Back to Work

Maternity leave is a blur of exhaustion and milestones. I have heard people say that they would love to have 6 weeks off with a baby. These are people who A) Have never been around a newborn, or B) have had a baby of their own and know what the hell they are doing. Not only had I never been around a newborn by myself, I had no clue what I was doing. It was trial by fire. Trial by baby poop and breastfeeding and trying to keep what is basically a breathing sack of potatoes alive and uninjured. A sack of potatoes can't tell you what it wants or needs so you are left guessing what to do. Then, once you think you have figured it out, the baby decides they aren't into that anymore so you better come up with something else. Maybe last week he liked to be held a certain way, but if you hold him like that this week you might as well be holding him by the ankles over a ledge. You have to be ready for change, and once you find something that works you do it until they decide it's not working and it's on to the next thing. And of course, once you start to get the hang of things your 6 weeks of completely focusing on the baby are over and it's back to work. Time to start a whole new routine.

I am one of the lucky people who actually love their job. Going back to work for me wasn't hard because I didn't want to work, it was hard because I love my sack of potatoes. One part of me was excited to have adult conversations and get back into the real world, while the other part was in stress out mode trying to make sure that Will would be ok without me there. I am also lucky because for the time being we don't have to take him to daycare. With Brent's success in the fight world and my three day weekends we could work it out so that he has him two full days a week and he goes to friends or family two days a week from 11-6. If I had to drop him off at day care I would be a mess of crazy mom, and I don't want to be a crazy mom.

Preparation 


I love routines. I love lists and plans and having things ready. I had been planning my return to work since Will was born and searched the good ol' Internet for information on how to make the transition easy. I wanted to see actual routines from real people, not just articles on what to do. So here is what I did to prepare for that first week back, schedules and all.

Obviously my biggest stress was making sure that I left enough breast milk for him while I was gone. I was able to freeze a ton of milk while on maternity leave, but everything I have read says that fresh milk is best since your milk changes to meet the needs of your growing baby. Therefore the milk you pumped and froze last month isn't the same as what you are pumping now. I decided to keep my frozen stash for emergencies and use fresh milk for Will while I was at work. So how much do you leave? The rule is an ounce for every hour you are away. I work 10 hours day so with travel I am typically away for 11 hours a day. And since my baby is a beast monster I decided to be safe and leave 14 ounces plus a few extra just in case. I also kept a log starting 2 weeks before I went back to work of every feeding, boob or bottle, so that I could get a feel for his routine and how often he eats during the time that I would be at work. I continue to keep a log and have Brent write down when he eats and how much while I am gone. We had been giving him a bottle since he was 4 weeks old at his 8am (or 9am) feeding and found that he always ate a large amount. I am assuming that is because he would go for long stretches overnight and was more hungry in the morning. Now I leave 1 bottle of 5oz for his first feeding, and 4 bottles of 3oz amounts for the rest of the day. He eats 3 of the 3oz bottles which leaves one bottle just in case. If he doesn't eat that last bottle, which he didn't my first week back, I would just rotate that bottle for the next day. So far this has worked for us

                             


Pumping at Work


What is it like to pump at work? Moo. That's what it is like. I sit down to pump and I feel like Bessie the cow. I have a love/hate relationship with pumping. It is awesome because I can continue to breastfeed my baby while working, but it's also terrible because it takes the wonders of breastfeeding and turns them into a demoralizing act. There you are with your shirt up and the pump going making that stupid pumping noise and there is no way to feel good, at least not for me. But I digress. On the days I work I take my nifty Medela pump, the necessary attachments, 4 bottles to pump into, a cute cooler to keep my milk in, and an icepack to keep my milk cold on the ride home. I leave the insulated cooler that came with my pump for Brent to transport milk when he drops him off on the days he is not watching him. I picked a larger insulated cooler that still fits in my pump backpack but has enough room for my 4 bottles and the pumping attachments. That way in between pumping I can put the pumping attachments (breast shields) into the cooler bag and into the fridge so I don't have to rinse them in between pumping. In the morning I nurse Will, pump to drain my breasts, get to work at 7:45am, pump at 10:00am, 12 or 1pm, and again at 3 or 3:30pm. I double pump for efficiency and based on what I leave for Will daily I pump at least 2 1/2 oz from each breast during a session. That leaves me with 15oz by the end of the day and the little extra that I pumped in the morning before I went to work. I feel more comfortable leaving more milk than necessary.

End of Day

When I get home from work I either nurse Will right away (depending on his last feeding) or start the task of cleaning used bottle, nipples, and my pumping supplies. I try to nurse Will 3 times before I go to sleep, usually 7, 9, then 11 or 11:30. I wake him up to nurse around those times if he is sleeping just to make sure he sleeps through the night.

My actual work week was great. I love the people I work with and my job. That doesn't mean I didn't cry on the way to work that first day, or that I didn't think about Will every minute that I was gone. I missed him so much it hurt at times, and by the end of my work week I couldn't wait to start enjoying my weekend with him. Going back to work isn't as daunting as it seems, just find a routine that works for you and try to stick with it. And when your heart hurts because you are away from your baby just think of the time you get on your days off. You'll appreciate that time even more.