Back to work engorgement

[flcl]

Hi there, I'm not sure how normal it is but I experienced the same thing when I returned to work. I still get mildly engorged after long weekends at home. It didn't take long for my body to adjust to the pumping schedule during the week and the nursing schedule on the weekends. Hopefully it'll be the same for you.

[audrey1787]

If DD wasn't awake to nurse when I got home I would sometimes pump again before bed. She never slept through the night though so I only did that if I thought I would be too uncomfortable waiting the 2 hours until she woke up to nurse again. I think as your baby naturally spaces out feedings then it will become less of an issue (from what I remember). I was working 4 days a week and was gone for 11 hours and I did notice that after my 3 day weekend I would have to re-adjust to the longer stretches. I didn't get mastitis but did have some clogged ducts and had to be pretty diligent about massaging my boob as I pumped.

[Deleted]

Being home days in between should really help. My LC wanted me to pump every three hours but I could only pull off every four and it went okay. Definitely try the every 2.5-3 if you can though!

Pumping when you get home will probably be necessary if LO isn't going to nurse for a time still. Or do a dreamfeed.

As for pump vs. baby and blocks, I got blocks when my hands free bra wasn't positioned really well or I sat very upright because I was trying to continue working. I seemed to do better if I relaxed, stopped working, leaned forward a bit and got my hands in there to make sure I was completely emptying my breasts. If I felt a spot that didn't feel empty, I'd use my hands or shift the flange.

Best of luck!

[narbuckle01]

Breast massage while pumping... there's videos on youtube. It decreases the engorgment (I had same thing) and significantly increases output!