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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To express at work?

30 replies

throwcushions · 03/04/2018 18:37

I'm returning to work soon. My baby will be 7 months old. Bottles and cups have so far been a losing battle but I'll away too long for her to be breastfed alone. I'm planning to express twice at work and once when I get home. Is this feasible timing wise? I probably can do 15 minutes for each session at work. Do any working and expressing mums have tips for expressing and storing milk? What about sterilising? I am thinking of double hand pumping in the toilets because the rest room isn't very accessible and using it would add a lot of time to each expressing session. Is this a terrible idea?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

OP posts:

GummyGoddess · 03/04/2018 18:40

I haven't pumped at work, but public toilets are not the place to be preparing food for your baby, does your work not have meeting rooms you could book into and lock?

GummyGoddess · 03/04/2018 18:40

Wow, that sounded patronising, sorry! It really wasn't meant to be.

Original poster

throwcushions · 03/04/2018 18:42

They do but using them would at least double the time so it's not likely to work really. I don't love the idea but if I'm just using hand pumps and not putting them down at all then I wondered if it would really make any difference if you see what I mean.

OP posts:

LadyLaSnack · 03/04/2018 18:42

I had a cool bag with 2 sets of ice packs so that I could rotate them. Also enough bottles and lids so that I didn’t have to sterilise any at work, and could just wait until I got home.

I did a lot of expressing in toilets (I’m freelance so didn’t have the option to ask for rooms all the time). Toilet expressing is really not very nice. Is there no way they can give you a more accessible room?

Sprinklesinmyelbow · 03/04/2018 18:42

Talk to your work facilities management to get a private space- mine was the medical room. there are kids available for exactly this including cool bags. You can store it in the fridge and it’s not easily identifiable, it looks like a lunch bag.

Good luck!

Aria2015 · 03/04/2018 18:44

I pumped at work. I was feeding lo around every 4 hours at 7 months so tried to keep to those times. I sterilised before work and then just washed my pump bits in hot water afterwards and stored them in a nappy bag. I took a double electric pump, wouldn't have been able to get enough milk without it. I did it in a disabled loo with a chair. It was hard and I came to loathe pumping but somehow managed to keep going until lo was just over a year. The other annoying thing was having to wear pump friendly clothing - needed to purchase a few blouses which is not my normal style! I kept all the milk in the staff fridge in a lunch bag - no one was any the wiser!

Nicketynac · 03/04/2018 18:46

Are you in the UK? Your employer has to provide somewhere other than the toilet and if that rest room is too far away then that is their problem rather than yours. They also have to provide a fridge for storage. I didn't sterilise when I expressed but DD was eating fluff from the floor by that stage so it seemed pointless.

GummyGoddess · 03/04/2018 18:47

How much are you getting with a hand pump now?

nogooddeedgoesunpunished · 03/04/2018 18:47

You are entitled in law to a room to feed and/or express in. Some people find it difficult to express under pressure i.e other people waiting to use the loo, smells etc! I had a colleague who was allowed time to go off site to express at a relatives who lived nearby. Your employer really ought to be allowing you reasonable time to express in work. Hope you work it out as you return to work.

susiegrapevine · 03/04/2018 18:50

My employer let me use the 1st aid room which also had a fridge. There should be a fridge in your 1st aid room where you cab store milk then bring home in a cool bag. Please don't express in the loos.

Fruitcorner123 · 03/04/2018 18:51

From 6 months you only need to sterilise teats ( as long as you are thorougly cleaning everything obs) I went to a weaning talk last week so that is up to date guidance which I didnt know about and might make things a little easier.

I went back when DS was 8 months and only expressed once a day. I planned to do twice at first but it was just too much of a faff. I found he drank less milk when he wasn't being breastfed and just drank water mainly so one feed in the morning, one when i got home (which was failry early about 4.30/5) one at bedtime and one through the night plus his expressed bottle from the day before was enough.

OneStepSideways · 03/04/2018 18:52

I intended to but in the end was too embarrassed (noisy electric pump, storing milk in communal fridge, cleaning pump etc!) I carried on bf until past 2yrs but not at work. The first week I was very engorged but my supply adjusted. Baby just fed more in the evening to make up for it and accepted bottles at nursery.

