? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

For those who exclusively breastfed while on maternity leave, what did you do when going back to work? My DD is almost 3 months now. When I go back, she will be about 5 1/2 months.

I'm trying to figure out if I should pump and breastfeed when home or just give formula and breastfeed when home.

? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

I pumped until my DS was 14 months old.

He breastfed WELL past that point.

? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

Pumped and nursed until dd was 14 mo. Neither of my kids have ever had a drop of formula (ds is 8 mo and on the same path)

Re: ? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

I did both... my kids both needed formula from the start and always took both. It's much easier and less stressful! They got the benefits from my milk and I got the benefits from the ease and reliability of formula.

Re: ? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

I pumped when I went back to work so they could have breastmilk when I was gone and nursed when I was home.

It doesn't have to be stressful. You don't need a huge freezer stash. When you pump at work one day that's what you leave for baby the next day. You still have some time so you could pump a little now if you wanted some backup frozen. Even better you can get one of the milk catchers. you use it on the opposite side while you nurse!

Re: ? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

I didn't bf but my sil is and I watch her son. She bf when she is home and pumps during the day at work. She also gets up at night and pumps even though he sleeps to get an extra bottle still. I give all you who bf and work a ton of credit its a lot of work but so amazing.

? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

Pumped for about a month or two then gave formula during work hours. I BF in the morning and at night only now. I just hated pumping!!!!!!

Re: ? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

I went back to work when DD was 13 weeks. I pumped at work and nursed at home until she was 14 months.

Re: ? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

Last time I pumped at work & bf at home.
Not sure what I'll do this time... dragging my pump & accessories on the subway to work, washing parts at night, etc. is just not something I want to do anymore. But probably will for at least a little while.

Re: ? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

I went back to work at 2 months. At about 5/6 weeks I started pumping a little extra whenever I could to build up a stash. I pumped until about 11.5 months. I started weaning her to whole milk very gradually at 11 months and just after her first birthday she was exclusively on whole milk.

ETA: We have a privacy room and I had two pumps so I left one pump at work and one pump at home. I just carried my bottles/flanges to and from work. It was exhausting. I don't miss it! The only thing I miss is that last nursing session before bed where she'd get drowsy and doze off in my arms. It was bliss!

ETAA: I always had to pump in the middle of the night, even though DD starting sttn at an early age. It was the only way I could make enough milk to cover the next day's feedings.

Message edited 7/14/2017 8:21:44 AM.

? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

I think it depends on your circumstances and breast milk supply. I had no issues pumping and feeding until DS was 14 months - I must have been a super producer b/c I even donated 600 oz after he weened. But not everyone is able to continue (supply dries up, no consistent place to pump, no where to store pumped milk, etc).

Re: ? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

I really wanted to try to BF my DD after I returned to work so I started pumping and building a supply to send into daycare with her. I proved a few frozen (in case she ran out) and fresh milk. My first day of work I mapped out a pumping schedule. I have been sticking to that pumping schedule and have been keeping up with what she eats. I am also able to freeze some in the case I have a bad few days and need to play catch up.
I have been lucky that my supply has kept up so my DD does not need formula. My hope is that I can keep this up and use only fresh and frozen BM until she is a year. At that point I will start using my frozen milk and mix it with regular cows milk to help with that transition. I will then only BF at night and first thing in the morning.
That is what I did with DD1 and was able to EBF her for 16 months.

Re: ? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

By 6-8 weeks, I started pumping once per day after the first morning feeding during maternity leave to build up a freezer stash. I personally liked having a stash because I didn't need to stress about what I produced each day when I went back to work. My pumping schedule was a little all over the place once I went back to work because I was traveling a lot during the day going to different meetings. I also had major dips in my supply whenever I got sick or AF showed up. I continued to pump once per day in the morning on the weekends once I went back to work. Having the freezer stash allowed me to get to the 1 year mark especially with my first. I had more of an oversupply with my second. I stopped pumping at 1 year with each and continued BFing in the morning/evening until 15 months with my first and 20 months with my second. I plan to do something similar when #3 is born next month.

? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

This is baby #3 for me. I breastfed at home while on leave and now pump at work. I still bf in the morning and evening/night. I would recommend trying bottles soon, if you haven't already. Some babies do well with the transition and some struggle a little. I found it easier to have family give a few bottles before I returned to work. I was reluctant to supplement with formula because I was worried it would greatly affect my supply. I do have a freezer stash with frozen milk. Not a ton, but enough for a few days of bottles. I find it helpful so I'm not as stressed about pumping.

Re: ? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

I decided to stop pumping/ nursing when returning to work. I didn't want to use a pump at work, it's hard enough adjusting back to work and leaving baby all day IMO. Felt like just another thing to deal with, and was too overwhelming for me

? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

I went back to work when DS was 8 weeks. I would nurse him before and after work, pump during the day. My supply started dropping off, then DS started losing weight, so we switched to formula when he was around 4 months.

Re: ? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

I went back to work when DD was 4 months. After that point, she had pumped milk at daycare and nursed in morning and evening/bedtime. I started doing one pumping session during maternity leave around 2 months when she would go down for her morning nap (like 10am) to build a small freezer stash. I would only pump one feeding worth (4 oz for her). That stash is unnecessary but relieves the pressure a bit if you miss one at work or produce less one day or she drinks more one day. I scheduled 3 pump blocks on my work calendar as recurring appointments each day and I think that really helped me stick with it and not get meetings scheduled that conflicted. I don't have a private office so I had to use a single accessible restroom with a bench, not ideal but okay. We made it through basically 13 months, she never had formula and went straight to cow's milk after that (gradually mixed it with pumped milk but she didn't seem to care - she was much angrier about dropping the actual nursing sessions but I was ready at that point!)

Re: ? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

I pumped and breastfed when I was at home. I don't know what kind of job you have, but it is a lot of work, so just be prepared. It definitely becomes routine pretty quickly and you learn to maximize your time.

You could try it and see how it goes and decide from there if you want to continue.

Just keep in mind that you may want to start pumping soon so that you have a supply to leave when you go back to work.

Good luck!

? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

I pumped and breastfed when I was home, I went back to work at 5 months and pumped until he was a year old. I was gone 10 hours a day and sometimes traveled for work, I made it work. I wasn't against formula but it really wasn't that bad and I liked the pumping break to get away from my desk.

Message edited 7/18/2017 10:35:19 AM.

Re: ? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

I went back to work at 12 weeks and continued to breastfeed all feedings I was with the baby and pumped for the missed feedings while at work until 14 months. Eventually I added in a night pumping session everyday, like 9 or 10pm, a couple hours after baby was down for the night to add a few more ounces to my stash and/or to get enough pumped ounces in a day to replace what was drank from a bottle in my absence. The extra pump session at night helped lessen the burden of meeting my daily ounce requirement during the work day.

Re: ? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

I'm on baby #3. Each one was different. I EBF DD until about 6 mos. I built up a small stash while on maternity leave and pumped when I returned to work at three months. I started formula at 6 mos and she was fully on it at 8 mos. I supplemented with DS1 starting the day we got home from the hospital. He just had too big of an appetite and I've never had a huge supply. Right now, DS2 is three months. I'm breastfeeding but he's also on some formula. He'll be just shy of five months when I return to work. I don't plan on pumping.

? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

Thanks for all your help. I work in an office and we do have a pumping/lactation room. I also work from home two days/week so that makes pumping easier as I don't need to worry about the lactation room being taken. I think I'll try to make it work but will be open to using formula at that time. I should add that my DD has had bottles here and there (when my mom babysits) so she does know how to take a bottle.

Re: ? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

I pumped in the bathroom at work, breastfed when home with baby

? for those who exclusively breastfed on maternity leave

For ds, I pumped and nursed. I had enough.

For dd, I pumped, nursed and supplemented with formula because we had moved, I now had a longer commute, and I wasn't making enough. The stress of dealing with that was not worth it. So she got one bottle of formula a day. It was her first bottle.

For both kids, I nursed well past the one year mark. I pumped until 1 year for both (I was about to lose my mind at that point, lol).

Message edited 7/21/2017 3:10:07 PM.