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expressing at work
just wondering if any of you have done this and what your experiences have been with your employer and colleagues.
ill be returning when my LO is 8 months, my HV tells me a morning and night BF would be ok and LO could have water and food the rest of the time, just to pay special attention to the dairy in his diet. However, im working shifts 3 days a week so will have variable time in morning/afternoons and days off with him (will also work some nigts which will mean i can BF as normal those weeks) so am keen to keep up the extra feed. She tells me that i can't do this some days and not the days i work as it will lead to engorgement - although a friend of mine did this from 8-15 months with no problems.
my day shift times are 0715-1515 and 1300-2100. I know if i miss LO getting up or going to bed will need to express at these times. Do you think for the mid day one i could just bf after early shift at 1600 ish or before late shift at 1200 ish? Or will my body not be able to be that flexible, leading to engorgement or reduced supply?
I find the whole thing a bit mind blowing. I know my employer has to support my decision (although i have a feeling she will do this begrudgingly) and a lot of shifts i probably will be able to express - but then i know ill want to bf my lo when i see him too so maybe i wont need to? also some shifts it will be impossible due to the nature of my work, and i dont want to end up with mastitis. I these would be in the minority though.
re pumps - what would people recommend? I have a tommee tippee handheld and i can get 3oz off a time on this - which doesnt strike me as that much. I work in a maternity unit which has a couple of hospital grade pumps - they are fab and was considering asking my employer if i could use one, could do both sides at same time and there is supposed to be nothing better. She can be funny though so dont know if she'd say yes, and of course may still need to express at home when LO is asleep so any advice of whats good out there would be great xx
ill be returning when my LO is 8 months, my HV tells me a morning and night BF would be ok and LO could have water and food the rest of the time, just to pay special attention to the dairy in his diet. However, im working shifts 3 days a week so will have variable time in morning/afternoons and days off with him (will also work some nigts which will mean i can BF as normal those weeks) so am keen to keep up the extra feed. She tells me that i can't do this some days and not the days i work as it will lead to engorgement - although a friend of mine did this from 8-15 months with no problems.
my day shift times are 0715-1515 and 1300-2100. I know if i miss LO getting up or going to bed will need to express at these times. Do you think for the mid day one i could just bf after early shift at 1600 ish or before late shift at 1200 ish? Or will my body not be able to be that flexible, leading to engorgement or reduced supply?
I find the whole thing a bit mind blowing. I know my employer has to support my decision (although i have a feeling she will do this begrudgingly) and a lot of shifts i probably will be able to express - but then i know ill want to bf my lo when i see him too so maybe i wont need to? also some shifts it will be impossible due to the nature of my work, and i dont want to end up with mastitis. I these would be in the minority though.
re pumps - what would people recommend? I have a tommee tippee handheld and i can get 3oz off a time on this - which doesnt strike me as that much. I work in a maternity unit which has a couple of hospital grade pumps - they are fab and was considering asking my employer if i could use one, could do both sides at same time and there is supposed to be nothing better. She can be funny though so dont know if she'd say yes, and of course may still need to express at home when LO is asleep so any advice of whats good out there would be great xx
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Also have a friend who didn't express at all at work but then bf her LO days she was with her, and she never had any problems either. Not to say it will be the same for you, but in my experience it hasn't been a problem.
How long till you go back to work?
xx
ETA I had a Medela Swing pump, it was OK but if I were you I'd push for the hospital grade double pump if possible!! You could use the argument that's it's much faster so you'll be away from work for less time
will definately push for the hospital pump - they cost 3K so dont think ill be getting one for myself lol. There will be times when i miss LO's getting up and bed times when ill have to pump at home though so still fancy something better for myself than the handheld as ill often be in a rush
i mentioned all this on my other thread but am seriously considering buying a pricey hospital grade pump for my return to work in 3 months - and if im going to make that decision id rather make it now so i can get some use out of it!
We didnt have a lot of flash equipment for our LO and had lots of second hand stuff, i also feel what we put into him is pretty much the most important thing of all so if hospital grade pumps really are the best then i think it might be worth it. I have a stressful job which will involve me having to fight to prioritise the expressign and could do with the ease of knowing im getting the best stimulation possibly and hopefully it will be quicker. I dont do fantastically well with the advent handheld i have (30 mins of swapping boobs might get me 5oz). Ive been considering the medella symphony as looks compact, subtle (in a little back pack), can do both sides at once and has a cool pack too to make the milk cold.
Even if, once LO is on food it turns out i dont have to do that much expressing im a shift worker and to keep the feed times similar i may need to do it at home eg if i get home after LO is in bed.
