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When I went back to work I was determined to keep Holden exclusively on breast milk for 6 months and breastfed until at least a year old. So I knew before he was even born that pumping was in my future. I prepared for pumping while I was pregnant by ordering my pump (you can apply for one FREE through your insurance here), registering for pumping supplies, and learning as much as I could about the ins and outs of pumping at work. I thought I had everything down, and I even went back to work with a freezer full of breastmilk *just in case.*

What I didn’t know is that pumping in itself is another job. I began pumping when Holden was about three weeks old. I had over supply and had to have some relief, but occasionally pumping at home is completely different than pumping at work. My day revolved around my milk: waking up earlier to pump in the morning once I got to work, nursing Holden as I rushed out the door, chugging enough liquids to keep me hydrated, taking lactation supplements, rushing to the nurses office to pump during my conference, rushing to get back to my students, staying late to pump again, and getting home ASAP to nurse Holden. Breastmilk was always on my mind and I was constantly working to keep up my supply. Pumping took over my conference period so I now was struggling even more than before to keep up with grading, copies, lesson plans and staying organized. If I had a meeting during that time, my 20 minute lunch break became a pumping race against the clock. Counting ounces. Tracking minuets. Sterilizing parts. Pumping absolutely added work to my day.

The first month was a battle. I had never been away from Holden for more than a few hours at a time. I was unsure of how much milk I would be pumping during my work day, and how much he would want to take from a bottle. There are so many things to consider. I worried about being able to keep up with grading and lesson planning, as my time to do so was filled with pumping, and the thought of staying hours after work to grade or make copies filled me with dread and guilt. I was already missing eleven hours of my son’s day. I couldn’t spare another second of my time with him. So for the majority of the first week I would drag my lap top or stacks of papers to the nurses office with me. I would hook myself up to the pump, hold the pump to my breast in one hand and try to grade with the other. It wasn’t easy. I even tried leaving at 3:45 on the dot to pump in my car as I drove home on my hour long commute. That wasn’t easy, or safe. I was at a loss.

I was constantly going from the moment I woke up, to teaching the 60 fifth graders in my classroom throughout the day, to full on mothering when I got home. There just wasn’t enough time in the day to get pumping plus a thousand other things done. I felt depleted physically, emotionally, and mentally. I was touched out. If leaving my baby wasn’t taking enough of an emotional toll, the work load of resuming my job after a three month hiatus, combined with the stress of pumping, and the sudden lack of sleep definitely was. I quickly felt over whelmed. I was determined to keep on pumping, but something had to change.

Here are somethings I’ve learned, and somethings I try to remind myself of as I continue to pump to keep my son fed. If you’re a working and pumping mom too, know you are not alone. I see you, applaud you and think you’re doing a great job! If you’re just beginning your pumping journey hopefully these lessons I’ve learned will help you too!

1. Stop working when you’re pumping

The first thing I did was to stop multi-tasking. Pumping now was strictly time for me. I decided I would use it as a much needed break in my day. During the 30-45 minutes of pumping during my conference period I would either look at photos and videos of Holden, or would purge all the thoughts I had about the newness of motherhood and all that accompanied that into my phone’s note pad, which is where this blog began. Anything and everything that was nagging at my brain I would dump into a note. I didn’t begin doing this with the intention of a blog. I have always done this as a cathartic way of dealing with my thoughts and feelings. I quickly had upwards of 30 posts that I now revisit, edit, add to and complete as blog posts. This completely transformed pumping for me. Now I looked forward to pumping. It became my time as opposed to another chore for me to accomplish. I have to sit there attached to a machine, I might as well do something productive and enjoyable during that time.

Obviously blogging isn’t everyone’s favorite past time, but you could easily read a book, catch up on social media, or just stare at pictures of your baby, too. Make pumping enjoyable someway. Let your brain take a break, and do something for yourself, while you’re doing something selfless for your baby. If you make pumping harder or more miserable than it already is, you could be setting yourself up to burn out.

