(@): Working/pumping moms?

[heyjude]

Can you tell me about your pumping routine at work? How long? How many times? Clean up? Where do you do it? Tips and tricks?

Thanks!

[karinothing]

I just started but this is what I do. I go to the nurse/health center. They have a lactation room, but I use one of the exam rooms because they are bigger and I don't feel claustrophobic.

ANYHOO, the night before I assemble everything so I don't have to put peices together at work. I bright two sets of everything so I dont' have to clean at work.
The first pump of the day takes longer because I know I can get a lot of milk (whereas in the afternoon I know its over at 4 oz total). So, in the morning I typically pump for 25 minutes. In the afternoon 15. After pumping I simply rinse out the parts quickly and put them into a micorwave sterilizer back (I bring two of these one for the afterrnoon and one for the morning) and then I take care of them when I get home. You could use a regular ziplock for this too (so the water/milk doesn't get on things) but I was out of them and just decided to use these.

I look at pictures of DS while I pump. I think it helps.

My schedule is this:

630: Nurse before DC
9:30 Pump
l11:30: Nurse
2:00: Pump
4:00: Pick up and Nurse

[somersault72]

I would have at least 2 sets of everything, so it doesn't feel like all you're doing is washing pump parts. Also, I used those steam bags at work--they were a godsend. Worst case scenario you can put the parts in the fridge if you don't have time to clean then right then. For me, I usually only got 1 (maaaybe 2) sessions in a day, which wasn't ideal, but it still worked out fine. Good luck!

[mie]

I pump 3x at work for about 15-20 minutes each session. Thereʻs no need to clean/wash the pump parts between pumping sessions so I just put those in a ziploc bag and into the fridge. I have an office so I can close my door when itʻs time to pump.

My tip is to not wash your pump parts between pumping sessions, just wash it at home at the end of the day. Have more than one set of pump parts so you can pack it in your bag while the first set is drying.

[heyjude]

Thanks guys!

This is only week 2 for me back to work. Can you judge my routine here?

- Nurse at 7am
- Pump at 10, 1, and 3:30 (for a total of anywhere between 10.5-12 oz; which seems on the low end but according kellymom, seems to be enough if she eats 7 times per day).
- Parts get rinsed w/ water in my trash and put in steamer bag in my fridge then staem cleaned at home
- All pumping in my office with a do not disturb sign up and a chair shoved against a the door (we have a designated pumping room but my office is faster...)
- nurse at 5:30, 8, and 11pm

And, do you work while pumping? Can you? Has anyone given you static for the time it takes to pump? Do you ever feel weird that your co workers know what you are doing?

[Deleted]

Do you have to put parts in a steamer bag rinsed if you are not cleaning until home? Today was my first day pumping at work, and I just threw the used parts into an empty plastic bag to be cleaned with soap and water at home (I have three sets of pump parts at work). Am I being unsanitary and gross?

[karinothing]

May 11, 2012 14:21:04 GMT -5 @dontcallmeshirley said:

Do you have to put parts in a steamer bag rinsed if you are not cleaning until home? Today was my first day pumping at work, and I just threw the used parts into an empty plastic bag to be cleaned with soap and water at home (I have three sets of pump parts at work). Am I being unsanitary and gross?

I just run them under water at work and then throw them in the bag, but I jsut use the bag for storage until I get home. At home I wash them with soapy water, rinse out the bag then steam them.

[lishie]

I pumped at work with both kids for a year. I kept the pump at the office during the week, and took it home on the weekend. and purchased an extra set of bottles in my office, just in case I forgot my bottles, etc. accidentally. The spares came in handy a few times.

I had to pump 3x a day to produce enough milk. I washed all parts at the end of the day and rinsed in between pumpings.

[mie]

I work while pumping and will answer the phone if someone calls. No one has commented about me pumping and honestly, I donʻt think people notice when I close my office door.

[karinothing]

May 11, 2012 13:41:14 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Thanks guys!

This is only week 2 for me back to work. Can you judge my routine here?

- Nurse at 7am
- Pump at 10, 1, and 3:30 (for a total of anywhere between 10.5-12 oz; which seems on the low end but according kellymom, seems to be enough if she eats 7 times per day).
- Parts get rinsed w/ water in my trash and put in steamer bag in my fridge then staem cleaned at home
- All pumping in my office with a do not disturb sign up and a chair shoved against a the door (we have a designated pumping room but my office is faster...)
- nurse at 5:30, 8, and 11pm

And, do you work while pumping? Can you? Has anyone given you static for the time it takes to pump? Do you ever feel weird that your co workers know what you are doing?

