breastfeeding/pumping and working overnights

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Specializes in post-op.

Not sure where to post this one....Wondering for anyone who has pumped at work- what do you do on the overnight- I go back in a couple of weeks, right now baby is waking once per night and sometimes sleeping thru- do you pump just the one time to keep your body in synch with baby? Does your supply get messed up do to less sleep? I will be working 50% days, 50% off shift. Any advice from experienced moms would be appreciated! TIA!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Neuro, ICU, travel RN, Psych.

I worked days, so I'm not sure with the night thing. The rule is usually to pump as often as LO nurses. I would have times on day shift that I just didn't have time to pump as often as I needed, and never had to much of an adverse affect.

Where will your LO be during the day while you get some sleep? I would probably try to pump the every 4 hours during the night if you are able, just to be sure, and have some extra milk just in case. Good luck!! It can be a PIA, but it's so worth it.

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OP, have you visited mothering dot com? It is a wonderful resource for topics like this and also kellymom dot com....

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Neuro, ICU, travel RN, Psych.
OP, have you visited mothering dot com? It is a wonderful resource for topics like this and also kellymom dot com....

Kellymom is a great site!

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Specializes in LTC.

I worked nights for a brief time after returning from maternity leave and I pumped 2 or 3 times during the night (8 hr shifts). During the day I would sleep at my mom's house so she could watch the baby while I slept and wake me up to nurse her when she was hungry. Don't know what your daycare arrangments are, but you will probably want to either have whoever is watching the baby wake you to nurse a few times during the day or wake up to pump during the day if you're going to be at home and baby going to be at daycare. I also would check out Kellymom, lots of helpful BFing mamas there.

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Specializes in post-op.

Thanks- I didnt even think about when I would be sleeping- duh! I will check out those websites!

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I worked days, and pumped maybe every 2-4 hours depending on how engorged I was. My son, drank only a tiny bit of expressed milk at daycare and nursed constantly during the night. Depending on how good your supply is, you may not need to pump too much at night. Also how old is your son and how well established is your supply? Once you are past the first 3 months, you can probably get away with pumping or nursing once a night.

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I work nights and my 7 month old still won't take anything other than breastmilk so I have to pump 3 times a night to pump enough to feed him the following shift. I love breastfeeding, but I have to say, pumping is a chore. I'm lucky to work on a mother/baby unit so I have access to awesome breastpumps and at night I always have time to pump. Good luck going back to work! I know it's hard being away from your little one at night :-(

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I pumped the breast opposite of the one my son was nursing from...this gave me the most milk taking advantage of the let down reflex and it wasn't long before my breast accomidated with the one being enougn for him and the other being enough for a full feeding later on. I also would pump anytime I was at work and could gind the time when I felt engorged or letdown was happening.

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