So you are preparing to head back to work. The mom guilt is kicking in and you’re trying to figure out how you are going to juggle your full time job, multiple night feedings, getting your baby to childcare with all of their gear each morning and still make it to work for that first meeting of the day. And for you breastfeeding moms out there… add pumping at work to the equation.
Personally, with both babies I’ve had a hard time increasing and maintaining my supply. And that was on maternity leave where I had nothing else going on! I knew that if I didn’t work hard to stick to a consistent pumping schedule, I was going to lose supply when I transitioned back to work.
And a lot of women experience a similar problem. Their milk supply can decrease when they head back to work. A busy day filled with meetings and appointments can delay your pumping sessions and make them shorter in duration than you would like.
Luckily, this time around I’ve been able to maintain and actually increase my supply while pumping at work. Here are my tips and tricks to maintain my supply working it into my busy corporate schedule.
Just found out you are pregnant? CONGRATS! Here’s the best way to tell your boss.
Have the right gear in your pumping bag
First of all, you are going to need a reliable breast pump. Luckily, we can all get one free with health insurance.
With both pregnancies, I couldn’t order mine until I was a month away from my due date. Check with your health insurance provider on when you can place your order and what breast pumps are available for you to choose from.
Do you research about which pump is going to be most compatible for your lifestyle. Some are more powerful, some are quieter and some have different features that can be useful for some and useless for others.
Personally, I was chose the Spectra S2 because it was an electric, hospital grade breast pump. quieter than most breast pumps while still being powerful.
The Spectra also has a closed system so you don’t have to clean out all of the parts because it keeps breast milk contained and out of the hoses and smaller pieces. Not having to clean all of those extra parts was a huge time saver after each pump session and at night getting my bag packed for the next day.
TIP: You can get a new breast pump from insurance for each pregnancy. Because I love the Spectra S2, I ordered a 2nd one when I was pregnant the 2nd time. I was then able to keep one at work and one at home. I just ordered a new set of hoses and parts for the older model in case they wore out and for back-ups.
For breast milk bags, I recommend Lansinoh breast milk storage bags. You can find them on Amazon and I’ve found them in my local grocery store’s baby aisle also. They are easy to label with printed fields for name, volume, date and time but I’d recommend using a Sharpie instead of a pen. Keep one in your pump bag with your other supplies.
Make sure you have a few back-up parts for your pump (hoses, etc.) and an extra phalange and bottle. Also have baby wipes and a burp cloth with you at all times.
The burp cloth comes in handy to wipe off yourself after removing the phalange. Baby wipes will clean up any spillage during the milk transfer and to do a quick wipe down of your phalanges before storing them. Bring a small cooler bag to transfer your bags of pumped milk. I got one of these from my ob/gyn’s office for free as a freebie from a formula brand. The bag was mean’t to transfer baby bottles but it works great for milk storage bags.
TIP: Keep your used phalanges and bottles in a gallon ziploc bag and keep refrigerated between pump sessions. As long as you take them home at the end of the day and wash and sterilize them, you can reuse them during the day as long as you refrigerate between sessions.
Schedule Your Pump Time
“Pump up the jam, pump it up!” Sorry… I couldn’t help myself.
Scheduling your ‘pump time’ is SO important. You have to schedule your pump sessions. Don’t assume you’ll find time. Your sessions should be on your work calendar first so that any subsequent meeting will get scheduled around it.
Set a recurring calendar event each day for the set time and repeat for each daily pump session.
Get on a Consistent Schedule
Once your baby gets into a consistent feeding schedule, you’ll want to try to pump at about the same time that they would be feeding. This will keep you on the same schedule for nights and weekends.
This was my approximate pumping schedule:
- 6am – Breastfeed before getting ready for work and dropping baby off at childcare
- 9am – Scheduled pumping session
- 12pm – Scheduled pumping session / Lunch
- 3pm – Scheduled pumping session
- 6pm – Breastfeed after picking up from childcare
I scheduled 30 minutes for each session by setting a 30 minute appointment on my work calendar at the specified times. I chose to pump one side at a time which allowed me to do some simple work at the same time. Pulling up or reading documents on my computer or typing out short emails was easy one handed and I felt like I was being pretty productive considering I was multi-tasking.
You may prefer a double pumping system to shorten the time of each session — do what works for you!
The important thing here is to pump frequently, schedule the time slot for it and drain each side. If you are worried about a dwindling supply, pump 5 minutes additional on each side after milk has stopped flowing to stimulate production.
Now… things will come up. Last minute meeting will get scheduled. You’ll be called into an impromptu meeting with your boss right at your pumping time. It’s okay, this is going to happen. Even if you can only pump for 5 minutes before a meeting at your scheduled time, get it in. Something is always better than nothing. Then try to do a little longer pumping session for your next one.
Scout out your Nursing Suite / Area at Work
By law, your employer must provide a private space for paid employees to pump breastmilk. It must be functional for this purpose and cannot be a bathroom.
If you haven’t left work for leave yet, take a quick tour of the space when it is unoccupied to see how it is set up. What is available for your use, where are the outlets, is there counter space, is there a chair and refrigerator and lastly how is the room accessed or reserved for your use.
Is there a cabinet to lock your supplies in during the day or do you need to bring them with you each time. Does the room have a sink for washing bottles and breast pump parts?
Is the room set up to be used by multiple people at one time? If so, you might want to consider a cover up if you feel uncomfortable.
Nothing feels more natural at work than getting half naked and milking yourself… Just kidding. But seriously — that’s the weirdest part of pumping at work. So make sure you check for a door lock. And check that lock before you start any session.
You haven’t felt fear until you’ve been in the middle of a pumping session and realized that the door is unlocked.
Stay Hydrated
This is something I sometimes neglect and I see an immediate drop in my supply. Make an effort to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Bring an insulated mug or glass to work that stays on your desk and is easily accessible.
Lemon lime sparkling waters are my secret drinking a lot more water during the course of a day. For whatever reason it works for me.
Pumping at work is manageable and if you stay organized and diligent, you can successfully pump and feed your child breast milk for as long as you want.
Hopefully the tips I’ve learned along the way are useful for any new moms out there who are trying to figure out how they are going to keep up their supply after returning to work.
Keep in mind that I am not a lactation consultant. I have just learned what works for me after having 2 children in the last 2 years and navigating pumping at work in a corporate environment.
Happy Pumping Mamas! Keep up the good work!
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