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Pumping & returning to work

  1. #9
    woodstock07 is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Hong Kong
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    76

    My first pack of frozen EBM was at about 4 weeks. I pumped whenever I felt full and when my baby fed on one breast, I would empty the other one by pumping. I was diligently doing this every 3 hours or so to build up my milk supply such that I could freeze at least 1 pack of 120ml per day. I ended up with around 50 packs of frozen EBM by week 13 when I went back to work.

    Thereafter, even though I pumped twice at work, my milk supply slowly dwindled and my frozen supplies were gone in 4 weeks.

    I started bottles around week 4.


  2. #10
    starbucks2 is offline Registered User
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    May 2009
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    Hong Kong
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    712

    It does differ a lot between different people. I was fine with supply when I was pumping at work but it was a pain having to do it twice a day. Once baby got to 7 months and well established on solids, we dropped the 11am feed and I didn't pump. The 3pm one was next to go so by the time he was 11 months, I was only feeding him in the morning before work.

    SB2


  3. #11
    Koan is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    May 2007
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    N.T.
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    180

    I started pumping about 2 weeks before I returned to work (DS was 9wks when I went back) so that I was used to the pump and had some milk ready. You don't really need to prepare much. Enough for your first day back is the minimum, but it's reassuring to have extra just in case.

    We introduced the bottle when DS was about 4 wks old. He was fine and never had any issues going back and forth between the breast and the bottle until I was home all summer nursing directly and he forgot how to bottle feed!

    Pumping was hard in the beginning but it's become routine for me. I'm still pumping at work and nursing at home and my son is 22mnths old.

    Also, you don't need to wash or sterilise your pump parts at work. I put mine in an airtight lunchbox (or you can use a ziploc bag) and stored it in the fridge at work. That saved time.


  4. #12
    FutureHKmom is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Central
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    553

    I started pumping a little more than a month before I went back to work in order to store up a supply in my freezer. I knew that I would not be able to pump enough milk in one day for all the feeds I would miss the next day, so I wanted to make sure I had freezer stock that I could use. Once I returned to work when my son was 4 months old I pumped twice at work on weekdays and once on Sat and Sun. The weekend pumps were to replenish my freezer stock. Occasionally I would come home to feed my son at lunch too - but that practice has long stopped.

    My months is 8 months old now and about a month and a half ago because of how busy work was, I went down to just one pump a day and now I'm not even pumping at work anymore. I just pump right when I get home. Luckily, my son is eating two solid meals a day now, so his milk intake is less.

    Pumping takes a lot of perseverence when you work full time. Good luck!


  5. #13
    merrymum is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    24

    hi everyone,

    thank you so much for sharing your experiences and advice. i have started expressing in the mornings before/after his 7am feed and will start pumping after his 10/11pm feed as well to start building that supply.

    i am now trying to overcome another challenge where the little one is now cluster feeding! didn't know that i can get even less sleep than i did previously! =P


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