Working moms are covered by the healthcare act to pump at work for their child for up to age 1. After that however, there is no law saying your company must allow you time to pump. However just because they don’t have to allow you time to pump does not mean they will not. As your child approaches their first birthday there are a few things to consider. 1) How much milk is your baby drinking? At age 1 some babies are drinking a few oz a day of milk from a bottle while others still may be getting most of their nutrition in the day from breast milk. 2) How often are you pumping at work? At this point some women may only be pumping once a day. 3) What are your breastfeeding goals?
If you wish to continue pumping at work, go for it! Personally I pumped until my kids were 14/15 months old respectively. At that point I was pumping one time a day for 20 minutes and after 9 months of daily pumping my coworkers were quite used to me taking my pump breaks! If your company will not allow you time in the work day to pump, there is no reason you cannot use your lunch break to pump.
If you are ready to quit pumping at work, that does not mean the end of your nursing relationship! There is absolutely no reason you cannot nurse on demand at home when you are together. Your body will adjust to the demand of not pumping in the day. When you do stop pumping at work, you will want to cut your sessions down gradually. Abruptly stopping pumping can lead to clogged ducts and mastitis. Remember, everyone’s bodies react differently to stopping pumping. Personally I found myself engorged at night for a few weeks until things regulated. Some women find things adjust more quickly.
But what about alternative milks such as cow’s milk? Don’t those need to be introduced? As long as you are nursing at home together 3 – 4 times a day and your child is eating a good variety of solid food, there is no reason you need to introduce any other milk. (http://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/toddler-foods/) If you nurse before work, after work, and before bed that is 3 nursing sessions right there. In the day if you wish to offer cow’s milk, go ahead: However you can also simply offer water instead.
Many moms think that stopping pumping and turning 1 is the end of their nursing relationship. The reality is that your nursing relationship can last as long as you and your child wish. My oldest stopped nursing at 26 months. My youngest is 27 months now and still nursing twice a day. I have been breastfeeding for a total of 51 months with no break, and I pumped at work for a combined total of 2 years. I had a love/hate relationship with my pump and made every mistake possible (forgotten flanges? Yep. Forgotten bottles? Yep. Left milk at work? Yep. Spilled an entire pump session worth of milk down my pants at work? Yep) yet it was still hard to pack it away at the end of each year of pumping. The pump and pump breaks, while trying and frustrating, allowed me to continue my breastfeeding relationship while working. And I can honestly say still to this day one of the highlights of my day is those quiet nursing sessions at night together.
So to the moms with a newborn dreading going back, you can do this. To the moms who have been pumping for a few months and what to give up daily, you can do this. To the moms whose babies are approaching one and unsure as to what to do next, you can do this. Working does not mean you have to cut short your nursing relationship.
