October 2013 Moms
sooner1981
member
Options
Pumping at work--general tips/timesavers
sooner1981
member
Any general tips/timesavers for ladies who are headed back to the office now or soon?
I pumped at work for a full year and will start with a few.
1. Pump parts stay clean for a full 24 hours if they are kept in a small bag with a cooler or in a refrigerator. I had a little insulated lunch bag with a frozen insert that i kept in my pump bag and kept my pumped milk and pump parts in that bag after every pump--no potentially-awkward rinsing or washing in the kitchen sink required, since it all stays chilled. Also, no awkward storing milk in the shared office refrigerator! At the end if the day, I would take my milk and pump parts home, wash, and repeat.
2. If you just pump to replace what your child is eating while you are at work, then just leave your pump at the office and only transport the insulated lunch bag to and from your home. Since I never tried to build a super stash, I only pumped when I was at work. On the weekends, I breastfed and never used the pump. So leaving it at the office cut down on the annoyance and inconvenience of hauling a big, not so discreet pump twice a day.
3. Listen to music while pumping. Before I did this, I would be so stressed at the sound my pump made (I just pumped in my office and it has paper thin walls and I used to worry about my co-workers hearing the pump and that being uncomfortable). Listening to music allowed me to relax and made me more efficient at pumping.
4. Assuming you can't wear nursing tanks to work (i can't), wear clothes with necklines that allow you to just whip out the boobs for pumping, as opposed to having to pull off entirely your shirt or dress to gain access. Regardless of the fact that no one is watching, pumping at the office feels odd enough. Pumping naked in your office is almost too uncomfortable to bear!
I pumped at work for a full year and will start with a few.
1. Pump parts stay clean for a full 24 hours if they are kept in a small bag with a cooler or in a refrigerator. I had a little insulated lunch bag with a frozen insert that i kept in my pump bag and kept my pumped milk and pump parts in that bag after every pump--no potentially-awkward rinsing or washing in the kitchen sink required, since it all stays chilled. Also, no awkward storing milk in the shared office refrigerator! At the end if the day, I would take my milk and pump parts home, wash, and repeat.
2. If you just pump to replace what your child is eating while you are at work, then just leave your pump at the office and only transport the insulated lunch bag to and from your home. Since I never tried to build a super stash, I only pumped when I was at work. On the weekends, I breastfed and never used the pump. So leaving it at the office cut down on the annoyance and inconvenience of hauling a big, not so discreet pump twice a day.
3. Listen to music while pumping. Before I did this, I would be so stressed at the sound my pump made (I just pumped in my office and it has paper thin walls and I used to worry about my co-workers hearing the pump and that being uncomfortable). Listening to music allowed me to relax and made me more efficient at pumping.
4. Assuming you can't wear nursing tanks to work (i can't), wear clothes with necklines that allow you to just whip out the boobs for pumping, as opposed to having to pull off entirely your shirt or dress to gain access. Regardless of the fact that no one is watching, pumping at the office feels odd enough. Pumping naked in your office is almost too uncomfortable to bear!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Pumping at work--general tips/timesavers
Also I filled my phone with pics of videos and photos of LO which I think really helped with my pumping, especially in the early days.
I keep a pack of Chlorox wipes on me to clean up the room if necessary. First off I'm not sure if our cleaning crew goes in there and second I do drop a couple if drops from time to time.
I keep my milk and parts in the fridge at work bc idgaf!
But from a career standpoint, I remember coming back to work after my first maternity leave and trying to hit the ground running and reassert my ability to take charge and get things done in a male-heavy environment. It was hard enough to have to devote the time to getting two/three pumping sessions in per day.
I didn't want to be that "in your face" about "here's my breast milk sitting next to your lunch" because I didn't want that constant reminder to the partners in my office that I now had a kid that nade it harder for me to work long hours at home and that I had to take multiple extra breaks during the day that the guys at my same level didn't have to take. I wanted my work identity to remain strictly about my performance and not highlight all the visual reminders of my new status as a mom.
I never wore any hands free bras or tanks to work because I never had them. I made a couple hands free bras out of sports bras for at home use, but they were not exactly work appropriate!
I never really felt like I needed the hands free set up. It only took me about 15 minutes to pump, once I got things figured out for maximum efficiency, so I just usually sat there with the pump flanges shoved into my regular bra, leaned back a little so they would stay attached, and bumped, read the news, etc. and just relaxed to try to get it finished as quickly as possible.
I did occassionally review documents while pumping, and in those cases when I was being productive, I would pump one side at a time while holding the flange with one hand and use my other hand to flip through documents and mark/sort them.
Great point about leaving he pump at the office, I wouldn't have thought of that!
Has anyone tried the simple wishes hands free bra? I read good reviews on Amazon but then read that the company was sending customers incentives to write good reviews so I hesitated buying one.
I only feed one side per feeding at home, but I did pump both sides at work. I felt like my pump wasn't quite as good at stimulating production as my little one, so the tandem pumping sessions during the day never caused any oversupply--they just maintained an adequate supply.
If you started pumping each side every session and felt like you were triggering oversupply issues, it would make sense to go back to one side per session.
#2 due 12.23.17
Ditto. It's amazing. I wil want to work while pumping so it will be perfect!
#2 due 12.23.17
I pump straight into a milk storage bag (like Lansinoh bags the best), so those take up less space in the cooler/bag.
With Lansinoh bags, I just kept a roll of scotch tape and small scissors in my bag and taped the bag to the flange and then cut it off and sealed it at the end of the session.
May Siggy: Baby in disguise
#2 due 12.23.17
I'm not a career girl as such which is why I am willing to dedicate add much time as possible to pumping! I have a sound job, great benefits but um not set on working my way up the Career ladder or anything. plus my work environment is like working with brothers and sisters, wr all get along very well and everyone knows what I'm doing in there...
Pump
Storage bottles or bags
Flanges and pump parts
Gallon ziplock for between session part storage
Towel or small receiving blanket
Bra or hair ties
Cooler and ice packs
Hand sanitizer
What did I miss?
It only happened a few times, but very occasionally, I would arrive at work and realize that I had left my cooler with my pump parts at home. The first time that happened, I went to buy a second set of flanges so that I would always be prepared if that happened again (and it did!). Nothing is worse than trying to work with your boobs on fire because you have no way of relieving them until you leave at the end of the day....
I also had to pour milk into my washed out travel coffee cup a few times.. so extra bags sounds like a good idea.
Francesca Pearl is here! Josephine Hope is almost 3!
I also have been wearing my BeBand. That way I don't feel so naked if I have to pull my top up.
Gotta do what you gotta do (and that is what made me stash some emergency bags in a drawer for the future!)