Preparing to go back to work

User - posted on 05/25/2009

Well, I went back to work and the little guy went to daycare. Our daycare lady is super nice and yes, she'll store milk. What we've been doing is that I'll give her what I pumped at work that day when I pick him up and she'll add that to what she has left over. I wish that I had pumped more before going back so I wasn't so stressed about making sure I have enough for him each day. We're managing though. He's a big eater and one day took 7 oz. at one feeding. It's hard to keep up with numbers like that, but we're making it through. I feed him when I drop him off and again when I pick him up and that helps. There was one morning where he was asleep when I dropped him off, so I didn't feed him. I won't do that again because he ate more than I was able to pump that day so there was a lot of stress to pump that evening. Thankfully I work about 5 minutes from the daycare and my schedle's pretty lax, so I can come nurse him if ever there wasn't enough pumped. I'm taking advantage of the weekend to stock up. Thank you all for your advice!

Martha - posted on 05/25/2009

Here is a link to an article on kellymom.com

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkc...

My daughter never took more than 4 oz at a time. I left 4 4oz bottles for her, and I was usually at work for 10 hours. She ate 3 bottles most of the time and only needed the 4th when she was going through a growth spurt. I would send my oldest frozen milk on Monday, fresh pumped from the previous day throughout the week, and then I would freeze what I pumped on Fridays. This keeps your frozen stash from going bad before you use it, but your baby will still get fresh milk most of the time.

I put a cloth diaper in my pump bag and put it in my lap while I was pumping. This saved my slacks from drips.

Here is another link to kellymom.com about general bottle feeding info.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/index...

Hope all is going well for you!

Marifei - posted on 05/24/2009

I started pumping about a month before returning to work. I wanted to have a supply of breastmilk just in case. My suggestion is to keep a log of your feedings. This helps you communicate with your daycare provider as far as his current feeding pattern. Storing 2-4 oz of milk helps. Babies do not drink same amount of milk consistently throughout the day; therefore, as a general rule, you might want to offer 4 oz each feeding every 2-3 hrs and give him more as demanded. You do not want precious breastmilk get wasted. At the same time, you want to be sure his milk intake is sufficient for this growth. Have you given him breastmilk in a bottle? Some babies have a difficult time taking breastmilk from a bottle. Good luck!

Gissela - posted on 05/24/2009

Just Like Karina " The milk memos" is so good, if I had read it before going to work i would have been so much better. Maybe by now your little boy is already at the daycare, so hope it all went smooth with you :D.

Rosie - posted on 05/19/2009

I went back to work after my daughter turned 12 weeks. I built up a huge supply of milk during my maternity leave. I think I had counted about 50 or so 4-6 oz. breast milk storage bags. So be sure to pump as much as possible right now because as you go to work, your body will produce less (supply/demand). As for how much milk you should leave for the first time. I left 4-4oz. bottles the first day (she was away from me for 9.5hrs.) and she had just about finished them all but she quickly went to 6 oz. the next week. You also need to practice with a bottle before. My daughter was so stubborn about taking a bottle, I couldn't even be in the same room, and she'd even gag! So be sure to practice. Lastly, I would pump before work as I was getting ready for work, sometimes before I fed her or sometimes after, but its good to get yourself empty (that way you'll make more milk), then I would pump at 10, then at around 2. I would feed her when I got home, and then I'd pump one last time before bed. I usually couldn't pump enough for the next day so I'd use my storage supply. Thats why its so important to have.

Karina - posted on 05/19/2009

I read a great book a few months ago that I wish I would have known about before I went back to work. It's called The Milk Memos- http://www.milkmemos.com/ Great book that gets you clued in to potential hurdles for pumping at work. I just tried to pump anytime the baby would eat, if possible. So maybe your day care provider could call you when he eats and you can pump then? After a few days, he will probably fall into a schedule.

Jamie - posted on 05/19/2009

Find out if the daycare is willing to store a small supply of milk for your baby. I would take enough milk for a few days and mine (in-home daycare) would store it in the freezer and thaw it as needed. I would check with her when I picked him to see how much he had left and bring more as needed. I also did this when he started solid foods, as I made his babyfood and froze it in ice cube trays (then put it in freezer bags for easy access).



If they aren't willing to, or can't, store a few days supply, then I'd go with what Heather recommended....just count how many times a day your baby eats and provide about 4-6 oz of milk per feeding. Also, make sure your baby is ok with the bottle before he starts at the daycare...it will also give you an idea of how much he eats at one time.

Kimberly - posted on 05/14/2009

My only advise is to not over store. This may cause you to pump less because you know you have "back up". This will decrease your supply. I pumped for 8 months and had only about 5 ounces stored for an emergency, but my baby always had milk. I never missed a pumping session!

Heather - posted on 05/05/2009

I used milk bags- a lot easier to travel with vs bottles. I would count how many times a day he nurses. I think at 3 mths they're taking 4-6oz at a time, so once you know how many times you can do the math. When I went back to work I would pump before I left the house, then again at 11am, again at 2, and again before I went to bed at night. (I started pumping at night when my daughter started consistently sleeping atleast 4 hrs at a time, that way I didn't worry that she's wake up and I wouldn't have anything to give her)