2. Take care of yourself

When you hear the advice to take care of yourself before you take care of anyone else, make sure you apply this idea to pumping. Breastfeeding is a very physical and complex relationship. Your body naturally puts the needs of your baby first, so it is so important that you keep your body healthy. Continue to take prenatal vitamins, eat big, healthy meals, drink lots of water. My health and well being became a priority because I could see a direct correlation between the way I treated myself and my milk production. At times the average number of ounces I produced was as much as 17-20 oz a day, but it could also dip to 10-12 oz a day, which was just keeping Holden fed. I made it a point to never skip breakfast, keep my classroom stocked with snacks, bring multiple drinks to work with me, and absolutely never deprive myself of what my body told me I needed. Did I lose all my baby weight that way? No, but I am currently still breastfeeding at 9 months postpartum, and donating extra milk to milk banks. It was worth the extra 15 pounds to me.

(over 20 ounces of leftover milk at the end of the work week)

3. Keep up your supply

This is a tricky one. There are so many different aspects about pumping and breastfeeding that can impact your supply. I didn’t want to be, but I was terrified about losing my supply when I returned to work. I didn’t have supply issues while I was on maternity leave. In fact I had a slight over supply and built up quite the frozen stash that fills my freezer. But I wanted to continue making enough during the work week, so I began investigating ways to boost my supply. The truth is that there’s not a magical remedy. It’s simply supply and demand. If you empty the breast more often, it will refill again. I started out pumping three times a day, but realized, due to my oversupply that I could get away with just two pumping sessions. Instead of pumping once I arrived at work, I just nursed Holden in the morning before I left for work, and then again as soon as we got home. The two pumping sessions at work were enough for us, but not everyone is the same. If you are just starting out pumping at work, I would shoot for as many pumping sessions as possible. At least every 3-4 hours. Frequency is what milk supply comes down to, but there are a few tricks to keep in mind if you want to give an extra boost!

STAY HYDRATED! I made it a goal to drink 64oz of water a day. I made this easier for myself by buying cute water bottles, cutting out cokes (caffeine in general) and setting water drinking goals. I also drank blue Gatorade that allegedly has magical milk boosting powers and Milk Maid Tea. These things help supply, but you have to empty the breast to refill it, so never skip a pumping sesh and pump as much as possible. Eat food that promotes lactation too. Oatmeal, fenugreek, and just calories in general do the trick.

Sometimes I would splurge too and order lactation treats from Milky Mama, and they are the bomb! They actually work too. A little expensive? Yes, but it was worth it me. I could have made lactation treats myself, but I indulged myself  in order to save time and energy of baking and cleaning up in my too small and messy kitchen.I will attempt to make my own once I have a second to breathe and freeze the dough. What a great excuse to eat a cookie, am I right? My favorites are the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, and iced teas. Take care of yourself and treat yourself!

I also make smoothies. I have done this for several reasons. First, it’s a good way to get veggies and fruit. It’s also an easy way for me to take my vitamins that I have trouble swallowing. Banana and spinach, anything to get as much goodness in your diet as possible will benefit breast feeding. I currently take, Garden of Life Prenatal Vitamins, and will continue to take prenatal vitamins until I am done with the child bearing and breastfeeding chapter of my life. Vitamins are so important to maintaining your overall health. Throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding, naturally our bodies give all of our nutrients to our babies first. If you are low on calcium or iron, you body will begin taking it from your bones and muscles to make sure baby has all that he/she needs. Being nutritionally depleted is terrible for breastfeeding, and not to mention your health in general.

I have even tried taking lactation supplements. The kind I have tried is, Lactation Plus by Honest Co. It’s good and it works. I don’t take it daily or even weekly, but I realized as I tried to donate milk that this will disqualify your milk for being eligible for donations. I donate to Mothers’ Milk Bank Austin, and they will not take any milk that has been pumped while using lactation supplements, so that is something to consider and to take note of when using those products. You can also take fenugreek for a supply boost!

4. Ignore anyone who is not 100% supportive of you pumping

Before pumping, I never realized how much of a beast milk aversion our culture has. I’d mention pumping to some colleagues, see the looks on their faces, and suddenly feel like I was being inappropriate. My husband’s grandma, who watched Holden while I was at work, took a while to get used to breastmilk. She often compared my milk to formula because it was what she was used to and had a hard time hiding a look of discomfort on her face. It does get easier with time. People usually only have a reaction because breastmilk, breastfeeding, or pumping is something that they aren’t used to. It takes time, and positive reinforcement for it to become normalized. Give it time, be patient with everyone around you, but stand your ground. Breastmilk is important. You are important and doing what you think it best for your baby is important too.

