Today’s post is dedicated to all you working moms out there, or those who are soon to be moms that are trying to figure out how life after baby is going to work. We are going to talk about the topic of pumping, and specifically pumping at work. It’s not fun (in my opinion), but it can definitely be made to work for you.
My Breastfeeding Situation
I decided pretty early on that I was going to be an exclusive pumper. My baby did not latch well (she would arch her back and cry, so really hard to get a latch that way), so for everyone’s sanity, we went to the pump. I wanted to give her breastmilk if I could, because of the health benefits and the fact that it’s free (babies already have so many expenses, so it’s nice to be able to take one off the table).
That said, I understand that everyone’s situation is different. Do what works for you and your baby. I’m only writing this post in case it’s helpful for someone and they can use some of what I did to make their lives easier. I’m not posting to say – this is how you should do it. There is so much mommy judgement out there!
Helpful Things To Have for Pumping at Work
Warming pads
These things are a lifesaver when your milk first comes in, but also if you ever get a blocked duct or if you just want to get milk flowing better. They come with a comfy little cloth cover, so the plastic isn’t directly on your skin.
Breast pads
I used these ones by Lansinoh and they’ve worked great for me. Don’t want to worry if you are going to spring a leak in the middle of work!
Hands-free Pumping bra
Can not emphasize enough how critical a hands free bra is for pumping at work. Ladies, if you are going to be stuck to a pump for X amount of hours every day, don’t you at least want to be able to check your phone (or get on your laptop, or read a magazine).
Otherwise, you will have to spend your pumping time staring at the wall and holding your flanges in your hands. Oh, did I mention I pump during my lunch? So, if you want to be able to eat during lunch – you NEED a hands free pumping bra. Here’s the one I used.
FREE (possibly) breast pump
Most insurance plans will provide you will a breast pump, completely FREE of charge. So while pregnant, give your insurance a call and ask about the process. For me, I had to wait until I was X number of weeks pregnant (I think it was 30-something) and then call in they sent me the Medela pump (below).
Medela Pump Review
This thing is pretty groovy (especially for free). Here’s what I like about it:
- small and portable
- can be plugged in to an outlet, but also came with a battery adapter, so you can put in like 8 batteries and then pump on the go (I’ve used it to pump in the car when I wanted to be on the go and had a pumping session that needed to happen. It was very convenient!)
What I don’t like:
- doesn’t have a timer
- suction was a little strong/uncomfortable when I first started pumping
The Case for Having Two Breast Pumps
Then, I got super lucky and one of my aunts got me a pump at one of my baby showers. So I can have a pump at home and a pump at work (Thanks Aunt Jeanne and Aunt Trish!).
It can be very hard when you are packing for yourself and your little one and your pump in the mornings to remember everything, and trust me, you will be very, VERY sad if you forget your pumping equipment (like, I need to go home and get this stuff and be late for school level of sad). So having a pump for home and work is a great idea IMO if you can swing it.
Spectra 2 Breast Pump Review
My home pump is the Spectra 2, and this was my very first pump. Here’s what I like about it:
- suction was much more comfortable for me, starting out
- has a timer, so I know how long I’ve been pumping
What I don’t like:
- not as compact as the Medela (less portable) and only has a wall plug (although it’s entirely possible that you can by a battery adapter, but mine didn’t come with one, and the Medela did)
- randomly shuts off sometimes. there is some kind of design quirk where sometimes it will go through spurts where it won’t want to turn on (stays on for like a second and then turns off). But it didn’t happen very often so not a major negative.
Extra storage bottles
The pump comes with a couple milk storage bottles, but that was far from enough for our milk storage needs, especially once I need to store milk I pumped at work and Ellie needed bottles of milk to bring to daycare with her, and then keeping up with all the dishes. I would say we have at least 10 bottles – maybe more. Actually, definitely more.
Mini-fridge
Gotta have a place to put the milk when you are pumping at work! I already have a mini-fridge in my classroom for my lunch and iced coffee and such. Obviously, you can always use the communal fridge, but I just feel better having my breastmilk not on general display for all, and I’m already spending the majority of my lunch pumping. I don’t want to spend extra time marching down to the break room to store it when I’m done.
Pumping app
There’s an app for everything these days. And pumping is no exception. I ended up downloading an app called Pump Log. It isn’t free (I think it’s like $7.99). But it was worth it IMO for the price of my sanity.
