Pumping at work - Slowly getting over embarrassment

jaimevogt

So, lucky to have a room for nursing moms...my complaints about how booked-solid the room is aside, it's nice to have space, and our room even has a mini fridge. 

But man, I hate rinsing out my stuff after I'm done. Some guy always comes into the kitchen and I imagine he's wondering what the hell those contraptions are I'm rinsing out.

 

leah2b

I know what you mean.  I never really got over the embarressment of the darn noise!  I was always paranoid that someone could hear.

Another pumping mom told me that you really don't need to rinse your parts in between pumps, so long as you take the parts and put them in with the ice packet.  Remember that the milk stays good for quite some time and won't spoil. So you can at least get away with not rinsing between pump 1 and 2 (i pumped 3 times a day at work).  I was rinsing religiously until I heard this.  I actually stopped doing that --instead just putting the parts back in with the ice bag, and it was totally fine.

hansa11

We have a fridge in our nursing mom's room and I left my pump parts in a Ziploc bag in there and brought them home at the end of the day to wash.

I found that when it comes to pumping, either people know exactly what's going on because they had a wife who once pumped or they're so clueless that they don't think twice about what you could be washing in the sink.  I work with a bunch of guys and my young, single co-worker saw me with my black pump bag and asked why I was headed to the gym so early, whereas the dads were just like, "Okay, see you in 20 minutes."

shannm

Honestly, I only wiped the parts down a bit in the pumping room, and threw them in a bag (kept at room temp) till the afternoon session.  I then brought them all home and hand washed in hot soapy water each night.  I did this for two babies, almost two years total and NEVER had an issue.  

My point?  If you want to stop rinsing them in the common sink, go for it, it is not a big deal. 

jess9802

I agree with the others - keep your pump parts in the fridge in between pump sessions and don't worry about washing them until the end of the day. It saves time and mild embarrassment.

skyejo

I'm with the other ladies too--I never wash my pump parts at work.  I throw them in the Medela bag with the bottles and keep it in the fridge.  I was them only once at night.

jf198400

hansa11:

We have a fridge in our nursing mom's room and I left my pump parts in a Ziploc bag in there and brought them home at the end of the day to wash.

I found that when it comes to pumping, either people know exactly what's going on because they had a wife who once pumped or they're so clueless that they don't think twice about what you could be washing in the sink.  I work with a bunch of guys and my young, single co-worker saw me with my black pump bag and asked why I was headed to the gym so early, whereas the dads were just like, "Okay, see you in 20 minutes."

Totally agree with this.  The people who knew I was pumping were all the other moms or dads with babies at home.  Totally no big deal.  I never washed anything at work, just waited until I got home at night.

DH told me when I was pumping with DS that he suddenly noticed women with the Medela bag everywhere he went, on the train, in the subway, in his office buidling, before that he had no clue.

melody921

theresat858:

Why are you rinsing anything at work? There's no need... I just keep my pump parts in a ziplock in my cooler bag between pumping sessions. I wash everything at home...

This. Or if they don't fit in the cooler bag, use the Medela wipes. I don't wash anything at work.

reb84

LOL, this was pretty much the guys at my work too.  Although I rinsed in the woman's RR, they would see me with my bag and say by or something. I would just smile and continue on my route to the pump room or RR.  And some women in my office didn't even know what the bag was for although they saw me rinsing things in the RR.