pumping at work: how do i keep my breast milk supply up?

you will probably realize that you do not pump the same amount at every feeding while at work, nor do you pump the same amount each day of the week. it is very common for working moms to pump the most at the first or morning pumping session than at the end of the day. similarly, it is common to have the most milk on monday and practically nothing left at 3:00 on friday. if this is happening to you, it's okay. pumping is not quite like nursing in that a pump can't get out quite as much as your baby can, nor can you get quite as "stimulated" for production as you can with your baby (unless your pump is extremely cute and snuggly).

what does this mean in practical terms?

1. TRY VERY HARD NOT TO MISS YOUR MORNING PUMPING SESSION. excuse yourself from the meeting. put your phone on "do not disturb." let your co-workers know that this is not negotiable. this is when you'll get the most milk, so dedicate yourself to it.

2. LEAVE SOME EXTRA TIME FOR PUMPING ON MONDAYS. after a weekend with your baby, your boobs will still be on their weekend production schedule once monday comes (especially monday morning). give yourself some extra time. there is nothing worse than needing to make a meeting in 5 minutes when you still have milk gushing out of you. give yourself 5 minutes extra or so. if you don't need it, great. but you'll be happy if you do.

3. WORK FROM HOME ON WEDNESDAYS. my midwife told me this one, and i think it's brilliant. i was able to do it with my first child. the idea is that your milk supply diminishes after a week of pumping all day, so if you interject the week with some "real" breastfeeding with your baby on wednesday, you can keep your supply up more easily. of course, this is not an option for everybody, but if there's any way you can even alternate wednesdays at home every other week, that's still great. or even just go in to the office at noon instead of 9:00 and nurse your baby with that morning milk. how i did it: i had my mother-in-law come to my house on wednesdays. she would take care of my daughter while i "telecommuted." when it was time to nurse, she'd bring me my daughter, i'd nurse her, then give her back. it was so tremendously helpful to be at home, to hear her, smell her, and nurse her on those wednesdays. and because my health provider suggested it, i had that support when i proposed it to my boss. (get yourself a good speakerphone with a mute button so you can listen to conference calls while you nurse!)

4. THE OBVIOUS THINGS. load up on water, not coffee or diet coke. the water will definitely help your supply. bring "mothers milk tea" or "fenugreek" pills to work and keep them in your desk. have lots of pictures of your baby around. relax.....learn to ignore your emails, blackberry, phone, etc. if you are worried about a project or deadline, your milk will have a hard time letting down, and you won't get as much out. (release the tension, release the flow)

how often should i pump at work?

the frequency with which you pump at work will vary, depending on several factors including (1) the age of your baby, (2) the frequency with which your baby nurses when you are together, (3) the amount of time your job/boss provides for you to pump, (4) how busy you are, and (5) how far you have to go to pump (e.g., right at your desk or down 3 flights of stairs and through 6 hallways to get to a 'mothers room').

assuming that you have a cool boss and a convenient place to pump, then the basic guideline is to pump as often as you would nurse your baby if you were together. for myself, working a regular, 8- or 9-hour day, that meant 3 times per day in the beginning. i tried to pump at regular 3-hour intervals, like 9:00, 12:00, and 3:00. so, i would nurse in the morning when my baby woke up (at about 6:00 am), then would pump at 9, 12, and 3, and then would nurse again right when i got home from work at 6:00 pm. then again at 9:00 for bedtime, and of course all through the night on demand. (how to deal with sleep deprivation at work is another issue alltogether!)

the milk that you pump during the day is then ready to give to your daycare provider the next day. (note: read my posting on Avent pumps on how to make this easier on yourself. ) whatever you pump on friday, freeze it. on sunday night, take your oldest frozen milk and put it in the fridge. it will be thawed and ready for day care in the morning.

pumping at work: get a door sign

if you are lucky enough to have your own office (with a door!) and can comfortably pump in your room, get yourself a door sign. i used one with darth veder on it that said something like "keep out!" i would just hang it on my door when i was pumping, and everybody knew not to come in or even knock. if you work with a lot of women, you can use some kind of pink sign with cute babies or bottles or something similar that says something like, "mommy duties in progress." but if you work with a lot of guys (like i do), something more in line with darth veder will make them less squeamish. and, don't worry, you don't need to make an office-wide announcement of what the sign means. as long as your boss/supervisor knows, everybody else will slowly figure it out.

pumping at work: bring a cloth diaper

BUY A PACK OF CLOTH DIAPERS EVEN IF YOU ARE USING DISPOSABLE DIAPERS! the cloth diapers are GREAT for wiping up breastmilk spills, wiping snotty noses, and wiping all sorts of other things. They are large and absorbent and soft. i bought one pack of cloth diapers at babies r us about 5 years ago and have used them repeatedly through 2 kids. i still keep them on hand and bring them out whenever one kid has a cold because they are great for mopping up all that nasty, stringy snot that seems to run like a river when they are sick!

anyway...what does this have to do with pumping, you ask? when you pump at work, you will want to make sure you don't dribble breastmilk all over your work clothes, papers, desk, etc. all you have to do is keep a cloth diaper with your pump, and when it's time, just tuck the cloth diaper under your boobs (or in your lap if your boobs won't hold it there by themselves). then, it will be there to catch any spills before they drip onto your pants/skirt. when you're done, just throw it back in with your stuff.

BONUS: after a few spills, your "boobie rag" (as I call it) will start to smell like sweet milk. this smell will remind you of your baby, and it will help your let-down reflex go into effect.

pumping at work: Avent is best

with my first baby, i used one of those large, electric pumps (medela, maybe?). while it was okay and did the job, it was such a hassle to lug around on the train during my commute. with my second baby, i used the Avent hand pump and was SO much happier! i understand that they now make a double pump, which would be even better. the Avent is great because it is so small and compact, you can easily carry it in your purse, briefcase, lunch bag, etc. the other bonus is that you hook your regular Avent bottles right up to it and it can go straight from the pump to your baby's mouth. (with other pumps, you pump into a collector bottle then have to pour that into your regular bottle. this means you have twice as many bottles to wash at night, and as a working mom that is the LAST thing you need!)

practically speaking, here's how you do it. pack your Avent pump and two to three Avent bottles into one of those insulated lunch bags with one of those re-freezable icepacks. at work, keep the pump and 1 bottle in the lunch bag. put the other bottle(s) in a desk drawer. put the ice pack in the company freezer. when it's time to pump, shut (and lock!) your door, or go to wherever you have arranged as your pumping room. pump both sides. close up the bottle with the flat Avent top and pop it into your lunch bag. rinse out your pump (you can give it a thorough cleaning at night but rinsing should be good enough during the day). put the lunch bag into the company refrigerator and put the pump in your drawer. the next time you pump, you can put the pump and the next bottle into the lunch bag to bring it to wherever you need it (if you feel funny walking around with a pump), or you can just pump and put the new bottle into the frige with the other one. at the end of the day, throw your ice pack into the lunch bag and head home.

NOTE: you don't have to rinse out/clean the pump after your last pumping session of the day because you can just do it at home.

tips for pumping breast milk at work

so you're back to work and still nursing. good for you! you are doing a great thing for your baby and for yourself, but it won't always be easy. your pumping experience will vary depending on where you work, whether other women are also pumping or have pumped before you, and how "in tune" your boss and co-workers are. i will try to post various tips over the course of the next days/weeks. if you find these tips useful and want more of them, please post a comment to let me know.