Working While Breastfeeding

I always knew that when I became a mom I would try a hand at breastfeeding. While I had some trouble to start with breastfeeding came easy overall. (More on that subject later.)
Since I didn't have 9 months to prepare I was trying to jog my memory on the breastfeeding conference I attended at BYU (Brigham Young University) for which brands were recommended for investment. Honestly, your breast pump is an investment. Think about how many 20 minutes session are required to pump x amount of bottles. They add up over the course of the months.


First thing first, I decided to invest in the Ameda Purely Yours Breast Pump. My thoughts in making this decision was:

1. All the breast pump and accessories could fit in the bag. 
2. The brand is well known and consumer reviews say it holds up for the wear and tear it will receive.
3. It came with a car adapter. (You may laugh when reading this, but being able to pump in the car came very useful for me. Plus you might as well make the most of your car ride!)
4. I loved that Ameda has a pure airlock on the pump from preventing your milk coming in contact with the breast pump.

I knew I would be going back to work after my maternity leave and I would have to start stock piling my milk supply. I did my own research and decided on using Phillip's Avent reusable bottles to store my milk. It worked out great for my daughter since The rubber cap can snap off and you insert the nipple. I had to calculate how many bottles on average I needed to cycle through. It definitely took some time in establishing how many we needed.

Trust me there were days I didn't know if it would be my last day for pumping because I would run low, but the thing I found out was stressing only makes it worse. I had to keep reminding myself that it was better than known. Around the time Izzy Mae turned 3 months I changed jobs. It allowed me to work from home and required less bottles for me to supply. It also had steady hours which really helped me mentally.

I'm happy to report that I am made it while working and pumping. I felt a sense of relief and gratitude that I was able to supply my daughter with the best food for her. Trust me there were some ups and downs, along with some sleepless nights, but I made it.
Can you relate to similar struggles? I still have to make it through the summer, but I don't work during the summer, but I will let you know how I do.

Here are some great websites where I found a lot of my answers
Ameda
Kelly Mom
Baby Center