Pumping at work

Re: Pumping at work

• VegasGal1978 member

  September 2014

  I used to pump 3x per day at work. Would pump for 20 and have 5 minutes for setup and 5 minutes for breakdown.
  
  Big time saver....don't wash you parts each time. Put them in a gallon zip lock bag and put them in the fridge or a cooler/lunch bag with an ice pack.
  
  Good luck!

  Can't figure out the signature thing, so here's the short, short version.....first daughter born on November 10, 2013. She was conceived through the magic of IVF after 2+ years of TTC.

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• MamaAllison member

  September 2014

  @VegasGal1978‌ gave the tip I was going to! Also, could you pump during one or both of your commutes to reduce the number of times you need to pump during the day at work?
  
  And since you asked it takes me about 15 minutes to pump. I pretty much get what I'm gonna get in the first five minutes of pumping. That was NOT true, however, for DD1. So everyone is different, and different children can be different!

  DD1 - Evelyn Riley - 9/30/11

  DD2 - Charlotte Avery - 1/27/14

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• NADA-H member

  September 2014

  I'm starting to assemble the parts at my desk. I don't usually wash them every time I just wipe them down with the quick clean and then put them in a ziplock bag but last time I pumped I just stuck them in the ziplock bag and then wiped them at my desk to try and minimize the time I spend away from my desk and that helped.

  
  

  by law we get a "nursing hour" for the first year after delivery where I live and we can choose to get it whenever or break it down as we wish. I take mine in the morning so instead of working 8-5 I'm working 9-5 now with that being said I don't want to be seen as spending time pumping too although I'm not delaying any work when I am pumping but you know how bad that would make you look especially when there isn't much work anyway and it feels like someone might be getting the sack soon due to that...I don't want it to be me!

  
  

  I don't think I can pump while I commute..I will probably get milk all over me (very clumsy) and pumping is so foreign here that people might think am stripping or something..I just dont feel comfortable doing it..I guess I will just do the pre and post-pumping work at my desk and just go in for 20 mins

  
  God Bless You my Little One
  Farida, our first child, born on the 19th of July 2014
  
  Farida, at 8 weeks
  
  

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• lifeinthedreamhouse member

  September 2014

  If you're just back to work I'm sure you'll get quicker with the set up an break down as you get used to it too. So that will save some time. I pumped 3x a day - my break and then I had to add an hour to my day for the other two pumping sessions. It made my day really long but I had still do my work in addition to my pump time.

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• dashofreality member

  September 2014

  Pump from both sides? If you don't have a double electric pump then you really need to invest in one. I would think that 40 minutes would only be needed if you had supply issues. Double electric - 15 - 20 minutes a session is usually sufficient. Also invest in a pumping bra, I was fortunate to have a door on my office so it was easy for me to keep working, but is there anything you can bring and work on while pumping?

  I used the medela wipes (I cut them in half) and I brought my own cooler. Quick wipe of the parts, ziplock, into the cooler. You technically don't need to use the wipes as long as you keep it cold enough. I also personally highly recommend the Playtex drop and go converter. We switched to the Playtex dropins because you can pump right into them and cap them. It was the same price as storage bags, less clean up and less spills.

  DD Nov 2010 ~ DS June 2012

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• Peanutz21 member

  September 2014

  VegasGal1978 said:

  I used to pump 3x per day at work. Would pump for 20 and have 5 minutes for setup and 5 minutes for breakdown. Big time saver....don't wash you parts each time. Put them in a gallon zip lock bag and put them in the fridge or a cooler/lunch bag with an ice pack. Good luck!

  this

  
  

  i used to wash parts each time at home but when i went to work i started doing this.  each time i take to pump takes at least 30 min out of my work time. i pump for 20-25 min with 5 min for set/clean up. it takes some time to get used to it.  i thought sometimes i could multitask while pumping (phone calls, paperwork) but found that mentally it's good for me to just close my eyes and clear my head. 

  
  

  TTC#2
  

  

  Our little IVF miracle born 5/7/2014

  

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• Mustardseed2007 member

  September 2014

  I agree with not wiping them down.  I also don't even travel to a refrigerator. I keep my pump parts and milk in an insulated lunch kit with 3 ice packs. I pump (both sides with a good electric pump) for 20 minutes - or less if I'm really busy and break down and set up is 5 minutes each time. I also have a hands free bra so sometimes I take calls (I'm using a rented medela symphony so they don't hear it, even if it's on speaker) or I do work. Sometimes I just bump or listen to podcasts. Depends on how my day is going.

  I wish I could pump during my commute but I just can't bring myself to do that. I always think about what would happen if I got pulled over or got into a car wreck. Lots of people do it, I just am not that good or brave :P

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

   

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• NADA-H member

  September 2014

  wow this board rocks! thanks ladies.

  
  

  I will answer all questions I got in one post so not to have many separate posts.

  
  

  I can't work while pumping unfortunately because I work in an open office space with 4 other peolpe and we share this space. Also I basically work as a site engineer. So my work is to go on the different sites around my office and inspect them+having meetings with contractors and tenants+work with my team+review large sets of drawings. The e-mails/calls/paper work is very minimal in my day to day work as we are more hands on.

