I am 14 weeks pregnant and I am not sure yet how I am going to feed my baby. So I am looking into breastfeeding and formula feeding. As of right now I plan on returning to work after having the baby. But if i choose to breastfeed I think it will be alittle harder at work. How often do you have to use the breast pump? Do you always end up leaking? How long does it take to pump? Thanks.
October 11th, 2009 at 9:53 am
I have been breastfeeding for 7 months now and still going. I returned back to work when my daughter was 6 weeks. At first I pumped every 2-3 hours but slowly started eliminating a pumping session. I now go twice a day but I know people that have only pumped once a day and have been fine. I also know people that were able to not pump at all and did formula in the day time when at work and breastfed at night.
It’s important to find a schedule for you. I do recommend at first going every 2-3 hours pumping because that is the schedule your baby would be on and this will help keep up your milk supply. Then you can adjust your schedule accordingly, but keep in mind it takes time to adjust. At first I leaked but once my body got used to the timed pumping sessions I was fine (we had scheduled times to pump because we have one lactation room at work and numerous people to use it).
With pumping the time varies, depending on how quickly your body will go through the let-down process (if at all). I can pump out about 6 ounces in 10 mins but when I first started it took up to a half hour.
I did every trick in the book too when I first started pumping, I had pictures of my daughter, etc. What really help my mind associate pumping with feeding my daughter was that about 2 weeks before going back to work I started feeding my daughter out of one breast while pumping the other… this helped me out because at first I couldn’t stand the pump it would hurt and took too long, but once you get used to it youll be fine. Best of luck!
October 11th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Good mommy – thinking ahead. I only work part-time so I pump once. I use the Medela Pump In Style. I’ve used this pump since I had my first child and it’s still going strong. If you really want to breast feed, you can without using formula. Actually it’s easier. My friend works full-time and she pumps on both of her 15 minute breaks and during lunch. It’s really not a big deal pumping. There are even battery packs or car adapters that you can use if your place of work doesn’t have a particular space to pump. It takes anywhere from 10 – 15 once you master pumping. I’ve never leaked, but I don’t wear clothes that will show, just in case, like silk. You can easily use nursing pads to stop any from showing anyway. My only complaint in pumping at work is that you have to always wear two-piece outfits so you can easily pump, but that’s nothing..
October 11th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
I just started back at work last week (baby was 8 wks) I work full time, take the pump and use it during my 15 min breaks & lunch. Takes about 10-15 min for me to fill bottle. So about every 3 hours I’ll use it. I bf her while I’m at home. Just talk to your boss about it they should be understanding. Start storing your milk before you start though for whoever will watch baby.
October 11th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
often,leak alot, not practical to do at work, takes too long
October 11th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Wow, 14 weeks seem early to be planning your baby’s food lol, but I guess it’s better to plan early than late. It is very very possible to give baby 100% breastmilk (no formula) if you have the discipline to make it happen. When I gave birth 3 months ago, I thought that at best i would have to give 50% breastmilk and 50% formula, but my doctor encouraged me to try as much as possible to give 100% breastmilk. During the first month, when I was still on leave from work, I would breastfeed baby and then pump right after he finishes and generally collect about 1 to 2 ounces after 1 hour of pumping. I am not a prolific milk producer; some friends would have 10 ounces in 15 minutes of pumping, I would get at most 5 ounces after pumping for 1 hour. So during that first month, I would pump around 6 times per day, and at the same time breastfeed baby. Yes, you would feel like all you seem to be doing all day is breastfeeding, pumping, washing the pump, eating to have more milk, and then breastfeeding again. But the 1 month of hard work (yes, it did feel like work), my milk supply started increasing. Generally, your milk supply will improve the more you breastfeed/pump. By the time I was about to go back to work ( I was on leave for 1-1/2 months) — when baby was 1 month old — I would be able to pump around 5 to 7 ounces per 30 minutes (still not a prolific milk producer), pumping around 4 to 5 times per day, every 4 to 5 hours. Now, after 3 months, I only pump 3 times a day, every 8 hours or so, and produce around 10 to 12 ounces per 20 minutes of pumping. Generally, I pump right after I wake up and then breastfeed baby after I pump out my target amount of milk, go to work and pump at around 5pm (target amount of 10-12 ounces), then pump again at 11pm (target amount 10-12 onces) then breastfeed baby after pumping, go to sleep, and then the cycle begins again. Baby generally consumes around 24 to 28 ounces per day now, so by targeting a quantity that is 1 or 2 ounces more than he consumes daily, I gradually build up my stockpile of milk in the ref so that just in case I get sick or the milk spoils, baby would still have milk to drink. Yes, it is tiring, and times it feel like you are literally forcing the milk out of your breasts, but to see baby feeding pure breastmilk and getting all the benefits from it, as well as being able to go back to work at the same time, makes all that worth it. Anyway, it’s only 6 months of hard work, and you reap the benefits of having a very healthy and quick-to-recover-from-illness baby for years and years to come.
Re: Do you end up leaking? — No, because I don’t have an overabundance of milk. It really depends on how much milk you produce. But generally you do get engorged if you don’t pump or breastfeed often enough, and if you are engorged and you suddenly think of baby suckling, you will generally spring a leak.
Re: How long does it take to pump — Again, it depends on how prolific you are. I take as long as 1 hour sometimes, but some women pump for only 10 minutes; it also depends on how quick your milk “lets down”. Also, it depends on if you are using a single or dual breastpump. I recently got a dual breastpump and it cut down my pumping time by half.