Pumping at Work: My Everyday Pumping Routine
9:19:00 AM
Today, I will be sharing with you my pumping routine at
work. I have a 9 to 5 job Monday to Friday and I gave birth to a
beautiful and bouncy baby boy. Now, he’s four month old and I’m still breastfeeding
him. So I would like to share how I do it at work for soon-to-be moms who would
like to do it as well.
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| My Baby Jethro Miguel |
First, in the morning I prepare my pumping kit. Sometimes, I
do it in the evening so it’s ready in the following day. So what does it
includes: My manual Looney Tunes Breast Pump, 3 breastmilk containers, 1 large
Reynolds Ziploc, 2 Ice Packs all packed up in my Igloo Thermal bag. I will make
a separate blog post for the review of the products mentioned.
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| My Pumping Kit |
When I arrived to office, the first thing I do is to put
those Icepack in the Fridge and since I’m in the pantry already, it would be
good to drink a glass of water. When you’re pumping, drinking plenty of water
is a must. I normally pump, two to three times at work. We have a lactating
room/conference room in the office. However, I do not find it comfortable
because sometimes officemates who will use the room waits for me outside,
putting me pressure to finish quickly. What I did is to ask HR to allow me to
use one of the comfort room, we have one exclusive for guests. It’s cleaner and
you can lock yourself inside. With that, I have access to faucet so I can wash
my hands thoroughly before pumping plus more privacy. I just hang a note on the
washroom door so people are inform I’m using it as lactating room.
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| From milkit kit |
Here’s my pumping schedule. If I pump three times a day, it
would be 10AM, 1PM, and 4PM. Sometimes, only two pumping session so that would
be 11AM and 5PM. It would take me 15minutes per session. Every session, I would be bring my pumping kit with
me at the washroom. Here’s the routine.
1. I wash my hands first and proceed with the pumping.
2. I would spent all 15minutes in pumping. My output is between 2oz to 4oz
3. After that, I will put the pump inside the ziploc and put it on the freezer. Yes, I do not clean the pump every session, I just put it in the freezer and that works for me.
4. For my milk, I keep them in refrigerator. I was informed that some nutrients are lost when you freeze your milk so I just keep mine cool. Anyway, it is still good for consumption within 48 hours.
And so for the next pumping session, I will just get my pump
from the freezer and start with it right away, same routine. After office, the
ice pack will keep my milk cool during travel back to home.
At home when I returned from work I will direct feed my
baby. I did the same on holidays and weekends. With that, I will be able to
maintain my milk supply and most specially keep my bond with my baby.
As for my milk, my Monday milk will be consumed by baby on
Tuesday, Tuesday milk will be consume on Wednesday and so on. The only
difference is on Friday. For Friday milk, I will keep it in the freezer. On
weekends, I direct feed my baby. Then for Monday, I will use my milk stack.
That way, my milk stack are being updated with fresher milk and I do not have
any spoilage. I make it a point that my frozen milk will be consumed by baby
within one month.
So there, it’s simple and doable. Here’s my additional tips
for you working moms:
2. Keep a snack with you always. You'll be hungry a lot when you pump and since you are using your break time as pumping time, you do not have time to buy a snack so you better be ready for that.
3. Spend all 15 minutes in pumping even though there’s nothing flowing out. Breastflow is unpredictable. Sometimes it flows right away, sometimes it flows after some time. I would remember spending 10minutes and all I have was droplets. But I do not give up. Amazingly, milk flow after 10 minutes and I have 3oz on my bottle!
4. Use the Ziploc system. That way, you don’t need to spend time washing your pump.
5. I prefer a manual pump. It’s lightweight, easy to clean and you can control the pump pressure. Again, this is my personal preference.
6. To avoid nipple confusion, make sure that you have a milk when you direct feed your baby. I have read an article that says, nipple confusion only happens when your baby feeds on you and he got nothing because your breast is empty. With that, he would prefer a bottle that has milk always. So if you pump 6PM, do not direct feed him on 7PM because surely there's little milk inside. Wait for a while until you are sure you have a milk supply.
Also be aware that as you start to return to work and
your baby starts to bottlefeed, you will have problems in direct feeding. But be patient, do
not give up easily. Babies can be trained. Though he refuse, still offer him
your breast. In no time, he will learn that he has two source of milk, his
bottles and your breasts.
Hope this helps. If you want to know how to prepare before
returning to work, check on my next post. Feel free to comment below if you
have questions in mind.
Have a great day moms and moms-to-be!
2 comments
hi! meron ka bang review about looney tunes manual pump? kasi yun din gamit ko, pero nagtataka lang ako after ilang minutes, pagnagpupump ako parang may hangin na sa loobb then wala na lumalabas na milk, normal lang ba na parang mei hangin sa loob? sana masagot mo.. thanks :) -anne
ReplyDeleteHi Anne Miano! Thank you got dropping by. I have used the looney tunes manual pump for more than a year and I can say it works well. Easy to use and easy to clean. Make sure lang to properly install the parts for better pumping. Kapag parang kay hangin during nagpupump, try to adjust yung parang silicon breast cup, ikot mo lang to release the air and it should be ok. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have further questions.
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