[lucky 2]

Hi folks,

One more bump to see if anyone would like to share their experiences before I pin this thread.

Thank-you to all who have shared their personal experience of combining breast feeding and working outside of the home.

[First and excite...]

Number of working days per week-
3 days a week

Age of baby on return to work-
3 months old

Baby's diet- ie exclusively bf - bf with introduction of solids- no of meals and size of meals
Initially exclusively bf until 4 months.
Then slowly built up solids - started with amount equivalent to 1/4 banana and now at 7 months - 3 meals of solids equivalent 2/4 banana.

Any preparation before starting work?
Expressed for about a month to build up stock of EBM as baby would be in daycare for two feeds during the day. Also put baby on a routine so that I could have breastfeeding breaks during the work day at certain times and for baby to know when to expect a feed. I started the routine at 6 weeks.

How was baby fed in your absence?
Gave EBM to be fed from a bottle.

How did you manage your breasts at work? ie expressing or not, what type of pump, once or more a day
I only expressed for one day, expressed at 11am and 3pm when baby usually had his feed and it took up to 30 minutes to drain both breasts using the Medela Swing.
After that first day, went into daycare to feed him as it was taking 30 min to feed him anyway so there was no difference in expressing or going to feed him.

Any impact on bfing, supply and managing bfing when not at work?
No impact at all initially but I was careful to ensure I always continued to breastfeed him regularly and at the same times every day. Now at 7 months, my supply seems to be dropping but I don't think that working and breastfeeding is the cause for this.

This post has been edited by First and excited: 02/02/2011, 07:59 PM

[Love_Evie]

Hi Everybody,

My baby is 12 weeks old and my boss has is in desperate need of staff and would love for me to come back one day a week for 6 hours for 200...im a hairdresser, this is v good money!

Would love any tips. I have a v good milk supply, do I have to express at work to maintain it since it is one day a week? Being a hairdresser I only just have time to eat and drink at work!

I feel like it would be a great daddy daughter day, good for DH to get more hands on experience feeding settling etc.

Is it too soon? I dont NEED to go back, but it is a good offer... too much to think about.

I have tried expressing multiple time with the Avent manual and I have struggled to get much every time..any tips on expressing?

I wasnt planning on going back until she was 6 months and weaned to formula/solids.

Number of working days per week- 1

Age of baby on return to work- about 4 months

Baby's diet- only breastfed

Any preparation before starting work? na

How was baby fed in your absence? EBM

How did you manage your breasts at work? ??

Any impact on bfing, supply and managing bfing when not at work?

[SuezS]

Number of working days per week- 2

Age of baby on return to work- about 6 months

Baby's diet - baby led weaning breastfed

Any preparation before starting work? - had some ebm in the freezer

How was baby fed in your absence? EBM by DH

How did you manage your breasts at work - Expressed twice per day at about 11am and 3pm using a double electric pump, took 15 minutes

Any impact on bfing, supply and managing bfing when not at work? - no

[tntisme]

Number of working days per week- 6 days fulltime. 50 hours per week.

Age of baby on return to work- 8 weeks (but bub on site with me)

Baby's diet- exclusively breastfed

Any preparation before starting work? no i found out on the sunday that i had to start work on the monday... bought a breast pump (avent isis manual pump) & went to work LOL

How was baby fed in your absence? hand bottle & baby to someone & they would feed it for me!

How did you manage your breasts at work? at approx feed times i had expressing breaks of 15 minutes. I was a good cow LOL. I would express a double feed in a sitting... he would be fed one & i would freeze the other.... gave me a great store of milk for adding to food when introducing solids & also kept my supply up in a highly stressful period of my life!

Any impact on bfing, supply and managing bfing when not at work? we had some dramas with attachment from bottle to breast. we solved this by making sure the avent teat went far back into his mouth & he was actually attaching to the wider part of the teat, not just sucking on the end... if let just suck on the end he would mash my nipple at the next feed! continued to feed whenever i was not working.

I successfully continued to breastfeed for 12 months when he self weaned.

hope this helps inspire someone!!! it can be done with a positive attitude & commitment.

The only thing that would have been handy was a second pump as when i had to express twice in a shift i had to ask staff to wash & steralise the pump before the next pumping session... lucky i am the boss & i had great supportive staff!

[Rumply]

Number of working days per week- 3

Age of baby on return to work- 6.5 months

Baby's diet- Mainly breastfed, with some mashy/puree stuff. I visit the centre twice a day to feed, as DS will not take a bottle. I ensured I had care near my work. The centre has been lovely and very welcoming when I come over. I thought they would get over me coming in, but they are great about it.

