Pumping at work - tips needed!

[MsSassyBaskets]

So I'm about to start working in a real live office for the first time in 4 years. Working at home has made it really easy to pump throughout the day, and I'm a little freaked out about how to pump enough at work, not forget half my stuff, clean pump parts, etc. etc. Fortunately I WILL have an office with a door so I can pump at my desk and go about my business.

Got any tips, hacks, and best practices for me?

[MarissaNicole]

Buy a second set of pump parts, allows you to leave one set there.

Buy the medela microwave steam bags to sanitize your bottles and parts.

Bring a cooler to disguise your milk in the freezer/fridge at work.

When I went back to work I had a sticky at the door reminding me what all I needed to bring (purse, lunch, pump bag, etc).

ETA: if you don't have easy access to a sink buy the medela cleaning wipes.
Wife of a PGY-5

[scrub-jay]

I had the Medela freestyle with 4 extra sets of parts. I created "kits" and didn't have to clean or reuse any set. I washed them all each night after work. Def invest in a hands free pump bra.

[alotofyarn]

I packed my pump bag the night before so I didn't have to deal with it in the morning. I kept an extra set of valves and membranes in my desk. Tubes always stayed in the pump bag. I had a drying rack on my desk for parts after rinsing, and I ran everything through the dishwasher at night. I really only ran it every other day because I have at least two sets of everything.

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[SoonerTexan]

Hands free pumping bra is a must.

Can you bring a mini fridge into your office? I only used one set of pump parts for all 3 pumping sessions...I stored them in a sealed/opaque bag in the mother's room fridge. I did this for 15 total months of pumping and never had any contamination problems. Then I only had to wash one set at night.

[Michele]

Remember to lock the door.

[oceanchild]

I only had one set of parts, but two might have helped some. I used the cleaning wipes during the day and threw all the parts in the dishwasher at night.

Pumping at work is a huge pain. I wish you luck. (The fact that you have a door is a huge plus.)

[gem]

I felt self-conscious about the noise. Try to enlist a work friend to do a test on how much could be heard standing at the door, passing by in the hallway, in adjacent offices, etc. I found running a fan or space heater as background noise helped me feel like the noise was less conspicuous.

[civilspouse]

Hands free pumping bra is a must.

Can you bring a mini fridge into your office? I only used one set of pump parts for all 3 pumping sessions...I stored them in a sealed/opaque bag in the mother's room fridge. I did this for 15 total months of pumping and never had any contamination problems. Then I only had to wash one set at night.

I only used one set of parts too. With my first baby I washed them after each time I pumped. With my second I did like ST and it much much faster and easier and I never had a problem. I washed everything at night and packed it up in the morning. I did keep spare membranes and extra bottles in the bag.

Good luck.

[MsSassyBaskets]

Ok - I was wondering if anyone stored their parts in the fridge. I've heard people do it but haven't gotten any firsthand accounts until now. Unfortunately I'm finding that our new dishwasher is a piece of crap and doesn't fully clean/dry bottles and pump parts, so I'm stuck hand washing every night. I don't yet know what the office setup is, I've still never been there, so I'm not sure where the sink and fridge are. I might consider getting a mini fridge if it's allowed, after a few days of getting to know the place. I ordered an extra set of pump parts because I can totally see myself forgetting those at the office or at home! I ordered some of the cleaning wipes too but I don't really want to rely on those, they are so expensive!

[rufflesanddots]

No advice, but I echo the reminder to lock the door. Or barricade it, or something. The owner of my firm is notorious for walking in an attorney who is still pumping. She will close the door (no locking feature), put a sign on the door to not disturb because she is pumping, and even after she says, "Just a minute!" if anyone knocks, he still occasionally barges in. Just... yeah. Barricade.

[MsSassyBaskets]

No advice, but I echo the reminder to lock the door. Or barricade it, or something. The owner of my firm is notorious for walking in an attorney who is still pumping. She will close the door (no locking feature), put a sign on the door to not disturb because she is pumping, and even after she says, "Just a minute!" if anyone knocks, he still occasionally barges in. Just... yeah. Barricade.

Ugh, I'm actually not sure if it locks - they were going to check on this but didn't get back to me yet. If not I'll stick a chair in front of it.

[scrub-jay]

Ugh, I'm actually not sure if it locks - they were going to check on this but didn't get back to me yet. If not I'll stick a chair in front of it.

Federal Law: http://www.dol.gov/whd/nursingmothers/faqBTNM.htm

Read the part about "free from intrusion from coworkers or the public"

I pointed this out to my former boss who suggested I rely on a sign and he had a lock installed. The words "you know, it is the law..." helped me immensely.

[MsSassyBaskets]

Federal Law: http://www.dol.gov/whd/nursingmothers/faqBTNM.htm

Read the part about "free from intrusion from coworkers or the public"

I pointed this out to my former boss who suggested I rely on a sign and he had a lock installed. The words "you know, it is the law..." helped me immensely.

Well, technically there is another empty office that DOES lock that I can use if mine doesn't, so they are meeting their requirements. I'd just rather stay at my own desk and continue to work at my computer while pumping, like I do now. Honestly I won't be working directly day-to-day with other staff there - my primary colleagues work out of other offices all over the country - so there's no good reason people will be dropping in my office frequently. I'm not too worried if I can just stick an extra chair in front of the door and close the blinds. I'll just make sure it's a heavy chair.

[SoonerTexan]

My sister (nurse) told me about a poor nursing supervisor at work that didn't have an office that locked, so she would actually pump under a cover, but had a sign on her door. One day one of the doctors came in and had a 15 minute long conversation with her while she was pumping. Apparently he didn't even notice and was mortified later when someone pointed it out.