Working/pumping? Ftm

Question

Hi ladies! I plan on going back to work part time once my maternity leave is up. My baby will be 8 weeks old. I will be working 7am-6pm every Wednesday thru Friday. I work at a busy veterinary clinic as a tech and I'm not sure how many times during the day I will need to pump, how much milk I should pump, and how long a pumping session will take? My manager wants to know how many breaks I plan on taking and seems quite annoyed with me. Any advice or input is much appreciated

Answer

Last pregnancy I pumped every 3-4 hrs about 20 min a session. If you do less your supply will decrease. They are required by law to let you pump but I know the feeling of your employer being annoyed. I worked 12hr shifts in a busy er. It's hurtful, but your baby needs the milk and unless your employer is willing to buy your formula they should support you!

Answer

What the other ladies are suggesting sounds about right. Just wanted to let you know there are laws that protect you so be informed since your manager is already showing their feelings about your situation.

Answer

I am a FTM so I'm not speaking from experience but a girl I work with pumps 3x in an 8hr work day for 20 mins each. I think everyone is different in regards to speed and frequency though.

Answer

I'm a FTM too, but from everything I've heard it kind of seems like something you have to figure out after the baby's born. It depends on how much the baby needs.

Answer

I worked in an operating room and my pumping schedule was @ 0630 when I got to work, then at 0900, then 1200, then 1500, then I went home to my son. I had to scrub out of surgery, walk down to the other end of the hospital, and go down a floor to the breast pumping room, set up, pump 20min or so, then clean up and walk back, and get scrubbed back in. Total time was about 30-35 min round trip. My co workers hated it. But what are you gonna do?! My kid has to eat and I'm entitled to pump. It ended up costing me my position and moving departments entirely due to the conflicts and coworkers unwillingness to understand. Not to worry you. I worked with a bunch of guys who didn't understand what I was doing.

Answer

I'd plan for about every three hours. Figure your first session will need to be about 3 hours after you last fed baby. Then every 3 hours from there. It will take about 15-20 minutes. Obviously it doesn't have to be exactly 3 hours. But you don't want to push it. I've pumped with both my children. I'd feed baby around 6am then pump at 8:30, 12:00, and 2:00. I'm a teacher so I do my best to work with my schedule. I pump before the kids get there, then on my lunch, and again when they are specials. Good luck. It's hard work but well worth it.

Working/pumping? Ftm

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