For those of us who needs to, choose to, or for whatever reason has to go back to work after having a baby, and for those who choose to supply baby with breastmilk, hallelujah to the invention of breast pumps! We are lucky enough that the cow's milk factories thought of making these contraptions for faster extraction! Imagine if you have to hand express your milk at work, though it can be done.
At this time and age, you can find women doing all sorts of jobs in various fields of expertise. In most any work environment you can pump your milk if you want to. Exceptions for those who work at chemical plants with hazardous contents, gender discriminating environments, all of which are reason enough to look for another job! I don't really know how the law has turned out since they are still in the process of amending the Monster Bill that will regulate and decide how pumping at work will be accepted throughout the country but I could sincerely tell you that if you could talk to your superior regarding your desire yo pump, all you need is a few minutes 3 times a day for a regular 8hour job. 1 session can even be incorporated in your lunchbreak, how hard is that? All you need is determination! If you want to breastfeed your baby, you will.
When it comes to pumping (breastmilk) we cannot choose where and when all the time especially if we don't handle our own schedule or if we find ourselves in hectic situations mixed with the demands of our job and the traffic! So what do I do? Everywhere my day takes me, with 4 hours interval max, I pump!
No one said it's easy, especially if you are an employee, you don't have the privacy of your own office or you don't own a car. It's not easy yes, but it is possible, so here are a few tips I have compiled to make it easier! It may or may not apply to you, you may or may not agree, but this is just based from my experience.
1. Buy a hands free pumping bra or band. There are alot of brands out there but I saw a cute band being sold at the Medela house that caught my fancy. Or what I do is I buy cheap bandeaus from Greenhills that have two layers. The inner layer I cut holes through it just enough to fit the breastshield. This way you can pump handsfree even if your pump is single electric.
2. If you plan to really go back to work full time invest in a double electric pump. It doesn't have to be an expensive brand I know there are other brands that are just as effective. Or you can buy two manual pumps so that you can take advantage of the let down.
3. Make sure you bring with you a good cooler bag to store your milk and an ice pack. A good cooler bag means that the outer fabric or material won't get wet pr moist and a good ice pack keeps your milk chilled 8-12 hours.4. I found this tip very useful from the fridge to go woman whos name i could not remember I'm so sorry! But she said that you can put pump parts in the cooler so that you don't have to sterilize them after every session. Or if you find this icky, you can...
5. Buy the Dr.Brown's microwave sterilizer bags which I find super easy to use. I got it as a gift from my friend Graciella and I use it to sterilize pump parts if I have access to a microwave that is when I'm at the office.
6. Put Joy or whatever you use to clean pump parts in a small container and always have them in your pumping bag. I use the small Listerine bottle for this.
7. Always bring extra breast pads and an extra shirt in your breast pump coz you'll never know for spills.
8. It is wise to choose a pump bag that is versatile so that you can bring it anywhere whatever the occassion. My Pum-in-style from Medela came with a backpack and I had to bring it when I attend events and weddings! Imagine sa long dress high heels and a black backpack. I thought I looked cute though.
9. Have a battery pack handy and in my case my dad made me a car outlet so that I can pump in my car while driving. Traffic is equals to pumping opportunity. Take care to concentrate on driving!
10. If you have to attend a meeting or some time consuming affair make sure you schedule to pump right before. With that said, don't cram your to-do's so that you will have ample time for pumping.
11. Whenever you can, incorporate pumping time into your schedule or better yet, schedule your time around your pumping schedule. It is usually best to mimick the time your baby has his meals.
12. If you have companions for your day or your colleagues at the office, let them know about your pumping. Most will be understanding enough to cover for you when you're pumping. It's always effective if you show your appreciation through little gifts or do the same for them whenever you can. True story.
13. Know where you can purchase pump parts specific to your pump model. A friend of mine panicked when her pump parts got squished and broken in the check-in baggage and had to go from one store to another to look for the replacement.
14. Have a photo of your baby to look at while you pump. I swear to this, your milk will flow better if your milk ducts have the motivation to feed hahahah! I usually look at my baby's photos on my phone and I can also check emails and write blogs like this. Next thing I know? Bottle is full!
My breastfed baby at 4 months. Yes we went swimming.
16. Even when you can't save your milk because you don't have access to a ref or cooler or if you are travelling abroad, pump your milk still as often to keep your milk supply up! Yes it's such a waste! Pump more importantly, you still have milk when you return home to your baby!
So there, I'll add some more tips when I come across other pumping experiences and feel free to comment if you have any more suggestions!
Happy pumping!
Mommy Tiffany
Baby Zoe drinking milk while in her Baby K'tan Baby Carrier whilst shopping!
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