Can't help with the breast feeding side of it cos I had stopped well before I went back to work full time when my son was 7 months old. Expressing at work can be an issue I know because not all worksites have comfortable places for you to do it in. Then their can be issues in health & safety issues in storing the milk in shared fridges (hard to believe but I know someone who had an issue with this one & had to use the boardroom fridge which no-one used). Hopefully that will all be fine in your workplace though.
Organisation is the key. You need to have bubs bag packed ready to go the night before. I do mine as soon as I can when I get home or else it's easily forgotten. As you would be aware a new bub brings extra washing & at first I found it very challenging to keep up with it when I went back to work so got in to the habit of doing a bit each day regardless of the weather.
I never felt true exhaustion until after I was back at work & bub stopped sleeping through the night. Getting up to go to work after being up in the night is truly a different thing to getting up and tending to bub during the day after such a night. At home you can flop about in whatever clothes & it doesn't matter what you look like, you don't have to use too much brain power... but being at work you have to look half decent (not always easy if your washing has got behind and you can't find any clean work clothes lol), and you actually have to use your brain. You also can't have a nap when you are at work (bit of a shame really). I'm suffering from it at the moment & I'm in a very busy job so it's not at all easy. That of course leads into problems with housework cos when you get home after a hard day, tend to bub, do your washing, have dinner & do all the other stuff you'll have to do with your other kids you are not terribly inclined to do any housework and then things start to get behind. Just try to do a bit each day & if anyone offers you any help at all take them up on their offer.
I returned to work when DS1 was 7 months, and then when DS2 was 8 months, and I continued to bf both times. It certainly can be done, and once you get into the swing of it, it is actually easier than you expect.
I recommend a medela symphony or something like that. Make sure you have a large handbag, or a backpack or something so that carrying it to and from work is easy. You will also need a coolie bag to carry the EBM around and keep it cool. I recommend that you keep stocks of EBM at home and also at day care or the carer's home.
I am not very organised and I managed, so I am sure that you will be fine (although with 3 other kids it might be a little challenging!).
I will be watching this thread very closely!!! I go back to work in about 5 weeks and also want to BF.
I have bought the Medela swing to express but am also not sure how it will go...
Heres hoping it goes well for both of us!!
Jasp, another thing is that if you join the ABA then you are entitled to discount pump hire - it can be as much as 50% off. Plus you get the ongoing advice and support of a breastfeeding counsellor included! The ABA also have fantastic booklets for $5 each - the "Breastfeeding, Women and Work" and "Expressing and Storing Breastmilk" ones are really helpful for returning to work. They were a huge help to me.
Jasp, tried out my medela pump today and compared to my manual pump it is FAST! Should be good for work. I have also emailed work about a place to express... fingers crossed that goes well...
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they sure make their opinions felt from an early age don't they?!
Good luck, please do keep us posted!
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