Resources for Parents Who Pump At Work
Buying new equipment, or starting a class, there is usually an instruction book or procedure manual. For parents, a guidebook for returning to work and pumping would be helpful. Now you have it.
It’s A Toolkit to Help You Return to Work After Having a Baby.
It was created by the Let’s Go program of MaineHealth and the Maine State Breastfeeding Coalition. It explains the new PUMP ACT law and your rights for pumping at work. The Toolkit includes strategies for talking with your employer, planning your return date and planning pump time in your work schedule. There are also milk storage guidelines, tips for your caregiver who’s bottle feeding your baby and more specific resources.
Because human milk for human babies is fundamental to life long health, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast milk for up to two years.
With support from the community: employers, work colleagues, family and caregivers, parents can reach that goal. Review these guidelines in the Toolkit. Consider the questions you and your employer have and plan ahead.
Returning to work is like early postpartum. It is a time of change and adjustment for you and your family. Some planning ahead will smooth the transition. Plan extra time around departures and arrivals.
For example, the night before, check your work bag (with pump) and the diaper/daycare bag. (There is a checklist in the ToolKit). Put them by the door or in the same place every night. In the morning, you’ll know exactly where they are and that they’re ready to go. This will reduce morning chaos. It’s still wise to plan extra time in the morning for the eventual mishap or meltdown.
When you come home, it will make the transition easier to have several meals in the freezer or refrigerator. Dinner will be ready and you can spend time with your child. Talk about how their day went, how your day went. You might read together, nurse, change into comfortable clothes and just hang out.
I found a thoughtful little book titled “Always Kiss Me Good Night: Instructions on Raising the Perfect Parent by 147 Kids Who Know” by J.S. Salt. This compiled advice from children about how to be a parent.
Their suggestions were fairly simple. What was important were things like “Ask me how my day went.” and “Always kiss me goodnight.” Consider, in your departure ritual, including a special phrase or song with your children. Kids remember little things like that.
Everybody improvises as a parent. In time, you create routines that work best for your family and change as your family grows. The Toolkit is a guide for setting up a ‘positive pumping situation’ at work. Parenting, raising a human being, requires a lot of effort. We hope you find these guidelines to be helpful.