  
  

  As to pumping while driving, I'm very uncomfortable with it; I keep thinking of all the what ifs. Plus I'm a muslim who covers. I wear long sleeve shirts+pants+a head scarf and wouldnt expose any of that skin so it's hard to do that and pump and be in a car all at the same time. plus the fact that I drop off my baby in the morning to my mom's and will start having to pick her up too in a couple of weeks.

  
  

  I thought that I had to take the entire pump apart every single time and wipe every piece and then reassemble them again the next time and so on and so forth, since you guys told me I've been saving them in the ziplock bags and placing them in the mini fridge by my desk and that saves time so much! 

  
  

  our offices are freezing and I pump in the prayer room, so I need to take layers and layers of clothes off (jacket,shirt,undershirt,bra) before I can put the hands free bra which I have (I don't know how anyone can pump without one!) and then once done pumping I have to put all those layers back on. 

  
  

  I'm also just back to work and I need some time to know how to go about my day especially being sluggish from being sleep deprived and tired..I think once I get a routin done I will be even faster but for now the zip lock bags have cut down the pre and post pumping time a lot!

  
  God Bless You my Little One
  Farida, our first child, born on the 19th of July 2014
  
  Farida, at 8 weeks
  
  

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• QueSrah member

  September 2014

  NADA-H said:

   

  our offices are freezing and I pump in the prayer room, so I need to take layers and layers of clothes off (jacket,shirt,undershirt,bra) before I can put the hands free bra which I have (I don't know how anyone can pump without one!) and then once done pumping I have to put all those layers back on. 

  
   

  The hands free bra can go over some of the layers you already have on, esp. if you wear a nursing bra and can open the flap. I stayed fairly dressed in my office to pump, layering the pumping bra right over my shirt (usually a button down for easy access) and nursing bra. No one has time for all that undressing and dressing!  Try experimenting to see if you can get by with leaving on a few of those layers.
  

  

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• litzo27 member

  September 2014

  Also a lot of times when I'm lazy or pressed for time I don't take layers off instead I just kinda roll everything up (including just unclasping my bra and rolling it up since I don't use nursing bras). I can't do that with stuff that wrinkles obviously but I do with t-shirts and sweaters and stuff. Sometimes I have just 15 minutes between classes and need to pump extra fast so I do that.
  Also you could try pumping 15 instead of 20 minutes. Just as your flow slowed down after the let down and milk drips as opposed to flowing hit the letdown button again (if you have Medela, or increase the frequency if you have Ameda) and try to get a second letdown.
  

  
   

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• NADA-H member

  September 2014

  The cold is horrible when your nursing! Our nipples seriously suffer enough from pumping and feeding

  
  God Bless You my Little One
  Farida, our first child, born on the 19th of July 2014
  
  Farida, at 8 weeks
  
  

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• NADA-H member

  September 2014

  I have no idea why i used to take off all those layers, i think i though the hands free bra wouldnt fit on top without trying! Once i tried it actually fit, my brain works at half it's capacity when sleepy obviously.
  
  I also stopped taking the little pump parts apart and wiping them down and i just keep them in ziplock bags.
  
  I managed to spend less than 5 mins from the moment i open the pump bag to the moment i hit the start button on it and under 5 mins to go from switch off to walking out of the room!
  
  Thank u so much ladies

  
  God Bless You my Little One
  Farida, our first child, born on the 19th of July 2014
  
  Farida, at 8 weeks
  
  

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• TheBorg7of9 member

  September 2014

  Look into the dairy fairy. You can wear it all day and it's a pumping bra and a nursing bra.

  My TTC History:

  2009: missed miscarriage #1 at 9 weeks (trisomy 16)
  2010: Infertility

  2011: Diagnosis and treatment (low sperm count, anastrozole for DH, clomid for me + IUI)

  2012: Baby #1

  2014: Baby #2
  October 2015: missed miscarriage #2 at 11 weeks (trisomy 22)

  March 2016 BFP#5, due November 2016.

  
  

  My Charts since 2009

  http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/25b8a4

  
  

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• jaimee2003 member

  October 2014

  ClaryPax said:

  
  By the time I had the second baby, I did not wipe my pump parts, wash them, or store them in the refrigerator or cooler.  I simply put them wet in a ziplock bag and that was it.  BM is good for 6-8 hours at room temperature.  Between 8 am and my 2 pm pump was only 6 hours.  I then took everything home and put it in the dishwasher at night.  I had zero issues with this.  My take down was 2 minutes.  Everything stayed assembled during the day. There is no reason to remove the parts and then put them back together again.  Also get a hands free bra. 
  
  
  

  Found this thread by searching(I'm an August14 mom), and this is the exact info I was looking for!  I've been back at work since last Thursday, and the set-up/clean-up was driving me bonkers!  A co-worker had told me to wash every part every time, but I thought, no way.  It ahs to be ok to just rinse.  But you're saying don't even rinse, and keep everything assembled! Eureka!!  THANK YOU.

  

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• NADA-H member

  October 2014

  After getting these advices, i've been back to work for 7 weeks now and i pump then put everythibg in the ziplock bag and it goes in the fridge till my next pumping session, no problem there and my set up and put apart has gone down quiet a lot

  
  God Bless You my Little One
  Farida, our first child, born on the 19th of July 2014
  
  Farida, at 8 weeks
  
  

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