Here's another story from a working mom about how she managed pumping at work.
Meet Brandy. She spends her work days behind a desk as a software developer. Landon (3.5 years) and Oliver (9 months) call her mom. She has a fantastic blog you should check out here. Her thoughts on pumping at work:
How long are your work days, on average?
8 hours with one hour lunch
How long were you out on maternity leave?
What, if any, apprehensions did you have about continuing breastfeeding and pumping after your maternity leave was up?
I knew it would be hard work because I didn't respond well to the pump. I didn't prepare enough with my first son. I should have pumped and stored more on leave but I didn't know to. I had to learn a lot as I went (pump strength, flange size, how long to pump). I knew more with Oliver and prepared more. I pumped from probably week 1 to build supply. I rented a hospital grade for 3 months. I wanted to trick my body for as long as I could. I also got to nurse Oliver at work so I didn't have to pump as much. That was a BIG help. I didn't have to worry about making up the ounces as much.
What was your pumping schedule at work? Number of pumping sessions? Duration of each session?
With Landon I pumped 4 times at work. Almost every 2 hours by the end. It was torture. With Ollie I pumped maybe twice and once was just after I got to work to get any extra. He only took 1 bottle for the first months because I nursed him every other time. Because of my office, I would work and pump. I aimed for sessions to be 30 min but sometimes i would get busy and it would be 45 min.
Did your sons have trouble interchanging between bottles and breastfeeding?
Never. Landon started a bottle at 4 weeks and Ollie at 2. I always gave them a bottle before bed to make sure they were used to it and made babysitting easier.
Where did you physically pump at work?
I have my own office with locked door.
How did you handle washing of pump parts for multiple pumping sessions at work?
I kept my parts in a tall cooler and reused. This saved massive amounts of time.
Where do you store your milk during the work day?
Breakroom fridge
Describe what you packed in your pump bag.
Flanges. bottles. lanolin. pump bra. medela pump wipes. A cloth diaper to dry off :)
Any other working-mom-pumping-related thoughts you'd like to share?
http://liberatingworkingmoms.com/category/working-it-out/breastfeeding/
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Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions, Brandy!
Do you want to be a part of this Pumping At Work blog series? Email me! baacuff (at) mac (dot) com.
Questions? Leave it in the comments!
Breastfeeding: Pumping At Work (Part 1)
Breastfeeding: Pumping At Work (Part 3)
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