Breast feeding, Going Back to Work, Finding the Time to Pump, Supplementing, and Reflux baby

Caitlin - posted on 06/28/2012

Thanks Sally. I am salary, but believe me I come early and stay late everyday. I just feel like it would be a little weird talking to my boss about it. He is a pretty good guy and has children of his own, just really don't want to have that conversation I guess. It would be really difficult for me to find extra time throughout the day. I could probably let the other teachers monitor my children during recess so that I could go pump. I'm sure they would have no trouble with that and it wouldn't be taking away from my instructional time. I am just planning to play it by ear and see how it all works out. I feel that my baby will still get the benefits of breast milk even if I have to supplement with a few formula bottles during the day. Maybe it won't come to that though!

Sally - posted on 06/25/2012

Do you want to nurse badly enough to fight your boss?

By law all employers HAVE to give you TIME and SPACE to pump. They don't have to pay you for the time and depending on your schedule and whether your pay is hourly or salaried, they may require you to stay extra time to make it up, but they HAVE TO LET YOU FEED YOUR BABY YOUR MILK.

Very few of them know this and many will fight it,especially if they like a tight schedule. You may have to be willing to take legal action to make it happen.

Good luck

Caitlin - posted on 06/25/2012

Thank you so much for the great advice!

Lori - posted on 06/24/2012

I don't have any great advice for you on question number 1, so I'll leave that for someone else to answer.

As for 2: No it will not completely ruin nursing for you for the time when you are together. I know lots and lots of moms who do both. Breastfeed baby when with baby, and have a caregiver give formula when mom is at work or otherwise can't be with baby. Breast milk production works on supply and demand, so if there's still demand for your milk you'll still continue to make milk. And most babies are quite happy to nurse again with Mom when Mom comes home rather than wanting to take a bottle always.

3: It might work well if you started out mixing the 2. Start with 3 parts breast milk and 1 part formula. When she's used to that, make it a 50 50 mix. half breast milk, half formula. Then go on to 1 part breast milk 3 parts formula. Finally, you can go to straight formula.

4. My daughter also has a dairy protein sensitivity/allergy. Breastfeeding does not prevent this, but breastfeeding does help reduce allergies in general. And don't confuse a dairy protein allergy with lactose intolerance. It is NOT the same thing. There are proteins in cow milk that are causing the problems, it's not the lactose. Your breast milk, and any animal milk also contains lactose. If your baby was lactose intolerant she'd have been a failure to thrive baby within a week of birth. There are soy based formulas you can choose from, but be careful since a very high percentage of babies who are sensitive to dairy also have trouble with soy. I've heard Nutramigen is OK for babies with allergies to cow milk. I've provided a link here if you want to read a bit more about the cow milk allergy.

http://kellymom.com/health/baby-health/f...