There are many moms who have to return to work after having their baby. During this time many moms often struggle with how they will continue the nursing process while they are working. Nursing provides a really nice bond for moms an their babies and many mothers want to breastfeed their babies until they are at least a year old. So how can you manage this while working.
The first suggestion is to not stress so much over it. Obviously, while you are at work you will need to still pump in order to keep your milk flow coming in. In my personal experience, I found that making a nursing schedule prior to going back to work is the key. Early morning nursing times and evening nursing times are something that can be set up in advance. Once you baby is on schedule they will look forward to you returning home. You can nurse your baby before you leave for work, and then leave the bottle for the sitter during the day. In the evening as soon as you return from work you can nurse and work on bonding with your baby.
If you have a sitter at home you can make sure that they do not feed the baby within the last two hours before you arrive home. This way your baby will be ready to nurse. If you use the schedule right, you will have no problem with this. Usually nursing babies need to eat every two hours. If you work out your schedule times in advance this should not be a problem. In my case I worked close enough to home so it was possible for me to come home for lunch and nurse the baby while I ate. The schedule that I had created during the months while I was home, was what really helped me to be able to manage during the back to work times.
Remember that when your breasts have a full feeling this means it is time to express your milk. If you are at work take a break and use the breast pump to express the milk. The bottles can be placed in a cooler that you can bring with you to work. Be sure to have a large enough ice pack to keep the milk cold. This milk can be given to the baby during the day when you are at work. This will help to make sure that your child is getting the nutrition that you want and you will still have plenty of time for bonding. You should expect that you will be tired during the course of the day because of the two hour feedings at night. To make sure that you get a nice amount of sleep you can have your husband pitch in with a bit of cleaning and have the meals prepared in advance. This way when you arrive home from work you can just relax. I have found that cooking and freezing the meals on the weekend is a good way to have ready to eat meals during the week. All you will need to do with these meals is pop them in the oven and then eat. During the first few months back to work you will need help. Either your husband or a family member can come in and help you with cleaning and chores on the weekend so that you can rest after nursing when coming home from work. Remember that it is really all about the schedule, and sticking to it.
