Pumping at work with only 4 Medela collection bottles?

lbw05

This is probably a dumb question. I plan to pump 3x per day, but my pump only has 4 bottles, and space in the built-in cooler for those 4 bottles. What should I do if I can't combine 2 bottles into 1 after a session because it won't fit? What do you do?

madhatter2003

I didn't have a medela pump, but I bought more collection bottles so I could have a fresh set each time I pumped.  I actually had 2 days worth in case I didn't get time to wash at night. I had 12 total.

erinmdtobe

Could you maybe bring storage bags?  I do that when I need to use the small cooler that comes with the bag.  I have a refrigerator at work, so I bought the cheap bpa free bottles from walmart.  They hold ~10oz.  I dump the milk from the collection bottles into the big bottle, then rinse the collection bottles to use for next time.   

ToBeLee

My cooler bag, Ameda Pump, has room for 6 bottles....I bought the mothers milk mate set to have the additional bottles for my stash at home and I also bring them to work besides just using the Ameda ones.  It gives me a lot more flexibility to have more bottles.  Could you get a larger cooler bag?  I do well with the one bag which have 3 cooler elements.

spunkielexis196

I'm jealous if you cannot get all your collected milk in the 4 bottles.  I pump and only get 3-4 ounces everytime pump at work, so after I'm done pumping I pour each collection into a single bottle, so I go home with milk in 3 bottles and wash them once I'm home.  I use the steri-hands wipes to clean everything between pumping so they are clean.

blondie75

I pump 2- 3 times a day and it's rare that I pump more than 20 ozs.  On the days I do, I pump into the medela storage/freeze bags. I always keep a couple extras in my bag.  The bag usually will lie flat over the bottles in the cooler.

kickenb

I went out and bought Gerber 9 oz bottles for when I pump at work.  The small mouth bottles still work with the Medela PISA.  I do pump about 7 oz each side when at work so I didn't want to be swapping out the bottle mid pump.  They are cheap (about $3 for 3 bottles), I found them at both Target and BRU and they are BPA free. 

Luckystar2

I'd get another set just so you are not constantly washing bottles.  I don't pump that much but I bought an extra set.

I also leave storage bags in my office in case I forget to grab enough bottles and pump more than I can store in what I brought.

bridetobe0jb

I used PISA and the Dr. Brown bottles fit on the horns just fine, so I pumped directly into those.

Erika6504

I bought extra bottles but I was actually ok with just 4.  I would pump 3x a day.  The first time I pumped I would combine the milk in to one bottle and any left over would go in a second bottle.  The second time I used 2 completely clean bottles.  When I pumped the third time, I would combine the milk from the first time with the milk from the second time (they were the same temp by that point) and then I would usually have 2 empty bottles.  If I didn't then I would only pump one side at a time.

estherandgeoff2

I only have 2 bottles and then transfer the milk to the Lansinoh storage bags. I usually only bring home 2-3 bags a day and they fit easily in the Medela cooler bag.

babyluv617

I actually fill the 5oz bottles to 6oz because that's what ds takes. I only take 4 bottles with me each day. I have about 10 total bottles.

springtime81

I kept some storage bags with my pump in case of overflow.  At home, I kept the day's extra milk in a 10oz baby bottle in the fridge.

ai&Jas

I bought extra medela bottles but at work I bring just the 4. I normally get 3-4 oz each time so i just combine the milk. I normally have 1 empty bottle at the end of the day. You could also bring an extra cooler, ice pack and bottles if you are pumping more than 20 oz (5-6oz per bottle) a day. I have so many bottles (20) because I bring the milk pumped from the day before to DD daycare and its nice to have extras in caes I dont get around to washing them all that night!.

molldoll71

I bought a ton of collection bottles but also because that was the bottle Billy drank from as well.  You can buy the storage bags and poor the milk into those so you can reuse your bottles.  I pumped 3 times a day so needed 6 bottles a day.