STM's - Pumping question

NavyFlyer · August 2014

Quick background: Will be going back to work full time at 6 weeks so pumping is going to be a necessity. Bought a Medela Freestyle. In a fit of nesting yesterday, unboxed it, put it together, read the instructions, etc.

Question: Those instructions say to disassemble all those parts and wash them every single time you use. Articles I've read on pumping say I need to pump 3 times in an 8 hour workday. Do I seriously need to go to the bathroom at work 3 times a day and disassemble/wash all those little parts of the pump?? (the connectors, breastshields, etc). That sounds like a total PITA. I know that's OFFICIALLY what you are supposed to do, but what I want to know is, how often did you pumping moms out there REALLY wash all that stuff? Would it be a crime against nature to just use the damn thing to pump 3 times during the workday and then clean it each night when you get home?

Emerald27 · August 2014

You're fine. I'd rinse your flanges without disassembling them between uses. As long as you're cleaning them at night, they'll be just fine.

NavyFlyer · August 2014

Emerald27 said:

You're fine. I'd rinse your flanges without disassembling them between uses. As long as you're cleaning them at night, they'll be just fine.

Sorry, "flanges" = "breastshields"?? Don't remember something called a flange.

Emerald27 · August 2014

NavyFlyer said:

Emerald27 said:

You're fine. I'd rinse your flanges without disassembling them between uses. As long as you're cleaning them at night, they'll be just fine.

Sorry, "flanges" = "breastshields"?? Don't remember something called a flange.

------------------------------
Yep! Another name for breastshield.

ss265 · August 2014

A lot of Moms also stick the entire thing in a fridge between pumping sessions and don't even bother washing after each session. If you do that, you can get away with one set of pump parts per day. You do have to deal with cold parts when you pump though

MsMacual · August 2014

I used the ice pack and cooler to store my milk and would combine my pumped milk into one bottle. I put the empty bottle that I had just used on back on one side and put a new bottle on the other. I wiped everything with a paci wipe (Target has them) and put it all in a gallon sized zip lock bag. I kept my pump and all of my parts on my desk and washed everything in super hot water every night. I pumped for 10 months after returning to work with my first and never had a problem doing things this way. Some of my colleagues stored their parts and milk in one of the break room fridges. Keeping everything cold would eliminate the chance of having something go bad from sitting out too long- I wasn't particulary worried and was lazy most days. I used the steam sanitizing bags from Medela every couple of weeks and sometimes ran my parts through the sanitize cycle on our dishwasher.

I also know of a few moms who washed their parts in between sessions, again, I didn't go that route and it was fine, but if you have access to a sink in your break room, it is another option.

Here is some helpful info from Kellymom:
https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/bf-links-pumping/
https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/milkcalc/

Edited- sorry! I didn't address how often to pump. A good general rule of thumb is to pump every 2-4 hours (or about equal to the nursing schedule that your baby will be on). My schedule was a 9 hour day and about 2 hours of commute time (so 11 hours total). I nursed right before we went to daycare and then pumped 3 times (so about every 3- 3 1/2 hours- usually around 10:30, 1:30, and 5). I eventually went to two times per day becuase I was having a hard time getting away from my desk to pump. I wasn't able to pump enough to send to daycare the next day once I went down to 2 times per day and supplemented one bottle of formula per day (this started when DS was about 9 months).

NavyFlyer · August 2014

PurpleHippo19 said:

I pumped a lot and didn't technically wash the pieces each time. We kept a bowl on the counter and would refresh it with warm/hot soapy water for the pieces to sit in until I could wash the pieces so that at least the milk didn't set on the pieces.

I think it's mostly that you don't want milk drying on any of the parts.

Ah that makes sense. I'm thinking maybe I'll get some of those breastpump cleaning wipes and just wipe the parts down after a pumping, then clean at night.

Thanks for the responses!! I would flag this thread as "answered" if I knew how...

ss265 · August 2014

Bump won't let me edit my original post

Just wanted to add that you should also recruit your DH to wash all your pump parts. Mine started doing that and now 1.5 years later, does almost all the dish washing.

Liss1481 · August 2014

When I was pumping at work, I just washed my hands before and then stored everything in a ziploc baggy in the fridge. Didn't wash until I was home and done pumping for the night

ashie0610 · August 2014

NavyFlyer said:

PurpleHippo19 said:

I pumped a lot and didn't technically wash the pieces each time. We kept a bowl on the counter and would refresh it with warm/hot soapy water for the pieces to sit in until I could wash the pieces so that at least the milk didn't set on the pieces.

I think it's mostly that you don't want milk drying on any of the parts.

Ah that makes sense. I'm thinking maybe I'll get some of those breastpump cleaning wipes and just wipe the parts down after a pumping, then clean at night.

Thanks for the responses!! I would flag this thread as "answered" if I knew how...

