Guest Post:

Babies who are nursed and not weaned until they are at least 12 months of age have better digestion and can end up being smarter than their peers. Nurses and others in the medical field have a proclivity to keep nursing their babies rather than feeding them formula, but they can also work exceedingly lengthy shifts. Keeping enough breast milk on hand for a new baby can be hard, even for moms who stay at home. As a nurse practitioner doctorate degree holder, you will need to think about the suggestions you have given to other new moms about how to maintain a good breast milk supply, pumping, and storing milk in the freezer and refrigerator if you want your child to be well-nourished. Below, you will find great ideas on how you can return to work as a nurse and keep your baby well fed.

Take Supplements to Produce More Milk

A few tablets of Fenugreek and a hearty diet may help you to produce a few extra ounces of milk per day. Nurses that have obtained their BSN to DNP online have likely read lots of literature on lactation and supplementing. Even if you are making enough milk for your child right now, you want to be able to produce extra if you are going to working full-time again soon. Mothers have a natural bond with their babies, producing the perfect amount of milk when they have lots of skin to skin contact. As soon as you get back into the work mode, your milk stores will start to deplete.

Expressing Milk for Your Baby

One requisite for any working mom who chooses to nurse their baby is breast pumping and milk expression. New babies should be exclusively fed breast milk for as long as possible, so avoid supplementing with formula if you are able to express a sufficient amount. Breast pumps can be uncomfortable and it may take a lot longer to produce several ounces of milk, but the more that you do it the more accustomed your body will become to the process.

Keeping Milk Stored Safely

Expressed breast milk normally stays good if refrigerated promptly for around a week. You can keep your breast milk stored longer by keeping it in the right type of container in the freezer. You want to keep at least two to three days’ worth of breast milk on hand in case some accidentally spills or you are held over at work longer than you were scheduled for. With a couple of days of breast milk kept in the freezer and refrigerator, you will be able to pump at your convenience and nurse your baby naturally too.

Since it probably took a bit of work to get your baby to latch on, you should also be ready to acclimate yourself to pumping and storing breast milk before going back to work. Your baby will benefit from your effort and moms who nurse usually lose weight faster after giving birth.