Teaching and Breastfeeding

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Teaching can be hard enough as is but balancing such a busy career and breastfeeding can be overwhelming! When I went back to work after having my son I knew I wanted to keep breastfeeding but I also realized this meant pumping at work. I want to share some tips and essentials that make pumping and teaching a little easier. 

Tips

1. If you plan to pump when you return to the classroom discuss these wishes with your administration before returning from maternity leave. I had a meeting with my principals about 2 weeks before I came back. You don't want to wait until the day you return to have this conversation because there may need to be some tweaking to your schedule and it could take time to get it all worked out.

*It may be difficult to figure it out but they are required by law to accommodate your need to pump! For me, I pumped during planning and recess last year. I hated missing planning with my team everyday but they were very supportive and kept me in the loop. This year I plan to pump during lunch.*

2. Fill in your teammates. My team was all women so it wasn't too awkward but it was helpful for them to know what was going on and why I was having to step away. They also helped me develop a code phrase to explain my absence when necessary. Any time I had to pump they said I was "Sharpening Pencils" lol

3. If you haven't already pumped while at home you should have a couple practice rounds to make sure you are comfortable getting everything set up and working. It will definitely be harder when you're in a less comfortable setting and possibly dealing with time limits.

4. Order a few extra sets of your pump essentials. For my spectra pump I ordered an extra set of bottles, flanges, tubes, backflow protectors and duckbills. I got SO tired of coming home and handwashing parts EVERY NIGHT. Having at least one other set is crucial to your sanity.

I have had great experience ordering official parts through Lactation Connection. 

5. Although dresses tend to be my go-to outfit pumping in a dress can be a little strange. Since you have to fuss with your bra and get all hooked up you could end up setting around half naked while trying to get situated. It's easier to dress in pants and a top, so go shopping! :)

6. Get a curtain to cover your window in your door if pumping in your room and make sure the room is locked! Maybe even consider a sign on the door.

So those are my main tips from my experience. On to my pump bag essentials...

Pump Bag

So here are my essentials for pumping everyday. My Spectra S9, my spectra bottles fully connected & lids, hands free pump bra, burp cloth (that smells like my baby!), wet/dry bag with staging mat, cooler bag and ice pack. 

The cooler bag is what I bring back and forth daily with my milk. The other materials like the bra, burp cloth and pump stay at school Monday - Friday.

This is my actual pump bag. Pretty roomy.

I bring some breastmilk bags just in case I forget bottle parts or lids. Lansinoh is my favorite brand.

Gotta have some snacks!

My pump doesn't need to be plugged in but I keep the charger just in case it dies during the week.

I don't have to wear breast pads daily anymore but I bring them just in case! Once again these are Lansinoh brand.

This is the awesome Haakaa suction pump. I bring this just in case I forget parts of my pump and still need to get some relief.

This is a nursing cover/car seat cover. I don't typically wear a cover but I bring it just in case.

These storage bottles were helpful when I pumped twice a day and had to pour the first round over to re-use my pump bottles.

These pump wipes were crucial! I didn't have access to a sink easily.

My Routine

In the beginning I pumped twice a day at school. Once during my planning period around 10:45 am and once during recess around 2:50 pm. I would pump in the morning, pour my milk into a storage bottle, clean my parts with pump wipes, dry them and put it all in the fridge (milk and pump parts).

Then I would pump again in the afternoon, put lids on the spectra bottles and put my pump parts in the wet portion of the wet dry bag. It all went back in the fridge until the end of the day then I brought it all home. 

Now I plan to pump once during my lunch break since my son nurses less often now. We shall see how it goes.

So, that was a lengthy post but I definitely want to help any other teaching mamas that plan to pump/nurse. Any thing I didn't address? Any tips you'd like to share? Please do!