Tools of the Trade
I breastfed because I am cheap. Breast milk is free. That being said, I would recommend you invest in: a really good electric pump, a manual pump, spare parts, a pumping bra, bottles, milk storage bags, and bottle brush.
Nursing Bra - Simple D-lite
Pump - Hygeia Enjoye (endorsed by LLL, too)
Manual Pump - Medela Harmony (this was ok)
Bottles - Avent Natural
Milk Storage Bags - Lansinoh
Breast Pads - Lansinoh
Pumping
- Talk with HR before you get back from maternity leave and clear the 'when' and 'where' of pumping. It will make your first day back easier.
- Have something with you to help cause a let down. My pump has a recorder so I recorded the baby crying and it works. Other women bring a toy or something that smells like their baby. Looking at pictures helps too.
- Pump multiple times a day (3 or more if you can and don't skip a session). The more your remove from your breast, the more you body makes.
- Always travel with spare parts. At a minimum, I recommend stocking back ups of tubes, membranes, filters, and freezer bags.
- Try different size flanges if things don't feel right and remember that your nipples may need different sizes.
- Plan ahead to spend ahead. I'd say you should be ready to buy another pump after 6-7 months of almost daily use and the investment can get up to $200+ depending on what you use.
Bottles
- When buying bottles, look for bottles with the fewest amount of parts. The more parts your bottle has, the more time you have to spend washing them.
- Your baby may not take a bottle with you around... so leave in the early weeks so someone can try feeding the baby. They will need to be patient.
- Don't ever microwave breast milk. Very bad. My son takes his milk cold or room temperature now. Fancy bottle warms seem to take forever so do what you can to reduce reliance on warm milk.
- Make sure whoever feeds the baby (caretakers, dad, grandparents, etc.) knows about paced bottle feeding for the breastfed baby. Babies are not good at self regulating with a bottle because it is much easier than nursing at the breast and they will over eat if you let them.
- Prefill bottles to send to the sitter or day care provider. I fill 4 bottles with 3 oz each and sometimes a little more if I had it available.
- Babies need 1-1.5 oz of breast milk an hour on average. You can figure out how much to leave based upon that estimate. Then leave a little back up for the caretaker's freezer if they are ok with that.
- Find a good slow flow nipple bottle and stick to it! Large gulps from bottles that flow to fast cause gas and your baby will also eat more. After a few months, replace nipples with the same flow.
- Let your significant other help with bottle washing, pump washing, packing up for the next day, etc. It will make your life easier and it feels good know that they are involved in the process of feeding your baby.
- Reach out to LLL Leaders if you need help or have questions. Most of these women struggled themselves and it feels good to help other moms get past the hurdles.
- There are some awesome Facebook groups: Working Pumping Moms, Working Moms Who Make Breastfeeding Work, etc. Join the conversation and look at their files section for links, tips, and tricks.
If you have any other questions about nursing and working full time, don't hesitate to reach out. Thanks!
