For some, maternity leave may seem like it’s ending too soon – for others, you may be really excited to get back to work! Many will probably be somewhere in the middle of those two emotions. But no matter where you fall, understanding how you can prepare (and knowing what you don’t need to worry about) can make for a smoother transition back to work. Below are a few main areas to consider and plan for.
Helping Baby Be “Ready”
Thankfully, very little needs to be done here. The most important piece of this is knowing who your infant’s childcare provider(s) will be (whether grandma, a nanny, or daycare provider) and feeling confident that they will support your infant with the same co-regulatory techniques that you have.
However, beyond this, you don’t need to worry about changing your daily rhythm or routine to mirror your baby’s new childcare environment in order to “prepare” them. In fact, this will confuse them! They have no idea that this change is coming in the next month/week/etc. Imagine it from your baby’s perspective:
All the sudden mom, who used to let me contact nap is now adamant that I sleep in my crib at exactly 1pm every day. What is going on? Why is my mom getting stressed that I’m not going to sleep when I’m not even tired? Is something wrong? Something must be wrong, mom isn’t usually stressed about this. Now it’s hard to fall asleep because I’m stressed.
You get it.
So, don’t worry about changing your home routine, your baby will learn the new routine with their new care provider and come to associate certain ways of doing things with different people. If you do have a baby who seems to have higher needs for closeness/comfort you can consider bringing a little lovey into your transition to sleep routine at home and then have that stay with them after you return to work. Make sure you keep using it at home as well though so that it smells like you – this can go a long way in helping baby relax.
If your baby exclusively breastfeeds and you won’t be available to breastfeed them during your work day, you do want to be offering them a bottle (1 a day max, at least 3 a week) to ensure they have a reliable method of feeding when they are not with you. Ideally, I recommend starting to offer this bottle by 2 months old because once infants are around 3 months old, feeding is no longer reflexive and they have more say in how they feed. For some babies, if they haven’t had exposure to a bottle before this transition, they aren’t willing to take one after, which can cause a lot of concern and anxiety for parents. If your baby only takes minimal amounts from a bottle, they will likely make up for this with extra breastfeeding sessions in the evening and through the night so they should still get the calories they need, it may just be in a different feeding pattern than their usual.
Having a “Freezer Stash”
Here’s another area where we tend to overdue it when we return to work. We do not need to have a stash of milk in the freezer. At a minimum, you just need enough for one day of being gone at a time. Because each day you’re at work, you’ll pump all the milk needed for the next day. Throughout the week before returning to work, try to add one pump session a day (in addition to what your infant typically feeds) so that you can compile enough for your baby to have a full work days of milk available for the first day you’re gone.
*A caveat here would be if you are traveling for work – if that’s the case, you will need a bit more of a “stash” but really just enough milk to last while you’re gone, not a month’s worth.
Pumping at Work
If you are breastfeeding and plan to pump when you return to work you ideally want to use a double electric hospital grade breast pump to optimize milk removal. If you’re having difficulty expressing milk with a pump, reach out to a local IBCLC who can ensure that you have a proper flange size and problem-solve any issues. In terms of a pumping schedule at work, you ideally want to pump whenever your baby typically feeds at home so that your body’s milk removal rhythm stays consistent. If using a double electric hospital grade pump, you likely only need to pump for 15 minutes. According to federal law, workplaces are legally required to allow time and space for pumping, so if you’re getting pushback from managers or co-workers use that to advocate for yourself.
A Note About Grandmas and Daycares
If you are providing expressed breastmilk and not formula, often grandmas and daycares will report that baby needs more food when you’re gone. Grandmas because somehow they always think baby is hungry (I say that lovingly) and daycares because they’re most used to babies who formula feed. But let me be clear here if you have consistently been making sufficient milk for your baby to grow and thrive, your body can continue doing that when you return to work. (Again, if you’re pumping as frequently as baby eats at home and getting good expression from the pump).
The reason that people tend to think that baby may not be getting enough food is because infants who drink breastmilk max out their feedings at somewhere between 4-6 ounces. They don’t ever need a 10 ounce bottle because breastmilk increases in caloric density over time to meet your baby’s current need. Formula does not do that, and that’s why a 10 month old could potentially be taking 8 ounce bottles of formula while your 10 month old is taking 5 ounce bottles of breastmilk. So please, continue to trust your own body and don’t think you need to add formula because all the sudden your body is insufficient in making the milk your baby needs.
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