Going back to work on Monday, pumping question

Avion22 · May 2014

For those of you who pump at work, what do you pump into, how do you store milk at work, and what do you do when you get home?

I'm planning on pumping when I wake up, then 3 times a day at work, then once again before bed. I want to BF right before I leave for work and as soon as I get home, and obviously as many times as needed throughout the evening. For now, H is staying home with the baby during the day :-)

For the at-work pumping sessions, I'm planning on pumping into those 2.5oz medela beakers (taking 6 I guess, and using two per session), and putting them in a either the work communal fridge or in a cooler bag with ice pack until I get home. Then when I get home I'll combine what I have into however many bottles I can get, and use those for the next day. I can add what I pump at night and the next morning, and hopefully have enough bottles to last through the day while I'm gone. I also have a freezer stash that can be dipped into if necessary. I also plan on sticking my pump parts in the work fridge between feedings (in a zip-lock, then in an outer bag...it's a communal fridge).

Does this sound reasonable? Is there any issue with combining a few pumpings worth of milk as long as it's all chilled? I'm hoping this might solve any fore/hind milk issues if a pumping session gets cut short. We have a limited number of bottles -- probably not enough to have bottles for the day in the fridge and still have some for me to take to work to pump into, but we have 6 beakers, and I can't imagine I'll pump more than 2.5oz per side per pumping session.

Any advice is appreciated.

ejb23 · May 2014

I think your plan sounds great. Before I had a large enough bottle stash I brought milk storage bags for back up. If I pumped more then the bottle space I just dump in bags and freeze when I get home. Good luck!

ksonne · May 2014

Everything sounds good!

I pump 3 times at work to replace the 3 bottles that LO gets while I'm at work. I have a Medela pump and pump into the 5oz bottles. I store milk and the parts in a communal fridge as well.

You can definitely combine pumped bottles to make even bottles for LO for the next day.

If you want, keep easy clean wipes in your bag, just in case something falls on the floor. And it's a great idea to keep extra storage bags in there too.

Avion22 · May 2014

I have extra valves and membranes in my pump bag, but wasn't planning on taking any extra "parts" with me. Ive heard people talking about keeping extra flanges or bottles in their desk in case they forget to pack them. Does anyone do this?

If I'm pumping at home before work, do I rinse and dry all of the parts before packing them up for work? Or throw them into a zip-lock and into my cooler bag till I get to work, then in the fridge? Or should I just keep an extra set of parts at work so I don't have to remember to bring them back and forth?

jjdillie · May 2014

I would take something more than the 2.5 oz beakers. You might be surprised at the amount you pump. I had oversupply so I know this doesn't apply to eveyone, but that first pump of the day I could get 10-12 oz. I used some of the cheap evenflo bottles along with the 5 oz Madela's. I would also get an extra set of pump parts. It just makes life easier.

pennin35 · May 2014

Do you by chance use Dr. Brown bottles for feeding? They actually fit the Medela pump, and you can pump into those and have them all ready made up for your lo. It'll save you from washing bottles you pump into but can't use for feeding.

jf198400 · May 2014

2.5oz is not big enough. I used the 5 or 6oz bottles that came with the pump, and even then on occasion I overflowed the bottle. I would make sure you have 2 sets of pump parts, one clean set in your bag for work and one set at home drying on the rack. When I got home from work each day I took out the dirty parts and washed them and put the clean set right into my bag so I wouldn't forget anything.

nursebride2be · May 2014

I actually bought some cheap 5oz bottle from walmart that I use to pump into. I have also bought extra mesela bottles and use those. Wen I was pumping twice a day at work I would combine my first pump session milk into a larger 8 oz bottle( again cheap ones from walmart) and reuse the small ones at the second pump. I have a wet bag (usually used for cloth diapers) that I put my pump parts in between pumps at work, saves using lots of ziplock bags.
I bought a second set of pump parts, so I pump in the morning before leaving for work, stick those in a Tupperware and put in the fridge and use them again when I pump before bed. Then take a clean set to work, use them and then wash them when I get home. I keep/use the set at home in the fridge a couple days and then will wash both in the dishwasher when it needs run.
I usually pump more everyday then my little one needs so I combine the extra milk into a larger pitcher container and at end if week divide it out into bags to freeze.
As far as in my pump bag I have baby wipes, pump wipes, hand sanitizer, a burp cloth ( to help prevent dripping when unhooking), freezer bags, steamer bag, breast pads, extra membranes and nipple cream. Oh and a hands free pump bra, which I didn't have with my first and is SO nice.