Any preparation before starting work? I tried to start expressing, which was really hard, I never got enough milk out, so never got DS into drinking from the bottle before hand. I recommend getting baby to drink from the bottle sooner rather than later. I think there is a suggested age or something. I wish I had started sooner and more often.

How was baby fed in your absence? The centre just feed him food like the other kids and I go and feed in between. Depends a lot on when he has had a nap as to how hungry he is and if food will do or he wants milk.

How did you manage your breasts at work? I did have a few weeks where I was only going to the centre once a day and expressing twice. Our office had a carer's room that I would go into, where I could lock the door. I just stored the milk in satchets in the work freezer (did feel weird about it, but didn't have much choice... maybe could have taken a container to disguise it a little though).

I bought a Amelda Purely Yours double breast pump, but only used one side. As the other boob didn't usually have enough to express in it. I just poured boiling water through it after I was done.

This all turned out to be a big waste of time, as DS doesn't take the bottle.

Any impact on bfing, supply and managing bfing when not at work? Generally had low supply issues, only ever got 80 ml at a time. DS fed more when I was at home and my body just seems to cater to it pretty quickly.

I thoroughly recommend going to feed during the day if you are able to manage it. It made the transition back to work so much easier on both of us.

Talk to the carers about any issues you are having, they often have some suggestions and ideas. If not from their own experiences, then from all the mothers that in exactly the same position as you are. I get the feeling that most of us are all feeling the same way.

Good luck!

[BeYOUtiful]

Number of working days per week 2. Leave home at 6:30am and home by 6:00pm.

Age of baby on return to work 7.5mths

Baby's diet- ie exclusively bf
- bf with introduction of solids- no of meals and size of meals BF and 3 solid meals, 1/3 - 1/2 cup in size.

Any preparation before starting work? Expressed every morning to have a good supply of ebm (was nervous about not having enough).
Mum is looking after him, so we had a couple of trial runs, to ensure he would take a bottle of ebm from her.

How was baby fed in your absence? EBM via bottle.

How did you manage your breasts at work? ie expressing or not, what type of pump, once or more a day. Expressing both sides in the morning before work about 1/2hr all up. Expressing twice a day at work at 10am and 12pm, both sides, for 1/2hr or so. I am using a Medela mini electric pump, I found the Avent manual one I only pumped 30mls max.

Any impact on bfing, supply and managing bfing when not at work? I am on Motilium for supply issues. I have also had Mastitis. I work Wed/Thurs and on the Friday of the first week of work I noticed I had supply issues and J was crying at both breasts. It was like the early days again and I was a bit concerned. I gave him a bottle of ebm.

The next week at work I expressed for longer each side and so far that seems to have helped out, and no issues feeding on my non work days so far. I also ensured I was drinking enough water, which, when busy I can tend to forget about.
I have noticed the pain in my breasts is starting to return, but not as bad as the last time I had Mastitis. Although I was getting the pain again prior to being back at work.

Good luck

This post has been edited by ~Jane05~: 27/03/2011, 11:46 AM

[ali2]

I have been back at work 8 weeks, returning when DS was 5mths. I work 2 days from home, 2 days in the office which is 3hrs away which necessitates an overnight stay. I work for a small company (5 employees) with a male, baby boomer age, ex-army boss. (ie not really interested in babies). We work out of 2 small offices in a serviced office environment. So the kitchens etc are shared areas.

My main concerns and the actual outcomes were:
- Would DS return to the breast after being bottlefed (EBM) for the 36hrs that I would be away.
RESULT: Yes he does. He doesn’t mind being fed from a bottle, but seems to prefer getting it straight from the source! Before returning to work he had only been fed the odd bottle when I was going out for more than a couple of hours. The first week DH and DS came with me so I could feed him after work/overnight, but the next week I was away the full 36hrs and he jumped back on the breast on my return.
- Where would I express while at work? I shared my office with 3 colleagues, and my bosses office was also the unofficial meeting room, both with glass walls fronting the corridor. No sickroom or storage room. I thought I might have to go to my car and express from there.
RESULT: Shortly before I returned they reconfigured my managers office so the meeting room was partitioned from his actual office. It was still glass between the corridor and the meeting room and more glass to his office. I asked my manager if I could use his office twice a day for 30mins to express and he immediately said no problems. I also asked for a blind to be installed between the meeting room and office so it is private. I work around his meetings, but roughly mid morning and mid afternoon I ask to use his office and he works from my desk while I express.
- Where would I store the EBM while I was away?
RESULT: I carry a small esky with good icebricks that I keep at my desk. After I express the EBM goes straight into that. Overnight I put some of the icebricks in the work freezer, and the EBM I take back to my hotel room and put in the minibar fridge. The next day I put the icebricks that were re-frozen overnight back into the esky. I’ve found the EBM stays nice and cold the whole time. When I get home it goes straight into the freezer for DS to drink the following week. I have an AVENT electric pump and found using the VIA cups easy to use and store. Pump straight into the cup, stack them in the esky, straight into the freezer, then DH takes of the lid and replaces with a teat for feeding.
- I demand feed DS, how would DH cope particularly overnight with demand feeding, and would there be enough EBM. DS was feeding roughly every 4hrs including overnight, however this was only a loose schedule, more frequent feeding was not unusual, and overnight I would feed to sleep.
RESULT: DH developed his own routine. He has a more tough love approach and uses other settling methods overnight, and tends to stick to the 4 hourly feeds. If he runs out of EBM he feeds DS formula.

