It is very challenging for any working mom to get the work-life balance after her return to work. But planning ahead of the going back to work can help ease the transition. The returning to work for earning money and leaving your baby at home is more like an emotional pull for most women. If you are a breastfeeding mom and want to coordinate the breastfeeding with going back to work, then you must know how to maintain your milk supply. Moreover, you need to make sure that your little one is having breast milk when you are at work. So, it’s all about expressing milk and storing it safely is the crucial element in this process. In this guide, we will discuss everything you need to know about breastfeeding coordination after returning to work.
How to Combining breastfeeding and work
Here are some useful tips that you should follow if you want to continue breastfeeding with going back to work:
- First off, ask about the breastfeeding policies to the HR manager, work supervisor, your union officer or equal employment opportunities officer.
- It is ideally better to discuss your plan to continue breastfeeding with your employee before going to your maternity leave.
- If you have not time to visit your baby during working hours for feeds, decide when you will express the milk and how many times. The frequency will depend on the needs and age of your infant. If you are not sure how many times you need to express milk, speak with your lactation consultant, health care provider or midwife.
- At work, express breast milk at private space but not a toilet. Moreover, you must have a fridge to store breast milk for later use and an area where you can store your electric or manual pump and take regular breaks as well.
- Pumping can be done by various methods—all you need to choose the method that suits you. You can express it manually using the manual pump or electric breast pump. They are the fastest, and no intense labor is required. The other method is hands-free breast pump bra which is a great choice for working moms.
- Consider buying the Momcozy breast pumping bra that makes at work milk pumping easier and stress-free.
- It is better to look for the baby sitter or daycare center that is near to your workplace for your child care. That way, you may visit your baby during the office timing or breaks or the babysitter can bring your baby to your office. You can discuss all these possible options to your employer and the carer of your child.
How to pump and store milk at the workplace?
You must know all the necessary information about expressing breast milk, storing and thawing it later.
- Before going to the office, feed your baby in the morning and express the remaining milk supply.
- Pump during the work breaks that depend on the age of your baby, how much you take time for pumping and frequency of the sucks of our baby. Once he grows, he needs a lesser amount of milk in a day.
- When the mother and baby are separated for more time, secretion of milk suspended. You can stimulate it with the help of massage on your nipples and breast before and after the pumping. Moreover, taking a hot drink and look at the photo of your baby can also help.
- It may take around 15 minutes for pumping at the workplace. A hands-free breast pump bra can be a great help to mothers.
- You can pump milk into a plastic container or sealable bags that are especially designed for storing breast milk.
- Don’t forget to write the pumping date on the container and fasten to it. Use the milk chronologically to avoid any inconvenience.
What will be the expected behavior of a nursing baby who is separated from his mother?
In this transition process, the nursing baby is expected to express his feelings when his mother is separated from him. He will express his feelings through the expressions of distress and protest. Empathy can decrease the duration and intensity of these expressions.
- Some babies show behavior that may seemingly look like regression.
- Some infants cry a lot and refuse to be breastfeed when mom wishes to feed them after returning to work. This is not a sign of anger. Baby is trying to tell the mom in his own way that he passed his day without his mother.
- On the other hand, some babies suck more frequently during the night to satisfy themselves for the time that spends in the absence of their mothers.
- All these reactions are anticipated and understandable. They are the sign of normal relation. The good thing is that they are temporary.
Tips for helping the working mother and the baby
- At the end of the day, when you arrive at the daycare center to pick your baby, nurse him first. That way, the separation time will be shorter. Moreover, when you nurse at daycare, your body will produce antibodies against the bacteria of the daycare. When nursing him, your milk will immunize your child.
- Pack your shirt or other garments into the bag of your baby you bring to daycare. Ask the nanny; place this garment near your baby while feeding. Baby will feel like his mother is here.
How should I prepare for my return to work?
If you are maternity leave is about to end, practice pumping milk using breast pumping bra and giving the milk to your baby from a bottle for a few weeks. For this, you need to choose the best pumping choice. This might be a manual pump, electric breast pump or hands-free breast pump bra. There are some factors that you need to take into accounts such as cost, efficient, motor noise and portability. All you need to bottle feed your baby the expressed mother milk so that your baby gets used to being fed with the bottle. Ask others to feed the baby with a bottle; this way, your baby can take your milk from others if you are not around.
