I have officially returned to work. This is my first week back on the job since Judah was born. I have been very lucky to have the last five months off with him. I am returning half time as a kindergarten intervention teacher, a little different from the full time second grade teaching position I have been doing the past six years.
As I have mentioned on this blog before, I am breast feeding my baby boy exclusively. To continue to give my baby breast milk while I am at work two to three days a week I am and will be pumping. I have given (or rather other members of my family have given) Judah the expressed milk in a bottle a couple of times since he was about five or six weeks old just to make sure he would be willing to take it this way. So far, we haven’t had any trouble switching back and forth.
I have to say the first time I went about learning to use my breast pump I was neither familiar or thrilled with the idea of pumping. I read the manual (over and over), got all the parts washed, sanitized, and put together, and found a comfy seat while I was home alone with Judah. After Judah was fed and off to dream land I went about expressing milk for the first time. It was really strange at first. I felt like a dairy cow being milked! But after a couple of times I was expressing like a pro.
I have used two different pumps to express my milk. First, I used the Lansinoh Double Electric Pump. I had success with it, and it has very few parts to assemble and wash. It is also small in size, so it was great to take with me when I flew to Miami and needed to be able to pack it in my carry-on luggage.
While I was happy with my Lansinoh Double Electric Pump, I was also happy to try the Phillips-Avent Twin Electronic Breast Pump when the folks at Avent asked me about reviewing it. I have used the Phillips-Avent pump several times already and the biggest difference I noticed right away is that the suction is much more comfortable and natural-feeling in comparison to the Lansinoh Double Pump. I had to check to make sure it was actually working because I didn’t feel all the tugging I was used to! It was in fact working, and actually in my experience it pumps the milk faster than the Lansinoh pump. It does have more parts to assemble and wash but overall, I like the Phillips-Avent Twin Electronic Breast Pump the best. I especially like that is comes in an attractive black bag that is discrete since I have to run it up and down the halls at work!
While I wish I didn’t have to pump at all, it is totally worth it to me to be able to continue to give my baby breast milk even when I am not able to be with him. The pump was a total life saver for me too last week when I had a horrible virus and wasn’t able to breastfeed due to dehydration. Luckily I had pumped several ounces of milk and had it stored in the freezer for such a time as this! So, Judah didn’t go hungry while my body recovered. I would highly recommend expressing breast milk if you are returning to work and it is an option for you.