This is exactly what I did. I used the wipes in between pumping sessions at work (or if I was working from home would just rinse them), then would clean them every night and sterilize every Friday.

The only thing to be careful of, especially if you do rinse them, is that the Freestyle parts need to be completely dry before you use them again or the membranes will stick inside the plastic and you won't get any suction.

God, I am not looking forward to pumping again..

JessAnnJ · August 2014

I kept them in the refrigerator and washed once a day. I did not use the wipes. I actually put the flanges in my dishwasher but when I called Ameda customer service they told me I shouldn't do that. So I guess maybe read the cleaning instructions and see if they say anything about that.

SusieBW · August 2014

I also used to just wipe mine and then put the parts in the fridge in between.

I dread pumping.

MrMrsandBaby · August 2014

I will second (third?) the idea to keep the parts in the fridge, I did this even at home. No way I wanted to be cleaning those every single time. I washed them as needed (I had a few sets of parts so daily wasn't necessary) but I would only use one set every day. At the end of the day I would rinse everything and just toss them in the sink for the next time I had to do dishes.

NavyFlyer · August 2014

Happyin14 said:

I had the Freestyle and honestly... bought 4 sets of everything except the breastshields. Breastshields were easy to clean with a wipe and then I just had the four sets of other stuff and would use them each once, put them in the bag and wash them at night. I know it's an added cost on what you just spent for the pump, but it was the easiest thing for me because keeping them in my work fridge was drama. (I know I shouldn't care, but it was drama.) And as PP said, your freestyle parts need to dry completely. It was just easier to wash at night, let air dry and then reuse them the next day.

So the "sets of other stuff", what did that entail? The membranes, connectors, and tubing?

meggiev123 · August 2014

People have basically said everything at this point, but I'd just second the joy of a second set of parts, not only for cleaning, but in case something breaks (like those thin membranes). When you're relying on pumping and something breaks the last thing you want to do is run to BRU with hard boobs in the middle of the workday!

ashleym373 · August 2014

I put my parts in the fridge or my cooler bag with ice packs.

NatalieJoy09 · August 2014

I only worked 5 hours a day 4 days a week, so I only pumped once a day. I would put all of my pump parts in the office fridge in a discrete bag (take that sneaky men trying to steal people's food!!). I would take the parts to work Monday morning, and bring them home Thursday afternoon to disinfect over the weekend. I know we have to be more careful with teeny tiny babies, so maybe don't do the once every few days thing with a 6 week old, but I'd bet by 3 months you'd be good to go with disinfecting only a couple times a week. & I smelled the parts each time before I used them to make sure nothing was sour - like if someone left the fridge open overnight or something. Then I would just have to pump & dump

Goodluck!!

megaroo64 · August 2014

I also put the parts in the fridge between pumping sessions at work. I did take them home at the end of the day and washed them there - but I never washed them at work. Sometimes I would wipe them off with that disinfecting wipes (the ones made for breast pumps) but that is about it.

ss265 · August 2014

theresat858 said:

ss265 said:

A lot of Moms also stick the entire thing in a fridge between pumping sessions and don't even bother washing after each session. If you do that, you can get away with one set of pump parts per day. You do have to deal with cold parts when you pump though
This. Breastmilk is good for 6-8 hours at room temp, so technically you don't even have to put them in a cooler or fridge. (I used a cooler, though). Just wash once, at the end of the day.

ETA: You don't want to rinse them between uses, though.

Just to expand on the bolded - breastmilk has anti-bacterial properties (or something similar) so if you rinse the parts between uses, you lose that protection.

And be sure to remove the white membrane from the valve when you wash your pump parts, DH used to wash it all together and sometimes my parts developed a musty smell and I had to re-wash them before I pumped.

PC0909 · August 2014

I used medela wipes on the shields, put the pumped milk into bags, then stuck everything in the fridge at work. I also had two sets of parts, one set I would use at home and one at work (I EP'd). Once a day I handwashed all the parts and used a medela microwave bag to sterilize.

savicke2009 · August 2014

I rinsed them with hot water at work for pumping.. medela makes steamer bags that you can put the parts in and microwave to sterilize if youre worried about cleaning

slsl509 · August 2014

I just wiped the flanges with a dry paper towel and put the rest in a cooler pack. I went through lots of ziplocks. Washed everything at night but also had an extra set of everything in case I forgot/fell asleep/didn't want to.

It's worth it, but pumping is a hassle!

roundabout2 · August 2014

I washed my hands really well before pumping, then after I put the parts in a ziploc bag and into the fridge (provided in pumping room at work by employer) and use them the rest of the day. Never had a problem.

LightBright515 · August 2014

Never mind.

Want a personalized experience?

STM's - Pumping question

Re: STM's - Pumping question

Choose Another Board

Search Boards