Fruitcorner123 · 03/04/2018 18:52

Sorry meant to say I exlressed in the first aid room too. They are required to priv8de a room and a place to store milk. I stored it in bottles inside a cooler bag in the staff room fridge

Original poster

throwcushions · 03/04/2018 18:54

The rest room at work is in a different building and I would need to fetch the key which is also not close to my office. I'd need to drop the key off and pick it up each time so it would add at least 15 minutes each time so it's just not feasible, maybe once but definitely not twice a day. Unfortunately from what I've read it's only a health and safety recommendation to provide a room to express and in any event they have done that so there is nothing I can do about it. The lack of access re keys is for health and safety of other staff so it can't be changed unfortunately. I haven't pumped in absence of a feed for a while now because baby refuses the bottle but in my pumping heyday I was getting 5oz per side with an electric. Now if I pump at night I use electric on one side and a hand pump on the other, last night I got 5oz. The hand pump seems just as effective so I am torn between buying either a battery operated double pump or two Medela hand pumps. Anyone have experience of using hand pumps exclusively?

OP posts:

Fruitcorner123 · 03/04/2018 18:54

If the room is further away they should allow you additional time to get to and from the room or provide you with a room nearer your work.

LadyLaSnack · 03/04/2018 18:58

I would have thought that 15mins is pretty quick to get a full express done (though I only have myself to compare against). It would take me around 45 mins with the double electric pump to faff about getting set up, do a full empty, then faff around with bottles and cool bags and get back to my station. I'd do that at least once a day, and then had a little manual pump to use on the fly if I found myself getting too full. I did do a session on a fairly crowded virgin train from Glasgow to London once. There was no one in the seat next to me and I went to the toilet to get set up, had an expressing bra for hands free, a baggy jumper and a scarf to cover the funnels and bottles, and the noise of the train covered the noise of the pump more or less. Don't think anyone noticed...

PinkyBlunder · 03/04/2018 19:01

OP they should allow you additional time if the room is further away from where you work or provide somewhere closer. Don’t worry about it, it’s not your problem, they have to provide you an adequate place to pump/feed by law. Just tell them this is what you plan to do and let them make the arrangements

Graphista · 03/04/2018 19:02

Think you may find this useful

m.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/b/s/Acas-guide-on-accommodating-breastfeeding-in-the-workplace.pdf

I don't see why they can't provide better facilities to be honest. I wouldn't have wanted to express in a toilet especially one that's essentially a public one.

Original poster

throwcushions · 03/04/2018 19:04

I don't work fixed hours so any extra time is just going to eat into my time at home and mean I'll struggle to get to the bedtime feed so that's why the timing just doesn't work - I'd then need to pump 3 times at work thus compounding the issue!

If I could get more milk at one session then that might be doable. How much did you pump in that session Fruit, if you can remember?

Ladylasnack, amazing! Have considered whether anyone would notice if I pumped on the commute!

OP posts:

Hughpughbarneymagrew · 03/04/2018 19:04

I used to express at work. I agree that 15 mins doesn't seem like long enough. I used to reckon I needed at least half an hour, ideally 40 mins. Could you do one long session instead of two short ones?

Notevilstepmother · 03/04/2018 19:04

If the room is not nearby then that’s their issue if it takes you time to get there. I really don’t think you should be expressing in a toilet.

Graphista · 03/04/2018 19:04

Depressing to see how little they actually have to do.

Op's employers are doing what they are required to unfortunately (the bare min required by law)

Personally I think the laws need changed. (And employers need to value their enployees far better)

Hughpughbarneymagrew · 03/04/2018 19:06

I could get about 6-7oz in my one session

calmandbright · 03/04/2018 19:07

I did - I was given access to a small office & kept all the bits in a lunch bag in the fridge. Was totally fine. My boss and colleagues were great about it.

Fruitcorner123 · 03/04/2018 19:08

It's easy to remember becuse the most I ever got was 90ml (3 ounces) but my boy would only ever drink that from a bottle so I suppose that probably was about one feed for him.

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