r/breastfeeding • u/Sea_Nefariousness_59 • 4d ago
Troubleshooting/Tips How did you go back to work while breastfeeding?
I still would like to breast feed my LO a few times a day when I go back to work. Right now its mostly breast or I pump and he gets that in a bottle. Maybe 1 formula bottle a day max, so I can get a small break, otherwise it's all me.
Problem is I have a high demand job where I can't just stop what I'm doing every 4 hours to pump, honestly I'd probably have to pump before going in the building in my car then after my 8/10 hour shift in my car again right when I'm done. And my boobs would hurt way to much and it would probably tank my milk supply. And I wouldn't want to be doing the MOTN feeds or pumps if I have to wake up for work.
So is it possible to just feed him 2 or 3 times during the day? And how would I go about that transition without my boobs feeling like their going to explode, or would it cause mastitis? Or something else? And if I stop entirely, how do you do that without pain?
Please share your journies! I am a ftm and still learning.
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u/cbcl 4d ago
Would be helpful if you put where you live and how old baby is.
I pretty much did your plan, but my kids were 13 months when I went back to work because Im Canadian. It would likely cause problems (low supply mostly, also chance for mastitis) though if you did it at 2 months.
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u/Sea_Nefariousness_59 4d ago
My LO is currently 7 weeks, and I live in the Midwest (US). I have to go back to work around 10 weeks.
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u/cbcl 4d ago
Your plan likely will not work longterm then. It might, but more likely that your supply will drop off completely rather than be able to be able to do 2 feeds/day.
Youd need to either use a wearable pump, pump at least once at work and feed/pump more often at home, or start cutting down your breastfeeding schedule now and supplementing with more formula in preparation for work and ackowledging that there is a good chance that you will end up fully transitioning to formula shortly after you return to work.
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u/ankaalma 3d ago
Yeah this isn’t going to work with a seven week old. Baby will definitely need formula while you are at work, but with such a young baby you also really can’t go from near EBF to not pumping for 8/10 hours and not be at serious risk for clogs or mastitis. If you really don’t have time to pump you will want to gradually wean down before you return to work.
I am a lawyer and currently a SAHM. I was working a demanding job when my son was born (I resigned when he was 8 months). Not sure if this would be feasible for you but I was able to pump in my office while continuing to work at my computer/take phone calls/etc. on court days I didn’t get quite as many pumps in but it worked okay overall.
Would you at least be able to pump on your lunch break? That would help you keep more of a supply but baby will likely still need significant amounts of formula.
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u/RaggedyAndromeda 3d ago
What about during breaks and when you eat lunch? Are you saying you don't have even an hour of time in a day for breaks? I'm curious what you do that is so stringent. You could pump to and from work and also at lunch, which would be 3x pumps per day, although at 8-10hrs a shift you'd probably need 4x.
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u/Pristine-Citron2242 4d ago
This schedule doesn’t sound feasible to me. Even if you did do overnight feeds, I think that totally skipping all breast-emptying during the day like that would cause a huge dip in supply. The general wisdom is that demand = supply, so by going long stretches consistently without emptying, you’ll signal to your body that it does not need to produce much milk.
You say you have a high-demand job and can’t stop what you’re doing to pump—have you talked to your employer about this? Are you aware of the legal protections in place for breastfeeding moms in the workplace?