This app will track all of your pumping sessions. You mark how much (is any) went into your freezer stash, and how long you want to provide breastmilk (I’m aiming to go through her first year), and it calculates what day you can stop pumping. As you stash away more and more, the date will constantly recalculate.
For a person who has to eat their lunch in a closet hooked up to a machine, this screen is strong motivation. I’m about 5 months in to the whole pumping experience as I’m writing this post and I’ll admit I’ve become borderline obsessive about my end date.
Sanitizing bags
These sanitizing bags are awesome for when you first open your pump parts and need to sanitize them before use. Also, from time to time it’s good to sanitize your bottles/pump parts/etc.
Just pop a little water and the some bottles or pump parts in there and stick it in the microwave for 3 minutes. So easy! But it isn’t to be used to WASH your pump parts. You have to wash them with soap prior to putting them in the sanitizing bag.
Set Up
So now that you have all your stuff, you’re going to need a place to pump. I am lucky enough to have a closet in my own room, which beats what I’ve heard from other teachers who are pumping at work, who have used janitor’s closets and prayed to God that the janitor read the sign on the door and didn’t come in mid-session. Or people pumping in a bathroom. EW! I will definitely be providing this space for other teachers as a safe pumping place should they need it as other teacher’s at my school have kids.
I decluttered my closet and popped a desk in there. Not a bad set up. I even brought a pillow for a little lumbar support. Usually during a pumping session (which happen during my lunch) I bring in my lunch and my laptop. I eat lunch and then work on whatever I can from my laptop (lesson planning, creating worksheets, grading, etc).
I bought a little caddy to hold a couple useful items.
- burp clothes (for milk drips)
- paper towels (in case there are any lunch food spills)
- hand sanitizer
- water – you’ve got to stay hydrated
Schedule
So how do you get your pumping schedule so that it fits within your work day? You’ll need to look at your schedule and figure out where you have breaks long enough to do a pumping session and how long you will need to go between sessions.
I had to be able to go at least 4 hours between sessions based on my schedule, but I actually spaced mine out to 6 hours apart by the time I went back, and I found that MUCH more manageable. I really can’t imagine how busy I would be if I was doing 6 sessions a day instead of 4. For me, I pump at 6:00 AM, noon, 6:00 PM and midnight-ish.
When I first started pumping I was doing 8 sessions a day, for about 15- 20 min each session. Over the months between Ellie’s birth and the moment I went back to work, I slowly worked my way down from 8 sessions a day to 4, and increased how long I was pumping per session (to keep my production up so I can end pumping sooner). So I pump 4 times a day for 30 min. Everyone’s situation is different based off their schedule, so find what works for you.
Caffeine You Can Have
Late night wake ups and the constant go-go-go of parenthood, along with the demands of your professional life all take a toll. And caffeine can help pull you through. But you don’t want to go crazy on caffeine during breastfeeding. The last thing you want is a caffeinated infant!
But the good news is that small amounts of caffeine are fine. Recommendations that I’ve seen say 200 mg is a good guideline. Here are some drinks you can have that are within this range:
- V8 energy (80 mg)
- Starbucks Refresher (even a Trenta only has 90 mg!)
- Starbucks Venti Caramel Frappuccino (150 mg)
- Starbucks Grande Caramel Macchiato (150 mg)
- McCafe Caramel Macchiato Medium (142 mg)
Just a small sampling of what you can have. Just to be safe, I usually don’t drink any of my caffeine within 1 hour of my pumping session.
Long Term Storage
Once the milk is pumped, there is still the issue of storing it all, if you are looking to stockpile and stop pumping early (which I definitely am).
Deep freezer – we bought one for about $130 give or take at Lowes. But honestly I think we are about to need a second one, so you might want to go for a big one.
Storage bags – I have been through a lot of these!
Storage container
This breastmilk freezer storage organizer is awesome. It keeps the milk squished down to a compact size and they all come out in a uniform size. Once the organizer is full, I pop them in gallon freezer storage bags and put them in the deep freezer.
More Musical Mommy Posts
If you are still pregnant and wondering how to navigate it all at work, I have three posts (by trimester) about my experience during my pregnancy. I feel like there isn’t a lot out there, so I decided to share:
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