Breastfeeding/pumping at school.

[youaresunshine]

Hello,

I'm due back from maternity leave next week. I need to email the head to let them know I am still feeding my 7 month old. Does anyone know what I can expect on that front? My partner is a stay at home dad so he will be bringing DS to me once during the day so I can feed him in the car. This isn't sustainable long term though. I've tried to find info online but all I can find is that loophole/technicallity where breastfeeding mothers are exempt from a breastfeeding break etc. I have tried to arrange a KIT day to discuss this but no luck!

I returned from work when DS was a similar age. I didn’t have a stay at home DP, so DS went to a nursery that was round the corner. My school were very supportive, and agreed that me going to the nursery to feed was more efficient than pumping and storing in school. I was allowed two feeding breaks a day. If you are secondary, the timetable may be suitably light to facilitate this now that exam groups have left. If you are primary, they might be able to use peri lessons like music, MFL and perhaps TA led activities to support you in continuing to feed/ pump. With only a few weeks left of term, it should be quite easy to manage until the holidays, hopefully 😊

It is in the best interests of the school too, because happy baby = happy mum = happy students!

By the time you come back after the summer, your little one will be around 9 months, so getting far more of their calories from food. This will reduce how much you are needing to pump/ feed each day, and make life a lot easier. My DS fed up to about 18 months, but for a lot of the older months it was breakfast, after school, bedtime, and then food and water (and cows milk once he was old enough) during the school day. It worked brilliantly for both of us, and no students were harmed during the process!

Good luck with your return to work! I remember it feeling terrifying just before I went back, but it really was ok!

@User1471539385, thank you for replying and reassuring me. I haven't been in the classroom environment since the beginning of covid so I am more than a little nervous!!
I really struggled to establish breastfeeding and was advised to feed on demand. The lack of routine does concern me from a wrok perspective butI don't think we are ready to stop.
I'm going to email re covid procedures (I don't even know where I will be yet!) And if I can use my lunch to feed ds.

*lunch break

Oh bless you! You must be feeling nervous! I struggled with breastfeeding at the start too, but by 7 months you will be well established. Don’t let the early setbacks make you worry. A routine will form out of necessity as you return to work, and your little one will be able to last much longer between feeds than a tiny newborn. Your DS will be able to manage just fine with fixed intervals between feeds, and because you aren’t there, he probably won’t be wanting a feed until he sees you. At 7 months, frequent feeds are a comfort thing when mum is there, rather than a nutritional need. But when you are out at work he will be easily distracted and is capable of going much longer between.

A quick email will be good to reassure you on all sort of things, feeding and Covid included. I remember loving getting the professional bit of my life back, although I was nervous before I started back. It will be so good for both of you! My DS is now 9, and as much of a mummy’s boy as ever! He is also independent and resilient, but my early return to work didn’t have any impact on how close and ‘attached’ we are. xx

I returned at a similar point, 6 month old in July then 8 by September. I only did 3 days in July and had no option to feed at school so expressed at break and lunch and stashed in the fridge.

By September I'd used the summer to only BF between 4pm and 8am. This did mean a mad rush after school to BF as close to 4pm as possible, but by October half term I was down to morning and night feeds only as he took more food. As you're away more, I found mine started to quickly eat more.

Good luck. Returning is emotionally hard and in my experience goes better than you think it will.

@User1471539385 thank you for sharing. I really don't feel ready to go back after so long but your message is really reassuring, thank you.

@hercisback thank you. I'm pretty sure ds will be more adaptable than I feel I will be! Hopefully, come September we will be in a good routine and he will be more secure on solids.
I must admit, I am really worried about the work load. I've always been a real perfectionist (which meant dedicating so many hours of my time outside of school) and I know I'm going to have to make some compromises as the work never ends!