump schedule is as follows:  I pump right before I leave for work at 8am, I pump at work at 10:30, 1:15 and 3:45 and then my final pump is after Nugget goes to bed at 10 pm.  The way I figured out my work pumping schedule was using a feeding app on my phone to see how often Nugget was eating.  I also could make enough milk with fewer pumps but it is really important to me to maintain my supply so I keep pumping.

Monday feeds:  So I was really confused on where I would get milk for Monday since the day before you wouldn't be pumping all day.  At the beginning I would feed frozen on Monday, which works if you do not want to pump on the weekend.  Now I combine the 10pm pump from Friday, Saturday and Sunday to make Monday's bottles.  This way we only have to pull frozen if I leave unexpectedly, which has never happened.

How much should my baby be eating:  We follow the EBF baby feeding guidelines of 1-1.5 oz per hour of separation.  I leave five 2.5 oz bottles for Dufda to feed, then I will nurse Nugget as soon as I get home. Remember that breast milk changes over time to accommodate your baby.  Just because your baby is getting bigger doesn't mean he needs more milk.

Storing left over milk:  After I prepare bottles for the next day, I freeze any extra milk in increments of 2.5 oz so that we are able to pull out a bag for each bottle that we need.  I freeze them flat so they are easy to organize and then sort them buy date to pull the oldest milk first.

How long is my milk good for:  If you have your milk in the refrigerator, you can go between 3-8 days before you feed it.  You should never reheat breast milk after you have already fed a portion of it.  I usually stick with the 3 day rule because then I know for sure it is good.  The longest would be the Friday milk I feed on Monday.  Storing in the freezer keeps your milk  edible much longer.  As for how long you can freeze for, this will depend on whether you freeze in a deep freezer or your regular freezer.  An important fact is that you should only feed dethawed breast milk within 24 hours of dethawing.

Some additional tips:  When prepping an EBF baby to be bottlefed it is important to make the experience as similar to breastfeeding as possible as to not make him prefer the bottle.  Think about it;  with a bottle your baby doesn't have to wait for a let down, there is a constant stream of liquid coming and the suck in much different.  If Nugget seems to not be feeding as well we switch from a regular nipple to the Calma nipple by Medela and he gets right on track.  

Never forget you breast pads if you leak.  There is nothing more awkward then being at work with two damp circles on your boobs.

I always throw a dish towel in my bag to help with drying of pump parts and keeping any dampness away from my pump.

I stressed over going back to work far more than was needed.  Pumping sucks but I wouldn't have it any other way to make sure that my baby is fed only the best.