Wondering what going back to work while breastfeeding really looks like? Here is my story: ICU nurse to doctorate to brand new NP, with a 4 month old and a whole lot of anxiety.
This post came straight from a real mama in our judgment free breastfeeding community on Facebook. Come join the convo!
Hi! I’m Kristin. I’m a thirty-something married mama of 2 who works full-time in the Texas Medical Center as a nurse practitioner for an in-patient pulmonary group. I like to say we see all things lungs, but my true speciality is management of our long term tracheostomy and ventilator dependent patients along with adults who have Cystic Fibrosis.
From Nursing School to the ICU
I started this journey nearly 10 years ago. I graduated nursing school in Spring 2017 and jumped right in as a bedside nurse in a surgical intensive care unit (ICU) that summer. We took care of everything across the spectrum: post-op open hearts, craniotomies (brain surgery!), abdominal surgeries, spinal injuries, etc. I gained a world of experience in my 3 years there and jumped into travel nursing when the COVID-19 pandemic came around.
Frontline Nursing in a Pandemic
In 2020, I left my home (and my amazing husband) to work as a critical care nurse on the frontlines. Patients were SICK. Everyone was on a ventilator. People died with no one but us to hold their hand. Loved ones said goodbye via an iPad. Personal protective equipment (PPE) was scarce. We literally used trash bags and the same N-95 respirator for days on end. I was exhausted. My marriage struggled.
Grad School, Survival Mode, and My House Husband
I did all of this while juggling grad school. Luckily (or not so luckily) with the pandemic our clinical hours were pushed back and things were made virtual as often as they could. In 2021 my husband became what I lovingly called a “house husband.”
I transitioned from pandemic/crisis nursing assignments to local ICU gigs along with completing clinical hours for my degree. Most of the time I was working or in clinical 6 days a week. Commuting 2-4 hours a day depending on Houston traffic. Studying. Finishing up research for my DNP Project. My husband kept our life together. He cleaned, he cooked, he did the grocery shopping. He managed the mental load of our home while I did what I could to survive.
A Doctorate, a Baby on the Way, and No Job
By the time December 2022 rolled around, I graduated with my Doctorate of Nursing Practice. We found out we were pregnant with our first baby 3 weeks after that. A baby girl due in September. We were thrilled! However, I still had to find a job. I’d started looking and applying months before graduation. No calls back. No interviews. I luckily had my bedside ICU nursing, but my assignment ended in May and I was nervous about finding a new job before baby arrived. I think my biggest stressor was the idea of starting a new role PLUS having a new baby. How would I manage this?
The Job Offer That Kept Moving
Then one day I got a call for an interview. My resume had come across someone’s desk and they thought I would be a good fit for a new position they were creating: the nursepractitioner on pulmonary consults (the lung service). There was SO much back and forth. They offered me the position in April, said I would start in May. Credentialing was a pain and took weeks on end. Then my start date was September (the week before my due date, haha). Then November. Then I found out the week of Christmas that they lost the funding for my position last quarter and were trying to get it back.
Going Back to Work While Breastfeeding: So Many Unknowns
Needless to say, I didn’t start until January. The day after MLK Day. I was stressed to the max. Finances were at an all time low. My baby had been exclusively nursed for 4 months. We had to start daycare.
Pumping at Work, Daycare, and All the Anxiety
So many new variables here that gave me anxiety: will pumping be manageable with my new job? How do I even pump? Can I safely store my milk? Do they even have a place for me to pump? What about my baby? Will the daycare take good care of her? Will she be ignored? Will they pacefeed?
Maternity Leave and the Mental Load
My husband was now back to work, working for an engineering company. The mental load of keeping our home, feeding us, and managing the baby fell back on me while home on “maternity leave.” I was overwhelmed. Tired. Sad. Most of all anxious. Scared of the unknown of what our new routine would look like. Like most modern day moms, I turned to Facebook for help.
The First of My Friends to Do Everything
I was the first of my friends to get married. The first to have a baby. I didn’t have anyone to ask those questions to about what motherhood is supposed to look like. No one to give me the tips and tricks. I knew I was missing something. Surely there were other moms who were going through this? Or knew what to do? What do I really need to go back to work? (The answer to that is a Ceres Chiller, no doubt).
My Husband Gets It. But He’s Not a Mom.
My husband is my rock. My safe place. The person who makes me laugh. The same person who will cry with me when things are hard. He will do anything I ask and step in wherever he is needed. He is truly the best, but he’s not a mom. He gets it… but at the same time he doesn’t.
Finding My Village: 20,000 Mamas Strong
I leaned hard into online community. So hard I became a moderator and eventually the admin of a group of 20,000+ other mamas. Our leader through it all (Yanina!) is actually who introduced me to Ceres and was there anytime I needed one of those mom questions answered.
World Breastfeeding Week Is Coming. We See You.
World Breastfeeding Week is right around the corner (August 1-7!) and we see every single one of you. Pumping in your car before a shift. Washing pump parts on your lunch break. Nursing all night and working all day. Doing the dang thing. This week is for you, mama.
FAQ: Going Back to Work While Breastfeeding
What do you really need to go back to work while breastfeeding?
A Ceres Chiller, no doubt. Beyond that: a pump you trust, a plan for storage, and a community of moms who have done it before you.
Is pumping at work manageable with a new job?
It felt impossible from the outside. It wasn’t. It takes planning and a place to pump, but moms do this every single day and you can too.
Can you safely store breastmilk at work?
Yes. Follow the CDC storage guidelines and invest in a chiller that keeps your milk cold for hours. That was one of my biggest anxieties and it turned out to be one of the most manageable parts.
Do employers have to give you a place to pump?
Most employers in the US are required to give you reasonable break time and a private space that is not a bathroom. Ask before your first day. I wish I had known to ask sooner.
How do you find mom friends when you’re the first of your friends to have a baby?
I turned to online community. I leaned in so hard I became a moderator and then the admin of a group of 20,000+ other mamas. Your village is out there.
Who takes care of the working mom?
Honestly? Her village. My husband is my rock, but he’s not a mom. The mamas in my online community filled that gap when no one else could.