How Do I Manage Breastfeeding and Working?

admin — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 20:41:47 +0000

By Carie Hodes

Nope, it wasn’t easy leaving my breastfed baby and returning to work. I was confused and upset that I would no longer be able to breastfeed, however I knew that somehow I would find a balance between my baby and my work. Here are some tips I picked up to make returning to work with a breastfed baby easier:

Tips

Plan ahead: Determine what facilities are available where you work.

Purchase or rent a high quality breast pump. Make sure it’s a double pump since time will be of the essence at work. Hospital grade pumps are the best since they mimic the baby’s sucking action the closest. If breast pumps seem expensive keep in mind that the cost of purchasing formula can be $1,600 over a year.

Practice with the breast pump for several weeks before you return to work.

Don’t assume your baby will know how to drink from a bottle (I made this mistake and it caused many anxious tear filled hours). Practice giving the baby a bottle of expressed breast milk before you have to leave for work.

Stockpile milk in your freezer. It’s a wonderful feeling being “ahead” of yourself, in terms of milk supply.

Review your wardrobe! Make sure you are wearing is breast pump friendly. Don’t make the mistake I did and wear a dress with no buttons to work. Hiking the dress up to use the breast pump is not a pretty picture!

Help your letdown at work by eating / drinking before you pump. Also, looking at a picture of your baby will help. Some Moms have even recorded their baby crying and listened to it when waiting for their let down. Baby smells like worn clothing or baby powder can stimulate a let down.

Talk to other Moms at work about their experiences with pumping. They will offer a world of knowledge and useful tips about pumping at your work.

Try to pump at work as close to your baby’s feeding schedule. This will help to maintain your milk supply. Working full time will probably require two, possibly three pumping sessions.

If you are going to pump twice at work, bring two kits with you. It’s much easier to bring equipment home to wash rather than trying to clean it in the bathroom at work.

Bring a small cooler to work to store your pumped milk. When you bring it home it can be given to the caregiver to use the next day or frozen for later use. Breast milk can be stored in a deep freeze for 6 months, a refrigerator freezer for 3 months or in the fridge for 6 days. Last but not least – feel good about your decision to continue to breastfeed your baby when you return to work!

About the Author
Carie Hodes is the owner of Eco Baby Care a company dedicated to helping Moms continue breastfeeding even when separated from their baby. Please stop by for some more tips.

Keeping Your Baby’s Food Safe

admin — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 21:44:58 +0000

Infants, simply because they are so young and small, are often susceptible to food-borne illnesses. Fortunately, you can reduce this risk with a little common sense and safe food handling practices. Infants less than one year of age do not have fully developed immune systems and because of this bacteria that may not cause illness in an adult or older child, can cause serious illness in infants.

For infants under six months old, the safe storage times for formula and expressed breast milk are 24 hours in a refrigerator at 35 F to 40 F. Breast milk can be frozen for up to three months at 0 F. However, do not freeze formula.

If you give an infant water, it should be boiled water during the first three months of the infant’s life. Milk and formula for six- to 12-month old babies may be stored for 48 hours in the refrigerator. The same three month time limit applies for milk, and the “do not freeze” rule applies to formula.

Other safety tips for the liquids that you give your baby include

Observe and follow the “use by” dates for stored, unopened cans of formula.
Heat bottles in hot tap water, not in the microwave oven.
Shake baby bottles and check the temperature on the top of your hand before feeding.
Discard any unused milk left in a bottle.
Follow the manufacturer’s recommended procedures for preparing bottles.
When traveling, keep milk and formula cold (less than 41 F) by transporting bottles in an insulated cooler.

Some of the rules above apply for baby food but there are also other things to remember.

Observe the “use by” dates when storing unopened jars. Jars of commercial baby food normally have a 1 to 2-year shelf-life. Check to see that the safety button on the lid is down before opening. If the lid does not “pop” when the jar is opened or if the jar is not sealed, do not use the food.
For microwave heating, transfer food from unopened jars to bowls or dishes. For adequate heating, heat four ounces of food on high for 15 seconds, stir, and let stand for 30 seconds. Stir again and check the temperature (more than 140 F) before feeding food to the infant.
Never allow opened jars of food to sit at room temperature.
Solid baby foods that have been opened may be stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 3 days.
Strained fruits and vegetables can be refrigerated for 2 to 3 days or stored in the freezer for 6 to 8 months.
Strained meats and eggs may be stored one day in the refrigerator or 1 to 2 months in the freezer.
Meat and vegetable combinations are good for 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator or 1 to 2 months in the freezer.
Homemade baby foods will keep for 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator or 3 to 4 months in the freezer.

Once commercial formulas or foods are opened you need to use them immediately and refrigerate the unused portion quickly after you are done. When you use the refrigerated leftovers, heat them quickly to 165 F to prevent growth of bacteria

Baby, Pregnancy, and Parenting at Babies Online » refridgerate

How Do I Manage Breastfeeding and Working?

Keeping Your Baby’s Food Safe