I don't work while pumping, but I can't. My manager tried to but I just handed her a pamphlet from the health center and she shut it. I don't feel wierd that my coworker know what I am doing but heck I could care less if people see my boobs so...I might not be the best to ask.

Also, I get 12 oz too.

[JLN]

I have an office chair in our bathroom. Our company is small, so we don't have an official room, but that's what I have to do now. And I use the little black cooler that came with my pump to store the breastmilk in the fridge.

Our office is moving soon and I'll have a private office - so from then on I'll be pumping in there.

[pig's eye]

I'm pumping right now! Lol.

I think your schedule sounds good. Mine was similar when I first went back to work. Now that she's 9 mos I only pump once during the day.

DH cleans all my parts and makes sure they're in my car and ready to go each morning. I just used the wipes to clean the parts when I pumped multiple times during the work day.

Keeping extra parts or bags/bottles to pump into is a good idea. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to pump and realize I'm out of bags.

[blindyswife]

May 11, 2012 13:41:14 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Thanks guys!

This is only week 2 for me back to work. Can you judge my routine here?

- Nurse at 7am
- Pump at 10, 1, and 3:30 (for a total of anywhere between 10.5-12 oz; which seems on the low end but according kellymom, seems to be enough if she eats 7 times per day).
- Parts get rinsed w/ water in my trash and put in steamer bag in my fridge then staem cleaned at home
- All pumping in my office with a do not disturb sign up and a chair shoved against a the door (we have a designated pumping room but my office is faster...)
- nurse at 5:30, 8, and 11pm

And, do you work while pumping? Can you? Has anyone given you static for the time it takes to pump? Do you ever feel weird that your co workers know what you are doing?

I haven't pumped in ages, but when I was still working/pumping, my schedule was similar to yours. I couldn't work simultaneously because 1) my office had a lactation room so I didn't have my computer, etc. And 2) I barely managed to read a book while pumping. If I had stayed at my job for longer, I would've considered getting one of those hands free nursing bras so I could read my book easier.

Oh, and really I didn't care that people knew what I was doing. I walked proudly across the office with the obvious black pumping bag and waltzed right into the lactation room for all to see.

[pescalita]

This freaked me out before coming back, and it's gone a lot smoother than I thought.

I nurse before dropping him off at about 7am.

I keep in my pump bag a set of extra parts incl tubing, storage bags, hands free bra (pumpease) and nursing cover. I bring a canvas grocery bag with a lunch bag of assembled pump parts and a lunch bag of empty bottles (on Fridays I just dump into storage bags), and a prefold for drips.

I pump at 10 and 1:30 about. I have appts in Outlook for
a) pop up reminders
b) so its harder to get scheduled in meetings
c) I can book the pumping room when the other user gets back from ML

I pump into 5oz Medela bottles (I have 4). I pour into Avent bottles, making up the 4oz bottles I'll send the next day, and leaving one partial bottle after each session.

In between, I generally leave my pump parts, assembled, in the lunch bag in the fridge. BM is good for 10 hrs, or until I've long been home, so I'm not picky about storage at work. I leave at least the partial bottle at room temp so I'm not mixing fridge milk with fresh. I have a hand me down pump and a drop side crib, so you can gauge my level of paranoia.

I pump once more on my way home, under the nursing cover. My biggest tip here is not to lean too far forward or you'll get milk in the tubes (that's why I have two sets). Otherwise it's not as scary as it sounds.

At home, I rinse my parts daily, wash the flanges with soap, and leave out to dry. Weekly, I run them through the dishwasher or the steam bag if I forget (see above about paranoia).

My bottles are already portioned and ready to go, so I add in/freeze the drive home session, add a drop of vitamin D to one, and leave them in a lunch bag to take the next day.

Sunday morning I pull milk from the freezer for Monday to rotate.

[pescalita]

I don't work because my room is in another building with nowhere to set my laptop. I only pump 15 min at a time, so it's NBD. It's a little weird to me that people know what I'm doing, but whadya gonna do? I haven't gotten any flack about it at all, but I work with mostly moms.