Leaving on a Work Trip - Need Pumping Advice!

I am a fan of pumping. I did not breast feed but i pumped with all 3 of my girls....2,5,7. I took my pump everywhere. I had a dual pump with adapters for the car and our boat. The first child i really had no one to talk to about pumping so i went a little crazy. I pumped every 2-3 hours. I had so much i couldn't give it away. I had freezers full everywhere. I only pumped for 9 months but she had pumped milk (freezer) for over 18 months. I learned a lot the first time and on baby 2 i had a nice pattern down. I would mix formula with breast milk on occasion so i never felt stuck. I never had a problem with them taking breast milk or formula and that let me relax. I pumped a full year with the 2nd b/c i let myself relax and i cut off my supply very slowly. I did the same with #3. I had to return to work with all 3. I had no problem pumping at work and storing it. That is were the formula on occasions really helped. I would send bottles of breast milk with my baby in the morning and if i was short or if i was worried about the jalapenos i ate, then i would add a formula bottle if needed. My husband and i take a week long trip every year, away from the babies, and i woudl leave my latest pumpings and a freezer supply and of course the formula back up. I did pump on vacation and i would just dump it. That also allowed me the luxury to have a few drinks as well. I worried the first time that my supply woudl drop b/c i was not pumping as frequently as i do at home, but god i great. What a wonder vessel we are, i was able to resume full schedule once i got home. It only took a couple days for everything to return to normal. I say congrats on pumping. I think it is great. I loved knowing i was giving the very best i had to my miracles and i was able to do it in a modern world of hustle and bustle. Good luck!
After 3...i feel like a pro. I can pump and drive, pump and fix dinner, pump an dfold clothes but.....i loved pumping at night, alone, the sound was very soothing and the house was quite, that was my time. I would work on the baby book or read my parents magazine. Just something for me. Enjoy your blessings!

Feed her all she will eat, then pump what might be left...it may take a few days before you start making more milk, but keep pumping the extra 10+ minutes on each side. You can do this everytime you feed her, or you can choose a few times per day that you will be able to stay consistent with once you are back at work. Maybe after her earliest feeding, early afternoon and once in the evening...whatever works best for you, particularly when you are the most relaxed and have had rest.
Be sure to increase your water intake, and a quality supplement always helps.
Once you are back at work, you may need to incorporate excercise into your daily life to keep your stress levels to a minimum to keep your supply up.
Breastfeeding can be a tough and/or frustrating job. It is so important for your baby, so keep up the good work!!!

Hello Hilary,
Congrats on the new baby girl!!
I would start pumping and storing now. It may be a little difficult at first, but pump in between feedings. It wore me out!! If I wasn't nursing I was pumping.. The more milk your body thinks the baby needs, the more it will make. Do you have a good pump? I have a double medella that is electric that I am no longer using. I was sad to quit breast feeding (at 5 months) but it turned out to me too much for me, and I had very sore boobies... ;( You can sterilize the pump the milk never touches the machine. Anyway, if you are interested give me an email back. Also have several books if you need them, the pump I have to sell (listed when i was pregnant at 300) I will sell it for 100.
In any event, unless you are just leaking and always full, it will take a bit of time to store 5 days supply, so start now. From the books I read you can store breast milk in the freezer for 3 months. So when it starts getting close to the mark, feed her the frozen and freeze the fresh. Also, it looks a little weird after freezing kind of seperated..
Good luck !!

How long it takes and how much you get when you pump varies a lot from woman to woman, so my recommendation is to start pumping ASAP, so you can judge how much time you'll need and how things will go. I found it VERY hard to store up much milk when I was also breastfeeding full time. Your milk supply takes about an hour to fully restore, so I had to be VERY strategic in when I pumped between feedings, and it would still take me 2-3 pumping sessions to get enough for one feeding. I got a lot more from each pumping session when I went back to work, and so was pumping in place of feeding instead of in addition to, but I still had to supplement with formula starting at 4 months, since I just couldn't keep up without spending all day with my pump hooked up at my desk!

The best way that I found to get a good pump while also feeding was to try to get my DD to only feed on one side, and pump the other, then switch sides next feeding. I think that this method built up my milk supply, and also saved me from having to have quite such commando timing in my pumping. This didn't work, however, when she went through a growth spurt and needed both sides.

Just experiment to see what works best for you, and good luck!

Hello. I have 4 children and have quite a bit of experience with breastfeeding. First of all, I can already tell you are a wonderful mom! Relax, because it will all work out! Try to pump an ounce or two in between feedings. The next time you feed your baby, if she seems to be getting full, then the pumping was probably okay. The more I fed my babies and the more I pumped the more milk I would produce. Maybe this will work for you too! Remember, this is just a suggestion for you. Good luck and God bless you for nourishing your baby!

You will have plenty of time to get enough milk pumped by then. However--Don't slow down on the pumping while you are away!! WIth her not nursing on those 5 days, pumping is the only way to keep it going--so just do it as much as you can--even if you just throw it out due to not having adequate storage. And when you get back--you might want to pump and nurse for a while to build back up if you feel like you slowed down production! Good Luck and that is so great that you are planning ahead!! :)