I spent hours worrying about these and other aspects of going back to work, and in the end they all seem to sort themselves out. Yes expressing is a bit of an inconvenience. It would be nice to have an uninterrupted night of sleep. I don’t set my alarm, but tend to wake up after about 6 hrs with full breasts. Otherwise I try to stick with expressing every 4hrs, but sometimes it does stretch out to 5 or 6 if I have meetings or the room is not available. After a long break I may express 1.5 – 2 feeds worth. Usually I take home 8-9 feeds which tends to cover his needs for the following week. The only downside has been the return of AF, which I think is due to the sometimes extended breaks between expressing when I am away. Supply has remained sufficient. DS is thriving. DH is loving looking after his son and I am trying to do something for myself on my child free night, one week a massage, another time dinner with a colleague, or last week simply room service and reading a book in bed!

Don’t simply think it will be too hard to keep breastfeeding when you return to work. Don’t be afraid to speak with your manager, you may be surprised how positive their reaction will be.

[lucky 2]

Thanks for continuing to share your bfing experiences, it is amazing how complicated and stressful it can be but you have all done it (not necessarily with ease ).
ali2, I am so glad you posted, your story is so inspiring in having to overcome weekly absences and continue bfing. What a fantastic outcome .

[Debs34]

Thanks for this topic It's great to read about other Mum's experiences with this. I have been back at work for 4 weeks now and feel as though I am just getting into it all.

Number of working days per week- 2

Age of baby on return to work- 6 months 3 weeks

Baby's diet- ie exclusively bf- bf with introduction of solids- no of meals and size of meals- BF 4 feeds/day + 3 solid meals/day approximately 1/3-1/2 cup in size

Any preparation before starting work?- Practice runs for DH with bottle feeding EBM and routine

How was baby fed in your absence?- EBM or formula via bottle (I hadn't expressed enough to have a good supply beforehand eeeek!! Luckily DD doesn't seem to mind!)

How did you manage your breasts at work? ie expressing or not, what type of pump, once or more a day- Expressing twice in an 8 hour shift using an Avent electric single pump. I have also purchased an Ameda Purely Yours Electric (double) pump but for some unknown reason it just doesn't work for me!


Any impact on bfing, supply and managing bfing when not at work?- Yes. I feel my supply drops in the two days I am at work and it takes a day or two to get it back up again. This is probably not helped by the fact that I don't feel as though I am emptying my breasts with the pump. Also although I am entitled to 2 half hour expressing breaks I have not been able to take them both or have had to have shorter expressing breaks due to workload and also feeling pressured by colleagues. Managing breastfeeding when not at work isn't affected, I just need to try and increase feeds for the few days after.

Last weekend (I work weekends so DH can look after DD1&2) I had an AWFUL time at work. My boss is very supportive of my choice to breastfeed and has been very accomodating with ensuring I have private space etc (leaves me with access to her office which is a big deal in my workplace!) Unfortunately she is not there on the weekends. Some of my colleagues on the other hand are not so supportive. Acting like I'm getting extra breaks to go sit and do nothing Expressing at work for me (and probably most women!) is not a comfortable/fun/relaxing thing to have to do. I do it because I want what is best for my baby. (Which I am sure all working/feeding Mum's understand and identify with) One even had the hide to tell me I should stop feeding DD as she is over 6 months and my milk is "no good for her anymore" This whole situation made me very upset and made me feel uncomfortable taking the amount of breaks and length of breaks I am entitled to. All that said though I am not going to let it stop me BF my baby! She is far more important to me than bad vibes from ignorant co workers

*Edited for spelling

This post has been edited by Debs34: 08/06/2011, 10:16 PM