How to keep breastfeeding when life won't pause

Why expressing helps you keep going

Breastfeeding works on a supply and demand basis. The more milk is removed, the more your body makes.

When you’re apart from your baby, they are obviously not being put to the breast – expressing does that job. It tells your body to keep making milk. It also means whoever is caring for your baby has your milk to give them.

Many mums do both. Breastfeed when you’re together, express when you’re not. That might be a couple of sessions at work, or one in the evening so your partner can do a feed.

A few things that help:

Learn to hand express too. It’s free, needs no kit and is useful if you’re ever caught short.

Wait until feeding is settled before you express regularly, unless your midwife or feeding specialist has advised otherwise.

Express roughly as often as your baby would feed while you’re apart. Long gaps can tell your body to make less.

Don’t judge your supply by what’s in the bottle. The amount you express isn’t, on its own, a reliable measure of your milk supply. Small amounts are normal, especially at first.

Going back to work

Going back to work after having a baby can be daunting and is a time when most mums worry. A bit of planning before your first day will make a big difference.

Know your rights. Tell your employer in writing that you’re breastfeeding before you go back. They must then do a risk assessment for you. By law, they must give you somewhere suitable to rest. HSE guidance says it should be private and hygienic, with somewhere to store your milk, like a fridge. A toilet is not a suitable place to express. You can also ask for flexible working, and agree breaks with your manager.

Plan your day. Look at when your baby usually feeds, and roughly match your expressing sessions to that. Book them in your diary if you need to.

Start small, early. A couple of weeks before you go back, start expressing once a day to build a small freezer supply. You don’t need a huge stash. Let your baby practise with a bottle or cup from someone else, too.

Store your milk safely. NHS guidance on storing breast milk:

Where to store breastmilk

Where	How long
Fridge at 4°C or colder (at the back, not the door)	Up to 8 days
Ice compartment of a fridge	Up to 2 weeks
Freezer at -18°C or colder	Up to 6 months
Cool bag with ice packs (milk already chilled)	Up to 24 hours

Defrost frozen milk in the fridge and use it straight away. Never refreeze milk once it’s thawed.

Why your breast pump’s fit matters more than you think

Every body is different, and a pump should work around yours. When it doesn’t, expressing becomes a chore you start to dread.

Flange size. The flange is the part your nipple sits in. The wrong size is one of the most common reasons expressing hurts or doesn’t go well. Too small and it can rub. Too big and it can pull in too much of the areola. Your size can change over time, so check it again if things stop feeling right.

Settings. Most mums find a rhythm that suits them. Start low and turn it up slowly. Stronger is not always better, and it should never hurt.

Warmth. Warmth can help some mums relax and get their milk flowing. It’s the same reason a warm flannel or a shower can help.

An honest word on wearable pumps. They’re brilliant for freedom and fitting expressing into your day. But some mums find they get less from a wearable than from a traditional pump. If your supply is a worry, or you’re exclusively expressing, talk it through with a feeding specialist.

And if expressing or feeding hurts, please don’t push through. Speak to your midwife, health visitor or local infant feeding team. You can also call the National Breastfeeding Helpline on 0300 100 0212.

Bloome – a pump built around your fit

The Bloome Wearable Breast Pump from Lola&Lykke is designed around the idea that the pump should adapt to you, not the other way round.

It sits in your bra, so it’s hands-free. You can express while you cuddle your baby, answer emails or get on with your day, without being tied to a plug socket.

What makes it different is how much you can adjust it:

Fit your body – all five fit options come in the box. There’s a 25 mm cushion plus 15, 17, 19 and 21 mm inserts, so you can get the size right from the start.
Fit the way you pump – 4 pumping modes and 9 suction levels. That includes Surge, a stronger pattern similar to power pumping. Find the combination that suits you, and change it as your needs change.
Fit your day – each cup holds 180 ml and pauses automatically when it’s full, so you don’t need to keep checking for overflow.
Fit your comfort – 4 warming levels from 35°C to 41°C. Warming runs for up to 10 minutes to help you settle in, then switches off on its own.

Suction goes up to 339 mmHg. It’s designed to be quiet and discreet, which helps if you’re expressing at work or out and about.

You can choose a single or a double. A double saves time if you’re expressing both sides at once. A single works well if you feed your baby on one side and express on the other.

Delivery is free on every Bloome order, sent from Lola&Lykke’s UK warehouse.

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The bottom line

You don’t have to stop breastfeeding because life gets busy, or because you’re going back to work. Plan a little, look after your supply, and find kit that fits you.

However long you breastfeed for, every feed counts. And if something isn’t working, ask for help early – it’s out there.

Sponsored by Lola & Lykke. This post also contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Written by me, and the views are my own.