Adventures in Breastfeeding: Pumping

When I was pregnant with Brees and fully determined to breastfeed for at least her first
year, I knew that pumping was going to become a major part of my life.  I am a
working mama and love my job as a registered nurse, it's such a big part of who I am.  And
so I knew that returning to work when my little bambino was only 8 weeks old was going
to require planning, preparation, and a whole lotta milk storing.

Step 1: Invest in a nice pump.  Yes, they are expensive.  But, as a nurse who has to slip
in pump times between caring for patients, I need a breast pump that's going to do the
job and do it quickly.  I was very blessed to receive a Medella In Style Advanced pump
for free from one of my coworkers who had never used hers after deciding not to
breastfeed.  This super efficient pump is a double electric and allows me to pump 6 ounces
in less than 10 minutes: super important when you have a busy work schedule.  It came
with a car battery adapter, also important because, now that I am working as a home
health nurse, I have to pump in my car.  Talk about multi-tasking...

Step 2: Develop a plan of attack before baby arrives.  In order to avoid stress and
confusion upon returning to work after maternity leave, discuss your plan to pump at
work with your supervisor and coworkers.  A few weeks before I left work, I sat down
with my Director of Nursing and told her that I would need to pump every 3 hours.  We
also discussed what location would be best and she even ensured that a mini-fridge would
be available in the office where I would be pumping.  This made returning to work so
much easier because I didn't feel so self-conscious walking in with my pump.  Everyone
was fully aware of what I needed and they were behind me 100%.  Lots of inside jokes
were developed including the nickname "Elsie" and the entire staff singing
Madonna's "Express Yourself" when they saw me coming down the hall with my
trusty black bag.

Step 3: Bring your pump with you to the hospital when you deliver your baby.  The
lactation consultant on our maternity floor went through the workings of our pump with
us step by step.  She gave us a box full of supplies and tons of advice on when and how
to most effectively use the pump.  This proved to be a life saver when I first had to use it:
late one night, fully engorged, blind with sleep deprivation.  That was NOT the time to
pull out a how-to manual and I was so glad to have had a crash course at the hospital.

 Step 4: Start pumping early.  If you are a working mom or even a mom with an active
social life, you will need a reserve.  Don't wait until your baby is 2 months old and
you're ready to leave the nest for a few hours to decide to start storing milk.  I
started pumping when Brees was only 3 days old.  At first, it was a way to relieve myself
of the overwhelming engorgement caused by my milk supply.  I gradually got into a
routine, as advised by my lactation consultant, of pumping once a day, about 30 minutes
after Brees's first morning feeding.  This was the time of day when my milk supply was
the most plentiful, therefore I had milk to spare.  Pumping once a day so early also got
me comfortable with the process, allowed me to develop a good, efficient routine for
cleaning my pump parts and storing my milk.  By the time I was ready to go back to work,
we had a freezer full of milk and I felt well acquainted with my new friend, Medella.

{Brees inspecting her goods...}

Step 5: Develop a routine that works for you.  We all have our own ways of doing
things, obviously, and my pumping routine is a blend of things I've read, advice from
other breastfeeding moms, and trial and error.  I am still pumping every three hours when
I am away from Brees.  This ensures my milk supply stays up and keeps our routine in
check.  It's hard work and inconvenient at times but as I said earlier: I knew going into this
it would be a big part of my life and I'm okay with that.  I pump into the bottles that
came with my pump, transfer the milk into Lansinoh milk storage bags, and then use
Medella Quick Clean Wipes to clean all of my parts and bottles.  When I get home from
work each afternoon, I wash my bottles and shields in hot soapy water and then
sterilize them in the microwave using Medella Quick Steam bags.  I then put my milk in
the freezer using this method.  Quick, easy, and efficient.

Step 6: Don't forget about the baby's role in all this.  My lactation consultant advised us
to introduce Brees to her first bottle of pumped milk at 6 weeks old.  Any earlier and you
risk nipple confusion and a compromised milk supply, any older and she would be
totally uninterested in taking the bottle.   So, on her 6 week birthday, Shawn sent me on
my very first outing away from my little girl to get a pedicure and he gave our precious
baby her first bottle.  I cried for an hour.  She, of course, did fine and we resumed
nursing without ever missing a beat.   We use Dr. Brown's bottles and love them, they
helped her reflux immensely and are not as hard to clean as people might think.  Our
routine, from the beginning, has been that Brees only gets a bottle if I am not home: when
she is with the sitter while I'm at work or on the rare occasion we go out and leave her
with someone.  Keeping bottle using to a minimum is also key to the success of nursing.

{Shawn and Isabelle were so excited to get involved in the feeding process!  At 9 months
old, Brees still will NOT hold her own bottle.  I suppose that's a direct result of having
the boob delivered straight to her.}

Pumping is a huge part of my life: it's not necessarily something I love doing but it has
allowed me to work and still be able to give my child what she needs.  It requires thought
and planning and can sometimes be a hassle, like the time my patient was coding on the
table and I had to pack everything up at lightening speed and run down the hall for a
little CPR session.  But I take great pride every time I look inside my freezer and see all
of those baggies labeled "Mommy's Milk".  And if either of my daughters ever tries to
complain to me about the difficulties of breastfeeding, I will swiftly tell them about the time
I pumped in the parking lot at the water park.  Or the time a man walked up to my car at
a gas station and asked if I needed help, only to realize there was a strange machine
attached to my boobs.  Or the time I accidentally dropped a bottle full of freshly
expressed milk all over my uniform and had to borrow a set of scrubs from surgery.
You get the picture...