Preparing to return to work
Preparing to return to work while breastfeeding can feel daunting! Here are some tips to help you feel better prepared for this transition.
Introducing a pump to your breastfeeding journey
Many mothers find they never need to introduce a pump into their breastfeeding journeys. However, if you are planning on returning to work and will be away from your baby for extended periods of time, pumping will be an important part of your journey.
When choosing a pump, I highly recommend a primary pump. A primary breast pump is a pump that reliably empties you 100% of the time. It is a pump that you know will get you the expected amount of milk every time. Typically these pumps keep you attached to a wall or have a large battery reserve!
A secondary breast pump is a pump that does not reliably empty you 100% of the time. These pumps are typically more portable/wearable and are often cordless. They are not as effective at “emptying” and you may find you pump less milk in the same time it would take a primary breast pump to empty you.
Now, I understand that secondary pumps, especially wearables are much more convenient for pumping at work. If you are planning to use a secondary pump, here are some things you can do to prevent a negative impact on your milk supply:
don’t use the secondary pump more than 3 times in 24 hours
pump for 10-15 minutes longer than you would with your primary pump in order to remove more milk
use a manual pump or hand expression after pumping to help remove remaining milk and maintain supply
wait to use a secondary pump until milk supply has regulated, typically after 6 weeks
Examples of PRIMARY pumps:
Pumpables Genie Advanced
Examples of SECONDARY pumps:
*THIS LIST IN NOT COMPREHENSIVE - THERE ARE A LOT OF PUMPS OUT THERE!*
Note: some people are lucky enough to pump just as much or more with a pump that is considered “secondary”. If that’s you, then keep doing what you’re doing! The important thing is discovering this for yourself. You can try using both a primary and secondary pump to see if your supply maintains - you will want to know if using a secondary pump has the potential to decrease your supply (by not “emptying” you fully)
Building a small freeze stash
Whether or not you decide to build a small emergency stash before returning to work, I recommend starting to pump somewhere between 2-4 weeks postpartum. You can start with just one pumping session a day. I recommend adding this pumping session in the morning when supply is highest (prolactin, the hormone responsible for milk production, peaks between 2-6am). To add this session, first feed baby like normal at the breast, and then immediately after pump for 10-15 minutes. You may not get a lot of milk when you first start adding in this pumping session. Stick with it and you will see an increase in the amount you pump. This milk can be stored in the fridge or frozen for when you start introducing a bottle to your baby.
Be sure to follow the guidelines for safe milk storage:
Freshly expressed/pumped milk is good:
at room temperature (77 degrees F or colder) up to 4 hours
in the fridge (40 degrees F) for up to 4 days
in the freezer (0 degrees F or colder) - up to 6 months is best, up to 12 months is acceptable
Another thing to note: using the correct flange size when breastfeeding is incredibly important. Check out my post on flange sizing.
Introducing a bottle
It is important to introduce a bottle before returning to work, this way there are no concerns about baby will take a bottle while you are away, Babies are born with the reflex to suck on anything you put in their mouth. This reflex begins to disappear around 6 weeks, and at this point sucking becomes a choice rather than a reflex. It is important to introduce a bottle before the 6 week mark in order to prevent bottle refusal. My professional recommendation is to introduce the bottle around 3-4 weeks, once breastfeeding is well established. Once you introduce the bottle, it is also important to continue exposure once a day or at least every other day so they get practice and are accustomed to taking a bottle when you return to work. Important note: you should be pumping to replace that feeding any time baby gets a bottle in order to protect your supply.
There are a few things to consider when starting to introduce a bottle: the nipple shape and pace feeding.
Nipple shape: the “ideal” nipple will have a gradual slope to allow baby to deeply latch onto the bottle like they do on the breast. Some examples of “ideal” nipple shapes are Evenflo balance + Wide Neck, Lansinoh, and Pigeon Wide Neck. If you are looking for a glass baby bottle with “ideal” nipple shapes, check out my Minimizing Microplastics post. A nipple with a gradual slope prevents shallow latching on the bottle nipple and is especially important for a baby that is going back and forth between bottle and breast.
Pace feeding: the way you bottle feed your baby can make a big difference. The purpose of pace feeding is to mimic the flow of breastmilk baby gets at the breast. To pace feeding, you can sit baby up on your lap or lay them on their side in your lap. Stroke their lips or chin with the nipple to encourage baby to open their mouth. You want to have them latch on the bottle similarly to latching on the breast rather than trying to shove the nipple in their closed mouth. When they do latch onto the bottle, you can let them suck on it a few times before tipping milk into the nipple. This is similar to breastfeeding, when baby has to suck a few times to stimulate a letdown before they get any milk. Ideally you will be holding the bottle horizontal to the ground so that only half or less of the nipple is filled with milk. The goal is for the flow to be similar to what they would experience at the breast to prevent bottle preference (really a flow preference). It should take your baby 10-15 minutes to finish a bottle.
I would also recommend making sure baby will take the bottle from the caregiver that will be with them when you are away at work.
Now you know how to bottle feed, but how much to you put in baby’s bottle? And how much milk do you need to leave for them?
A general guide is to leave 1-1.5 ounces of breastmilk for every hour you are away from baby. As for bottle amounts, once a baby is over 1 month old they will typically not take more than 4-5oz in one bottle feeding session. I would aim for 3-5oz bottles. It is normal for some feedings to be smaller and some larger depending on baby’s hunger! Baby’s caregiver can start with 3oz bottles and give additional milk after if baby is still showing hunger cues!
Find a pace feeding demo here
Pumping while at work
How often should you pump while at work? And how long?
A general guide is to pump on the same breastfeeding “schedule” baby usually follows, or about every 3 hours! I say “schedule” because we all know baby’s don’t necessarily follow schedules - they tell you when they are hungry! As you begin your pumping journey you will discover what your expected pumping volumes are (how much you typically pumper per session). This will help you determine how long you need to pump! Generally a pumping session will last 15-20 minutes, but some mothers will find they can pump way faster than this and others it will take longer. This is why you want to pay attention to how much you are pumping rather than a clock! If you find you have a hard time triggering a letdown when pumping away from baby, consider having an item that smells like them or looking at a photo of them while you pump!
Storing breastmilk at work
There are a lot of ways to store breastmilk while at work! You can bring bottles with you and fill them as you go, making sure to put them in a cooler bag or fridge within 4 hours of pumping. You can also store your milk in freezer bags so when you get home you can immediately put them in the freezer. My go-to method was using a breastmilk chiller from Ceres Chill (code BREASTFRIEND will take 15% off). I preferred this method because I just needed to add ice from home or work and it would keep my milk cold my entire 12 hour shift. Then I just had one container to pack around rather then bottles or bags of milk that I needed to store in the fridge! I actually left this chiller out all night after a long shift and in the morning when I woke up there was still ice and my milk was cold! I was very relieved I didn’t waste 12 ounces of my milk.
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