For every weird look or rude comment I got about pumping at work, I got so many more words of encouragement. Compliments from co-workers, positive affirmations and acknowledgements of the hard work and sacrifice that is pumping. Every time the nurse joked about putting my milk on her cereal or called me “superwoman” I gained a lot more confidence about my choice to pump and was more determined than ever to keep going. Even when I had those days when I forgot my pump, spilled my milk, leaked through my clothes it was all worth it.

(milk left after a spill)

6. Remember you milk is not gross

I’m not sure what your situation is. Maybe you have a less than friendly daycare worker who is uncomfortable handling your breastmilk. Maybe your co-worker is uncomfortable letting his/her lunch share the refrigerator with your breast milk. Whatever the case may be, do not let anyone passive aggressively (or blatantly) make you feel ashamed of pumping or your breastmilk. It is not weird, inappropriate, or gross. Theres actually a physiological change that occurs when women are breastfeeding that makes you a little bit more brave. Something about the hormones produced while nursing. I’m not generally a confrontational person, but if someone or something interfered with my ability to nurse or pump I would have been quick to address it.

Anyone who has a problem with it can kick rocks. God designed our bodies to create the perfect nourishment to feed human babies. My son is the most important person to me, and if it’s good enough for him then it’s good enough for anyone else, I tell ya. Not everyone will understand the commitment and sacrifice that pumping requires, but that is ok. I do. You do, and that is all that matters at the end of the day.

7. Know your rights!

As a pumping and working mom you are entitled to certain rights. Your employer has to allow you time and a private place to pump. Just so we’re clear, a private place does not mean a bathroom. Your right to pump is ensured by Fair Labor Standards Act. Talking to your employer about your pumping needs before you go back to work will be helpful to establish what your needs are. If you run into any issues receiving adequate break time from your employer to pump you can contact the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) at 1-800-487-9243. If you would like more information about your rights to pump at work, or just pumping at work in general visit Kellymom.com, my go-to source for everything breastfeeding related.

8. Remember it is not as complicated as it seems

I stressed out for weeks before returning to work about the logistics of pumping. What would I need? Where would I go? What should I wear? How will I pull it off? How would I store my milk? How should I clean my pumping parts? Once I was at work and actually pumping I realized it was much simpler than expected. Although it is time consuming, it is really a breeze. Now that I have a routine down I never give it a second thought. But if you’re like me, I have answered all of those questions for you. Granted everyone’s work place, and work hours are different, but hopefully this is helpful.

I listed out all of my pumping necessities in an earlier blog post called Must Haves For Pumping at Work. Pumping at work is different than pumping at home because you’re usually pressed for time, you don’t have anything and everything at your disposal and its harder to get what you need during the work day. Unfortunately, I forgot my pump on an inservice day, and spent my lunch rushing to Walmart to buy a manual pump and pumping in the parking lot while eating a sandwich, which is why you should be prepared ahead of time.

I pumped in the corner of the nurses office. I had access to a refrigerator and never had a problem. At the end of the day once my students were gone, I just pumped in my class room with the door locked because the nurses office was closed. Talk about a pumping place plan before you go back to work, or better yet, before you go on maternity leave.

Fortunately, my conference period was right in the middle of my work day, which was prime time for pumping. I wore pumping accessible clothes, which usually were flowy tops, nursing dresses, and nursing bras. I think I am doomed to wear nursing clothes for the rest of my life, but they get the job done.

As far as storing my milk and cleaning parts goes; I just put any part of the pump that came in contact with my milk in the fridge in-between pumping sessions. I would put pumped milk in a little cooler with an ice pack for our commute home, and then right back in the fridge at his Great-Grandma’s house. I would wash all pump parts that touched my milk with hot water and dish soap, and then sterilize them for the next day’s use. Pretty simple, and I was over thinking it quite a bit. No need to sterilize in-between each use.

The teachers I worked with, my principal, and the school nurse were all very accommodating and supportive of me while I was pumping, but it doesn’t mean they understood all that I was going through. Being a new mom, newly away from my baby, a full work load, a long drive, and little to no sleep some if not most nights. . . it was all a lot to juggle. It is a lot and it is difficult, but just because something is difficult doesn’t mean it is impossible. The extra time and effort is worth it. Don’t give up momma; you’ve got this!