Working at home and breastfeeding?

Question

When I get older I will have a job that I can do at home to earn my income(Since I can't really leave my mom or dad or grandparents completely even if I do get more independent than before).

Some time after I get my job I want to have children. When I have children I want to exclusively breastfeed them for 6 months and keep giving them some breastmilk until 2 years. But when I have a newborn that will be hungry every 2 hours or so or even a 3 month old who gets hungry every 4 hours how will I be able to work at home and breastfeed my child(or children if I get pregnant with multiples or become pregnant again before my first child turns 2)?

Answer 1

It can be hard to map everything out exactly in advance. And even if you do -- babies have a mind of their own, and are sometimes known to turn well-made plans upside down!

When we were expecting, we visited a couple of parents of young babies, to get some ideas about furniture. One of them gave us some great (non-furniture) advice -- she said, while you're expecting, read as much as you can about breastfeeding! And she lent us her copy of the book by La Leche League. It was good advice, and we were glad later that we followed it.

You've got plenty of time still -- but it might be helpful for you to do some reading about breastfeeding mothers' experiences. One possibility would be The Breastfeeding Cafe.

You can also visit a La Leche League meeting in your area.

Answer 2

My wife got a masters degree while nursing and being employed full time. I work from home half the day currently and take care of at least one of the kids during that time. You find ways, even though you may be constantly interrupted. I have many times held a baby while programming with one hand. It seemed to work out. I wouldn't worry about being able to juggle it all at one time unless you plan on doing something that requires real time conferences, like being an on call language translator for a court or something.

Something to consider is that babies tend to start their lives sleeping most of the day, not moving much, and generally being easy to deal with. Your first 6 months will probably be a breeze. Every kid is different, so don't take that as a guarantee. You will find ways to hold them, swaddle them, carry them in things like the baby bjorn or moby wrap and get everything you need done.

As they get to the solid food stage, your meal times may need a little more attention. My kids required being held and walked around. It was 30 minutes guaranteed. Some kids just gobble up everything in their path. You won't know until you have one.

All in all, it sounds like this is future planning. If you are wondering if it is possible to do this according to your plan - yeah it is. Will you be able to do it? Nobody here can say. That's one of those things that unravels the second you become a parent. Then every day is a new experience you never saw coming no matter how solid your plan was.

I agree with @anongoodnurse - it is too soon to tell, but don't fret about it.