Good luck. You will fall into a routine that works for you.

Avion22 · May 2014

PrivacyWanted said:

Everyone gave good advice. But can I ask why you're planning on pumping before you leave for work, if you'll also be able to pump 3x at work?

IME (I pumped with 2 kids, both were EBF), pumping at work produced a lot more than when I was home nursing, and pumping after. Those pumping sessions are replacing those feedings. There's not really a need for the extra pump, baring some other issue (low supply etc).

I'd encourage you to check out workandpump.com

Also, there's no issue combing feedings. But I always followed advice I got here when I first went back, and I served what I pumped, when I pumped it. So I had my bottles labeled (I used the 6 ameda bottles that came with my pump). 9am, 12pm, 3pm. Those were the times I pumped. All the 9am milk got served the next day at 9, the 12 at 12, 3 at 3 etc. You end up with varied amounts, but that's ok. Your milk changes throughout the day as the baby's needs change. Especially with your H at home this should be easy to implement.

I guess I'm worried about pumping enough for him to eat while I'm gone. I figure I'll probably need about 12 ounces or so (maybe 4-5 feedings, he eats a lot during the day). If I can get one feeding per pumping session at work, then I'll still need probably two other pumping sessions at home. I get extra from my morning pump (about 2 feedings worth), so the extra will go into the freezer. I'm trying to build up my freezer stash for a three-day trip away in July.

Obviously I'll see how much I get each day vs. how much he's eating, and adjust once I see how I'm doing.

I really appreciate all of the advice, I'm glad I asked -- you guys have some great ideas!!! I'll definitely check out that website:-)

TheBorg7of9 · May 2014

I also pumped at home before work for a few weeks to make sure I'd get enough milk.
Remember to lay bags flat in the freezer so they'll take up less room.

Avion22 · May 2014

PrivacyWanted said:

12 oz is a pretty good estimate. I think that's about average. But I bet you'll find you get that just from 3 sessions.

Also make sure your H reads up on paced feedings, and not overfeeding BF babies

He's been doing paced feedings for a bottle a day for the last month or so, so I think he's good :-) He's even talked about how he's going to take notes on when LO eats and how much at each feeding so we can fine-tune how much we put in each bottle. I sense a spread-sheet in my future :-)

Avion22 · May 2014

You guys are so helpful! I really appreciate it.

mattanda2011 · May 2014

I will play devils advocate, I pumped as many times as you are talking about, as far as in the morning and at night and I loved that I was creating a freezer stash. I also always did the morning and evening pumping on the weekend as well. I will say my husband thinks I have an obsession.
But at the end I had freezer stash of over 600oz and I was able to stop pumping but still give my DD breastmilk until a year.

Also, I would suggest freezing in 3-4oz bags and some in 1oz bags. That way as baby starts to take a bit more you don't have to open a whole big bag

MickeyM04 · May 2014

Everyone has given great advice. My only addition is to ask whether you paid for your pump or got it thru insurance. I bought a pump for DS before insurance started covering pumps. Then I found out our insurance covers pumps 100% so I got a second one (with parts) for free. I am going to leave one at work and one at home so I don't have to lug the pump back and forth when I go back. Because that is a pain in the ass. Everyone else said what I would have said. Good luck on Monday! I know it's hard, even if LO is with DH!

TheBorg7of9 · May 2014

Look into the dairy fairy bra. It's a hands free pumping bra and nursing bra all in one

Avion22 · May 2014

MickeyM04 said:

Everyone has given great advice. My only addition is to ask whether you paid for your pump or got it thru insurance. I bought a pump for DS before insurance started covering pumps. Then I found out our insurance covers pumps 100% so I got a second one (with parts) for free. I am going to leave one at work and one at home so I don't have to lug the pump back and forth when I go back. Because that is a pain in the ass. Everyone else said what I would have said. Good luck on Monday! I know it's hard, even if LO is with DH!

My health coverage didn't pay for a pump. I'm military, and our health coverage is considered a "benefit" and not "insurance" so doesn't have to comply with ACA...but all of my health care is 100% free with no OOP costs at all, so dropping $250 on the pump of my choice didn't seem so bad. I'd love two have two pumps! Hopefully my supply will be good enough that I can drop the at-home pumping sessions and just keep my pump at work, eventually. Until then, I get to be the bag-lady! Gym bag, work bag, pump bag/cooler, lunch bag.... :-)

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