Much like the majority of this process (new motherhood) expressing at work is a new phase I've blindly stumbled into. It is challenging but also satisfying, knowing that mine and Bb's breastfeeding journey need not come to a hasty halt just because I've returned to work. But also finding the time within the work day to perform the necessary milking task, multiple times, and the where's and the hows is raising challenges. Being a domestic eco cleaner there's no access to a designated expressing room, where I can lay out photos of my baby to up the oxytocin levels and activate the let- down that much quicker. Plus it's all tight timescales with a couple to a few hours in each house with little time to spare, not to mention the commuting in between. I've heard of working mums doing it in their cars but, I dunno, this just feels a bit odd to me. The half naked muddle I get myself into each time I do it is enough to distract the most inconspicuous of us. So I've got the whole thing down to 10 minutes, roughly every 3 hours, and I get about 3oz in those times. I'm ok with that. Obviously I'm hugely envious that I don't produce 10oz each time but this is the snacking tone Bb and I have set for his meal times and it's alright (and such a relief in comparison to the cluster feeding days- I swear it's like ptsd with that shit, and i will NEVER, ever forget the commitment of the cluster!)
There's a few customers houses I've done it in, having cleared it with them first but I automatically do it in the bathroom which is odd because I never feel the need to feed my son in the bathroom... Then there's the transportation of the stuff. Sometimes I'm out of the house fot up to 9 hours so I sterilise a hand pump (I was given a Tommy tippee and love it) and a silicone pump (Naturebond- also, really love it) and then wrap these up in a sandwich bag or another clean, sanitary- ish, and sealable bag. I include also a couple of milk storage bags (Lansinoh are great, and about £8 for 50 currently. With little spaces on the actual bags to write how much milk, and when you expressed, even the time of day. They are really handy for my eternally forgetful mum-brain, a phrase I've totally adapted as a step on from baby-brain, anyone else still blaming this for all their "failings?" Join me won't you?) Sometimes if I'm feeling extra "on form" I'll write the following days date on the bag/g as I'll inevitably forget to pack a pen when I'm rushing about trying to pump and clean. Then this pack of gold goes into a freezer bag stuffed with cool blocks, 3 big ones: one at the bottom and one either side with the top sealed. It stays cool all day long (although this is March in the UK so I'm interested to check out the theory again when we hit mid summer). Sometimes I just feel awkward doing it in someone's home so I find the nearest supermarket on the commute and stop there to use the loo. This week's lucky supermarket was Morrisons for example. I've heard there's specified expressing rooms around and about my home town of Norwich but I'm yet to find them, although a friend said Mothercare is worth a punt...
So really I'm writing this just to say that it is possible to express and go back to work, to breastfeed and go back to work and to guarantee there's enough milk for baby to have from your chosen caregiver, and go back to work. I was so worried about this being do-able and could not see how it would be possible, during the early days, even at 6 months the idea was a bit much (although I know mums go back to work at all stages, some as early as 6 weeks and others far later). Especially adding to this frustration is when I only get a tiny volume of milk per session. But it turns out, some babies eat little and often and Bb happens to be one of these snackers. My next aim is to find ways to speed up the expressing process (and find a smaller, chilled, transportation pack up).