Returning to work is a big step and leaving behind your breastmilk for your caregiver to feed your baby with your breastmilk is one of the best things you can do. By expressing your breastmilk and storing it will give you peace of mind when you are away from your baby and will keep up your milk supply so you and baby can breastfeed when back together.
At Lansinoh we pride ourselves on having very efficient and quiet breast pumps that busy mums can use on the go as well as quietly at home. Our range of pumps gives you flexibility on how and when you pump.
A manual breast pump can be used for those times when you feel full and will only be gone for a short time, and our electric pumps help quicken the process when you are expressing frequently and larger amounts.
You also want to think about where and how you are going to store your breastmilk at work. Lansinoh Breastmilk Storage Bags are specially designed to keep breastmilk safe and secure so it can be stored in the fridge or the freezer – there are storing instructions that come with your product but here they are as well:
It is essential that when you and baby are apart that your body gets the regular stimulation it needs to continue making milk. That is why it is recommended to pump on the same schedule as your baby would be nursing. Your baby feeds (demands) your body responds (supplies) breastmilk. This ‘supply’ and ‘demand’ connection between the 2 of you means baby gets the breastmilk he needs to fill him up and your breasts will make more milk to replenish what has been drunk.
To get this same response for both you and baby at the times you need to pump just follow these few simple steps:
- Breast pumping after nursing will remove any milk your baby did not drain from the breast. Use the breast pump on both breasts regardless of whether your baby has suckled from both breasts; one breast or one and half breasts. Our electric breast pumps may be best for this job as you can pump both breasts at the same time. Our double pump with its multiple settings would be ideal when you need different suction levels on each breast according to how you baby has just fed.
- If you and your baby will be apart during any normal feeding times, you will need to use a breast pump to replicate baby’s feeding schedule.
- If you and baby are apart, it will be important that your caregiver feeds baby your expressed breastmilk. Take a look at our article on ‘Paced Responsive Feeding’ for tips on how best to feed your breastfed baby.
- You may not get a lot of milk at the start of pumping as your body gets adjusted to a breast pump but don’t give up – it is the stimulation that you also want that will eventually trigger the stimulation needed to make milk and to drain your breast. Remember, stimulation = demand
- You will find that each pumping session will vary in time and the quantity of milk obtained. As you see the sprays slow down or stop then you know that you have all your milk from that session. It is important to keep you breast stimulated as well to obtain your breast milk
Importantly, when you and baby are together, keep feeding on demand as your baby is the most efficient way for making that supply and demand connection and will help you to pump more efficiently when you are apart. Thinking about returning to work after an absence is hard but when you have to leave your baby it has to be harder. The best you can do for your baby is to provide expressed breastmilk for those times you are apart. When you are together feed your baby as much as you can from the breast as the skin to skin connection will make it extra special when you reconnect.