Apart from the physical benefits to LO of breast milk, i just feel the emotional trauma of my milk going away and being unable to have that special time with my LO on top of having to be away from him for the first time will make it tougher for both of us. has anyone got any experience of pricey pumps? x
I am back at work now this is my third week. I teach and can only express at lunch times. I have 2 tommee tippee manual pumps and get about 6 oz between the 2. When I am not at work I either keep this going or bf instead. If I have a manic day at school with children palying up at lunch time I don't get a chance to express but then have enough when I get home to feed emilie-may one side and express the other at the same time. However she doesn't have a huge appetite. My 1 lot of expressed milk can last her 2 days while I am at work because she is still refusing to take a bottle.
I started expressing when she was 3 months, she is now 5 months and i don't get much difference if I do or not. My boss isn't keen on me expressing but has no choice as emilie may has a milk protein allergy getting my milk is vital for her. I did this with my other 2 as well. I stopped at 9months with my first and at 14months with my 2nd.
Everybody's body reacts differently but you won't know until you try.
Good luck with your decision
can't believe you are back already - im sure you had emilie yesterday!! And hat off to you - i am so daunted at the thought of it with just one to think about it. How do you juggle the children with child care?
I never relised what a gray area the whole expressing thing is for employers, the law is not clear...its pretty disgusting really that maternity laws are so strict but breast feeding falls by the wayside, probably because by the time most people go back to work they've given up along time ago. The government wants to improve bf rates and cut down nhs costs for all the health problems in later life that not breast feeding contributes to, the government also wants mums to work...so what choices do they give you? Im assured by one of the peer supporters in my area that any employer preventing you or making it difficult for you can be done for sex discrimination but i think most employers know that after we've taken mat leave etc none of us want to stir up too much trouble.
does emilie have her milk in a cup then? Im told 2 good bfs a day by 8 months is enough for them if they have dairy in their diet. do you find on your days with emilie your boobs fill up like they used to? Its a good idea about feeding from one side and expressing the other after a shift if i dont manage to express. Its so hard to judge all this when as yet henry hasnt had any food. he's nearly 22 weeks and is actually going longer between feeds. His head control is a little behind as he's a big boy and his head is heavy, bless him! So he isnt holding it perfectly straight. He can pick things up and put them to his mouth but this often takes him a lot of effort - he isnt agile with this yet, and he doesnt seem to notice us eating or reach for food. So none of the signs are really there yet so i think we might make the 26 weeks. I bought carrot, sweet potato and aubergine today though and plan to start pureeing and freezing! It will feel at 26 weeks like the countdown is on! lol x
I kind of just go through my days in a blur. I drop my children off a t two different places. My oldest goes to a childminder who can take him t school. My other 2 go to a different place who looks after them both and then collects my oldest from school at end of day so they are all in the same place.
Emilie-May doesn't have barely any milk during the day. She will not take it by any means!! She used to take milk from a bottle but as she got older she started refusing and now we are in the situation where she basically goes from 6am to 6:30pm between feeds. My second son did this as well and n matter what anyone said or did he refused.
She has a couple of sips of juice during the day but only enough to wet her mouth and stop her from being dehydrated - she refuses to drink too much of that.
The paedatrician and dietician both said with my 2nd son that he obviously could cope wit it or he would give in and take milk. He however refused all food until he was ver a year old having an aversion to cutlery and being fed. He would only nibble finger foods but never swallor and always refused purees. Emilie-May does have some puree during the day (not loads but better than nothing!) so we are hoping she won't develop the same grwoth problems he has.
I had her weighed this week and now at the age of 25 weeks she now weighs 14lb so has put on some weight. The health visitor has just asked for us to take her back again in a couple of weeks to check her weight again.
I find my body adapts to produce enough milk no matter what day it is and fills up the same on the different days.
Good luck with how you deicde.
My boss doesn't make it easy for me to express whcih is why I sometimes end up doing it when I get home. I still have to deal with children in my class throughout lunch time - taking up my time with no help to get it sorted quicker so I can express. I suppose it depends on what tye of job you have as well.
Im sure you've tried it all, but henry refused a bottle until a week ago so he didnt take one until 5 months old. In the end the hv told me to sit him in his car seat and get someone else to give it facing him, he took it like he'd been doing it forever and cried for more. It was very strange but she was right - making it totally different to the bf experience (eg not cuddleing him) and obv different person, more of a social experience as my mum made eye contact with him all the way through. It worked with the MAM bottle and we had to use a newborn teat as the teats for his age made him splutter and panic.
I was advised by HV if this didnt work NUK teats have a very high success rate for children who resist. They told me at nursery if henry continued to resist they'd give him it on a spoon!!! not very soothing but if it means emilie gets a drink in the day might be worth it. I know at 5 months she wont be good with a cup but if filled to the top she might be able to drink some - probably better with water than wasted ebm.
xxx