Pumping At Work: 5 Top Tips

It might be time for you to head back to work, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re ready to stop your breastfeeding journey just yet. You may have a magic number in mind for when you’d like to stop breastfeeding or perhaps you want to let your child decide when she’s ready to wean. Either way, the following top tips might help you as you prepare to re-enter the workplace after maternity leave:

  1. Plan ahead

If you’re planning to continue breastfeeding, you’ll need to plan ahead to figure out how best to make this happen. You’ll need to be upfront with your employer so they can find ways to accommodate you as you settle back into work. If you’re planning to express milk at work, you’ll need to find out if they can offer you a private area to do this in. You’ll also need to try and work out how frequently you’ll need to pump and where you’ll be able to store the milk. Your employer is best placed to advise you on these matters.

  1. Store it safely

When you express milk at work, you’ll need somewhere safe to store your milk. A fridge would be ideal, allowing you to keep your breast milk chilled until you can transport it home. Breast milk can only be stored at room temperature for up to four hours, so you’ll need a better solution for where to store your milk.

  1. Supportive childcare

Choose a childcare provider who is supportive of your desire to continue breastfeeding. Your childcare provider should be able to use your pumped milk to bottle feed your child during the day. This allows you to balance the demands of the workplace with your desire to continue breastfeeding your baby. If you’re lucky enough to have childcare near work you may even be able to visit your baby to breastfeed during the day.

  1. Be prepared

You may find that your baby feeds more often during night for the first few weeks, which may come as a shock as you’re adjusting to the early mornings of employment. Plan ahead; go to bed early to maximize the amount of sleep you’re able to get. This might be a tiring few weeks as you juggle daytime work with nighttime motherhood, and it may take you a while to get used to this new lifestyle.

  1. Reconnection

After a challenging day at the office for you, and a busy day at nursery for your baby, breastfeeding can be the perfect way to reconnect. It allows you each a few minutes of quiet after a hectic day, as well as the benefits of touch and being close to each other. Many mamas say breastfeeding helps them to reconnect with their child after a day’s work.

Do you have any tips to share with mamas who are preparing to return to work?

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.

Breast Milk Storage: What You Need to Know

Expressing milk is a great way of preparing for the times you can’t be there to feed your baby. Having a backup supply of milk means you can spend the day at work or meet friends for drinks without worrying about what your baby will drink.

Expressing milk is pretty amazing, and will probably make you realise just how precious your milk is. After all, once you’ve invested time and effort in pumping and storing your milk, you really don’t want any of that liquid gold to go to waste.

How to store breast milk

There are a number of different ways to store breast milk, and how you choose to store it affects how long it can be used for. For example:

  • if kept at room temperature, freshly expressed breast milk can be used or properly stored within six hours. Ideally, however, you should aim for just four hours.
  • if you want to take expressed breast milk out with you for the day, you should keep it in a cooler bag with ice packs.
  • if you’re using a fridge, breast milk can be stored for up to five days at the back of a clean fridge. However, using within three days will be best.
  • if stored in the freezer, your breast milk will be good for up to six months.

How to use expressed breast milk

If the milk needs to be defrosted first, simply stick it in the fridge until it has thawed. Once thawed, the milk can be used straight away. You should never refreeze milk that has been thawed. Once milk has been thawed for 24 hours, it should be discarded if it hasn’t been used.

Some babies are happy to drink milk straight from the fridge, however others will prefer it to be at body temperature. To do this, simply place the bottle of milk in some lukewarm water so it can warm up a little. Once your baby has started drinking from a bottle of breast milk, it should be finished or thrown away within the hour.

You should never use a microwave to heat up the milk, this can cause the milk to overheat and burn your baby’s mouth.

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.