Pumping at work

[Lirpa11]

Hi Ladies

I may be working again soon.

My son is almost 4 months old and exclusively breastfed. I am hoping to be able to pump and keep him on breast milk.

Just wondering how other ladies went with this? Were you successful?

I am an accountant and will be working in an accounting firm. I'd prefer to pump before work, at lunch and after work. Would that work or not?

 

[Mrsgoodhart]

Hello
My son is three months old and I've been back to work for a couple weeks now- I can share my experiences so far and hopefully it will help.
I'm an ICU nurse and I work 3-4 12 hour night shifts (7pm-7am) a week. I feed baby from one side before I leave for work and pump both sides on the way in to work. I generally get 5 ounces from both sides combined from that pump session. about 10:30 pm (4 hours later) I try to pump again and usually get another 5 ounces. then on my lunch break (2:30 am, 4 hours after the last pump) I get another 4 ounces. I prefer to try and get one more pump in around 5 am but it doesn't always happen, sometimes we are just too busy. when it does I get usually around 3-5 more ounces.
When I get home, I feed my little guy from one side and pump the other at the same time if I didn't get my 5 am pump at work. I send 16 ounces to the babysitter (four 4 ounce bottles) so I generally make what he needs plus maybe 2-3 ounces extra that I can freeze. the first night of the week that I work I send him with frozen milk, then the rest of the nights I will just send what I pumped the previous night. The last night of the week I freeze whatever I pump...I just do that so that I can rotate through the frozen stash and won't end up pouring it out in a year.
I always make sure to have a snack and some water or gatorade when I pump and try and drink lots even when I'm not pumping too.

 

[Lirpa11]

Thank you!!

I have been pumping 2-3 times a day the past week, and I have slowly seen an increase!! I was barely getting .5-1 oz if I was lucky. I now up to 3-4 oz each pumping so it should be ok. I am building my freezer stash and will hopefully pump at work for fresh milk.

I'm hoping the new job will be ok with it... But I'll say that I wil do it I my time so it interferes as little as possible to my job anyway... Fingers crossed!

 

[Lirpa11]

How do you pump on the way to work? A pumping bra? While driving?

 

[ElmaWG]

I think you may need to pump more than just before work, lunch. Though I could be wrong, since DS1 was 9 month when I went back to work, so it's difficult to compare. But I pumped twice at work with him, and just nursed before and after work.

I'm sure you can make it work and continue breast feeding. I have several friends who have done so, and I intend to with DS2. Good luck!

 

[ElmaWG]

Also, in the US your employer is legally required to provide you a lactation room (of some sort), and I imagine breaks as well.

 

[MamaBunny2]

Hi Lirpa! I remember you from a TTC/bfp group previously!

Anyways, I went back to work when LO was 6 weeks old. I work 8am - 4pm and pump at 10:15 during my half hour lunch break (when I get the greatest output) and on my two 15 minute breaks at 12:15 and 2:15. I live within 10 minutes of my job so no need to pump to and from, I just make sure to nurse LO right before I leave for work.

I leave portioned bottles of milk while I'm away. The rule of thumb is 1-1.5oz per hour you are gone. For example, I am gone for 8 hours so I leave three 4oz bottles. Or, you can take 2.5x LO's weight and that will give you an estimate of how many ounces he/she should roughly be taking in a 24 hour period. Divide that number by 24 and that will give you an hourly amount. Multiply that amount by the number of hours you will be away and that will give you the number of ounces you should leave with a caregiver (Sorry if that got confusing!)

Depending on how much you choose to leave for your LO and how much milk you are able to pump while at work, you really only need to pump enough the day before you return to work to last for that first day. Then while you are away you can pump the milk that will be given during the next day, and so on. On your last work day of the week you can either freeze what you have pumped and thaw the day before you return to work again or you can store it in the refrigerator until then, as long as it's within a five day time span.

It's recommended that baby is not overfed via bottle while away from mommy in order to encourage active nursing once mommy is back home to keep the breasts stimulated and supply up. Pace feeding helps as well to ensure baby is not quickly sucking down bottled milk then getting frustrated at the breast, as it requires more work. For example, I instruct caregivers to remove the nipple from LO's mouth after every half ounce/ounce to give him time to realize whether he is full or not, and also to try burping midway through the feed. Google "paced bottle feeding" for a better description. I also instruct not to feed within a half hour to hour of me arriving home, that way I can nurse when I arrive.

My LO is just over three months old and has been taking 4oz bottles for a month now at least and usually takes all three bottles when I'm away, however, my OH is amazing at pacing the feeds and can make two bottles last the duration.

Sorry for the novel Hope some of this helps. Good luck!

 

[MamaBunny2]

Also, in the US your employer is legally required to provide you a lactation room (of some sort), and I imagine breaks as well.

I've dealt with the Federal law concerning pumping, as my boss was trying to take away my paid break time. By law, an employer is not required to provide you with a room to pump if the workplace employs 50 people or less, which is the case for me. I pump in my car. However, if you were already getting paid break time (like me) then an employer cannot take that away from you, regardless of workplace size. If you did not get paid breaks before or do not get breaks at all then the employer does not have to pay you for such breaks. Here are some websites for reference:

https://www.dol.gov/whd/nursingmothers/

https://www.dol.gov/whd/nursingmothers/faqBTNM.htm

https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs73.htm

https://breastfeedinglaw.com/federal-law/

I actually just mailed out paperwork concerning discrimination/harassment at work. My boss is making me punch out and document my 15 minute paid break times now that I am having to pump milk, whereas I didn't have to do so beforehand and no other employee that takes paid breaks has to either. It's a shame that breastfeeding mothers get treated negatively for using breaks to pump, yet smokers can come and go as they please.

 

[ElmaWG]

Also, in the US your employer is legally required to provide you a lactation room (of some sort), and I imagine breaks as well.

I've dealt with the Federal law concerning pumping, as my boss was trying to take away my paid break time. By law, an employer is not required to provide you with a room to pump if the workplace employs 50 people or less, which is the case for me. I pump in my car. However, if you were already getting paid break time (like me) then an employer cannot take that away from you, regardless of workplace size. If you did not get paid breaks before or do not get breaks at all then the employer does not have to pay you for such breaks. Here are some websites for reference:

https://www.dol.gov/whd/nursingmothers/

https://www.dol.gov/whd/nursingmothers/faqBTNM.htm

https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs73.htm

https://breastfeedinglaw.com/federal-law/

I actually just mailed out paperwork concerning discrimination/harassment at work. My boss is making me punch out and document my 15 minute paid break times now that I am having to pump milk, whereas I didn't have to do so beforehand and no other employee that takes paid breaks has to either. It's a shame that breastfeeding mothers get treated negatively for using breaks to pump, yet smokers can come and go as they please.

Thanks for clarifying. I guess I'm lucky to work for a large employer. It's really messed up that you're going through this BS regarding your breaks. Good for you for filing a discrimination claim.

 

[MamaBunny2]

Thanks for clarifying. I guess I'm lucky to work for a large employer. It's really messed up that you're going through this BS regarding your breaks. Good for you for filing a discrimination claim.

I'm not sure how the laws are for each state, but I believe that is a general rule across the country based off of workplace size.

Thanks! Being a former smoker, I know firsthand how much excessive break time I took freely while on the clock. It's so bizarre.