Going back to work? Still breastfeeding? Breast Pump Your Way Back

🎶Pump it… Louder… Pump it… Louder… 🎶

Preparations for going back to work may be emotionally draining, since you’ll be leaving your baby and at this point most of us, all we ever do while on maternity leave is to take care of this small baby. So, we start thinking about how we are going to cope without this responsibility. Truth is they are still as much our responsibility as when we were there with them 24/7. We still need to think about what they are going to eat, how much of that food do they need, what times are they going to eat and everything else around making sure that they are okay. If you plan to continue with exclusive breastfeeding, as recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) for six months then you need to prepare for your return to work, if you will be doing so before the six months mark or anytime for that matter.

My pumping sessions

At first, I had planned on pumping 2 feedings (150ml) a day, but that didn’t work since I still had to breastfeed in between. So, I started pumping just 1 during the day and one in the middle of the night. Middle of the night pumping sessions were the best, the breastmilk was flowing like a river. I would fill up 150ml (from one breast) like it was nothing. On days where I was too tired, I would not do the midnight sessions and sometimes I would skip the days as well. I took it easy on myself knowing that I would be able to pump at work. The only thing that I was avoiding was not to stress about my baby not having enough breastmilk for the day.

Breastmilk freezing volumes

I have come across people who said that they pumped the following day’s milk at work everyday, but if you are not sure if the time at work will be enough for you to do so without affecting your work too much then rather start saving some breastmilk while you are still on leave. I used to freeze my breastmilk in 100ml and 150ml. This was because my son used to take different volumes at different times of the day. This helped me to easily track his feeds as well.

Planning your pumping sessions

Different people will tell you different things that worked for them when it comes to pumping sessions and planning, but to put it out there, I just winged it and it worked for me. If you are doing exclusive pumping, you surely need to plan your pumping sessions properly. This might not work for someone else because they would forget to pump if they do not set the time to do so. Also keep in mind that if you miss a pumping session because the baby needed your attention at that time then it is okay. We are all just trying to find a balance which we are not even sure of its existence. So, my advice, try and see what works for you and stick to that.

Overcoming my pumping challenges

On days where I didn’t seem to have enough breastmilk, I would just increase my fluids intake so that the following day I could pump with no issues. I would also take 2 cups of Carmien Rooibos Nursing tea. I used it get it from Takealot, Dis-chem, Clicks or Shoprite. I would take one cup during the day and the other cup during the midnight feeding/pumping session. From the experience I was facing with the electric pump I decided that I would be taking the silicone pump to work instead since it worked better for me and would be convenient to use in the office since it doesn’t make any sound. Yes, I did think about the noise, when I was thinking about myself pumping at work. This is because our offices were very quiet. As much as I am okay with people knowing that I pump, I was and still not comfortable with them knowing my pumping times. I sometimes wish I had the courage though.

Storing my pumped breastmilk

I also bought a small desk-top fridge that I was going to use to keep the breastmilk and pump. We did have the fridge at work which I didn’t mind using to store my breastmilk at work, but I preferred if everything was kept in my office, mainly to avoid going to the fridge every time I wanted to pump and when I was done. This turned out to be helpful later on because if I had forgotten to pump or hadn’t gotten the time, then during a meeting (MS Teams) I was able to just reach out to my pump and continue while the meeting carried on.

Breastfeeding friendly outfits

I also had to get a few tops that would allow me to pump easily at work. One would think that I could have just used the breastfeeding friendly tops that I was already using at home, right? But, guess what I hadn’t bought those as well. I was really spending all my time indoors and I had a few gym tank tops so I would just pull those ones, but I couldn’t go to work with those so yes I had to run to the shops and get a few. I have found the breastfeeding friendly clothes to be very useful since they do not get all wrinkled up during pumping. All I made sure was that the tops should either be a v-neck or have front buttons. Shirts are like the best since they even cover up very well, I mean you come to work with small breast and then later in the day they get bigger and may find yourself more exposed that you intended to.

Return-to-work checklist

I had to tick all the boxes before going back to work and make sure that I could continue with exclusive breastfeeding without having to feel like it was a drag. With the right planning and taking it easy on yourself it is very much doable for the working moms as well. My checklist for returning to work as a breastfeeding mother was as follows:

1. Get the right pump.

2. Train your baby to bottle feed, this helped with knowing how much I needed to pump.

3. Freeze the milk in volumes easy to defrost and manage.

4. Check if I had somewhere to save the breastmilk at work – I had to check with my colleagues if our fridge was still working before the small one ordered arrived.

5. Get pumping friendly clothes.

6. Think about the space I’ll be using to pump so that I can prepare all the things I’ll require.

Get things that you’ll be using to save pumped breastmilk.