Pumping for the first day back at work

[Anonymous]

OP do what keeps you sane and your baby fed. I was never able to pump enough even though when I was with LO i produced enough milk. So I had to supplement with formula. It was fine and worked for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I wish I were sleeping through the night! After going to sleep anywhere between 7-8, baby wakes up to eat anywhere between 10:00 - 1am and then about every 2 hours after that until he’s up for the morning between 5:30-6. (Not asking for sleep training advice. IMHO only, he’s too young and I’m not yet sure how I feel about it.)

I’ve had 3 kids. Went back to work each time and pumped anywhere between 6-12 months. Here’s my advice:
- pump once right after baby goes to bed for the long stretch
- pump after the first morning feed after he’s up for the day
- try to add in a couple ounces of formula feed to get baby used to some formula so you’re not so stressed about pumping enough
- pump when you do the formula feeds and just add that to your stash

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These replies are tone deaf. Good for those people who only had to do a a couple short pump sessions during the day and got to sleep through the night. There's many of us who couldn't do that in order to keep our supply up. OP, if you need to do an extra pump session, or get up in the night to do one (that's where I got my most milk), IT'S OK. This is highly individualized and personalized - stop criticizing women's decisions and telling people what to do.

What's not OK is normalizing women completely exhausting themselves for the marginal benefit of a few ounces of breastmilk. Waking up in the middle of the night is a terrible idea for the vast majority of working women. It shouldn't be presented neutrally like a valid "choice" or "breastfeeding goal." It's unhealthy.

Ha wow god forbid we ”normalize” breastfeeding. Waking up for 30 minutes in the night is not “completely exhausting” for many many women. You sound like a horrid, intolerant person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I wish I were sleeping through the night! After going to sleep anywhere between 7-8, baby wakes up to eat anywhere between 10:00 - 1am and then about every 2 hours after that until he’s up for the morning between 5:30-6. (Not asking for sleep training advice. IMHO only, he’s too young and I’m not yet sure how I feel about it.)

I’ve had 3 kids. Went back to work each time and pumped anywhere between 6-12 months. Here’s my advice:
- pump once right after baby goes to bed for the long stretch
- pump after the first morning feed after he’s up for the day
- try to add in a couple ounces of formula feed to get baby used to some formula so you’re not so stressed about pumping enough
- pump when you do the formula feeds and just add that to your stash

Agree with the first two pieces of advice. All you needs is 10-15 oz for first day depending on how long the day is and then hopefully you just pump what you need for the next day. If I’m
Not making enough than I make sure to tell caregiver that I will feed when I pick up and right when I drop off. Also
Make sure caregiver is doing paced bottle feeding and look up Tips for caregivers of breastfed babies to share with them.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These replies are tone deaf. Good for those people who only had to do a a couple short pump sessions during the day and got to sleep through the night. There's many of us who couldn't do that in order to keep our supply up. OP, if you need to do an extra pump session, or get up in the night to do one (that's where I got my most milk), IT'S OK. This is highly individualized and personalized - stop criticizing women's decisions and telling people what to do.

What's not OK is normalizing women completely exhausting themselves for the marginal benefit of a few ounces of breastmilk. Waking up in the middle of the night is a terrible idea for the vast majority of working women. It shouldn't be presented neutrally like a valid "choice" or "breastfeeding goal." It's unhealthy.

Ha wow god forbid we ”normalize” breastfeeding. Waking up for 30 minutes in the night is not “completely exhausting” for many many women. You sound like a horrid, intolerant person.

DP. I don’t think waking up in the middle of the night to pump should be normalized. It is an option women should be aware of, but it is usually not worth the loss of sleep (even at the cost of supplementing with formula).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I wish I were sleeping through the night! After going to sleep anywhere between 7-8, baby wakes up to eat anywhere between 10:00 - 1am and then about every 2 hours after that until he’s up for the morning between 5:30-6. (Not asking for sleep training advice. IMHO only, he’s too young and I’m not yet sure how I feel about it.)

I’ve had 3 kids. Went back to work each time and pumped anywhere between 6-12 months. Here’s my advice:
- pump once right after baby goes to bed for the long stretch
- pump after the first morning feed after he’s up for the day
- try to add in a couple ounces of formula feed to get baby used to some formula so you’re not so stressed about pumping enough
- pump when you do the formula feeds and just add that to your stash

Agree with the first two pieces of advice. All you needs is 10-15 oz for first day depending on how long the day is and then hopefully you just pump what you need for the next day. If I’m
Not making enough than I make sure to tell caregiver that I will feed when I pick up and right when I drop off. Also
Make sure caregiver is doing paced bottle feeding and look up Tips for caregivers of breastfed babies to share with them.

Good luck!

Beware of paced bottle feedings, it can mean more than one thing. Do not prioritize breast-feeding over your baby being well fed.

[Anonymous]

Oh Lord - this one I haven’t heard 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ This is the worst site for breastfeeding. What in the world is wrong with paced bottle feeding 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️