How possible is it to keep him exclusively breastfed?

Question

I am scheduled to go back to work in two weeks (my son will be 3 months old on the 30th)

I am starting to panic. I have quite a large supply of milk saved, but I will be exclusively pumping in the day at work and nursing when I am with my son

I will be away from him for almost 11 hours in the day by the time I commute and a full day at work.

I will be able to pump on 2 breaks before and after lunch and during my lunch break.

I have never had a supply issue, I finally got over the oversupply issue I had (probably from pumping from day one to get milk stored)

But now I am just concerned that I might possibly end up with supply issues as he is not nursing during the day.

I really want to keep him exclusively breastfed until 1 year and I'm just looking to hear other mom's stories if this can honestly be done.

Answer 1

it will be difficult.i breast fed my 2 girls for 7 months because when i went back to work i found it hard to pump enough milk. but if you have plenty of milk saved you will be ok for a while longer. it is good that you are doing this but dont put to much pressure on yourself to keep the supply coming. it will be hard leaving your baby so young and if you know you have done the best you can try not to worry to much about it. well done on breastfeeding it is nice to know other people still do it ,i dont know anyone else who did it and it is a shame because breast is best

Answer 2

Your milk supply will slow down but make sure you keep pumping check your state law because your job has to allow you a place to pump and time.  15 minutes is really all you need.

Answer 3

You can do it!! Do your research on what your job allows and keep on it. It is SO worth it. I breastfed my first and I am gonna do the same with my second due in 3 weeks. Good luck!!

Answer 4

It can be done! As long as you stick with pumping as often as you possibly can at work.  I really don't think you will have an issue =) There is also a supplement you can take (ask your pediatrician) that helps keeps your supply up.  I can't think of the name right off the top of my head.  

hope that helps

and congrats!! I like your default picture!

Answer 5

It can be done, but it will take some work.  It sounds like you already have a good freezer supply started, so that should help ease some of the stress, remember the more you stress, the harder it will be to pump.  You need to be relaxed.  :)

I returned to work when my daughter was 11 weeks old, I would tandem pump/nurse in the morning, nursing her on one side while pumping the other, then once she finished nursing I would pump both sides (with a dual electric pump) to get all of the rest.  I too had a 1.5 hour commute one way, so an 8 hour work day turned out to be 11 hours for me.  I pumped 3 times while at work around the same times my daughter would normally nurse, meanwhile she would get bottles of expressed milk around the same times when she was at the baby sitter's house.  I would nurse her again 2-3 times at night and on weekend we would exclusively nurse.  I can tell you that every Monday after nursing all weekend I would be able to pump much more than I could on Friday after I had pumped all week.  Nursing helps build your supply, so when you are with your baby make sure to nurse instead of pumping and bottle feeding.  

I kept up with this pumping at work schedule for 6 months until I got laid off a few months ago and now at almost 13 months we are still nursing and my supply kept up the whole time.

Make sure you have a good (reliable) dual electric pump, it will make it sooooo much easier.  I have a Medela Pump In Style Original that I love, but don't use it much anymore :)

As someone else mentioned, there are supplements you can take to up your supply if you think you need to.  Here's some good info from Kelly Mom:

"What is a galactagogue? Do I need one?

...Herbal remedies for increasing milk supply"

http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksuppl...

Good luck to you :)

Answer 6

lol I don't know but I just wanted to say you have a BEAUTIFUL BABY!  

Answer 7

The best thing to do is pump as much as your baby eats. If you sons eating every two hours be sure to pump ever two hours. My lil girl eats every three hours, so I pump in the morning, lunch and afternoon. I only work 8 hours. If your bosses doesn't let you take an extra break talk to a union rep and just say your going to the bathroom and pump.

Answer 8

check out www.kellymom.com there are tons of tips for breastfeeding moms.  Contact a lactation consultant if you have questions.  You sound determined, I'm sure you'll be able to make it happen.  You seem to be off to a good start.  Good luck!