The Best $30 I Ever Spent

Warning: this post is about breast pumping. Should the subject make you uncomfortable, stop reading now.

Jack is almost 1 year old. For the first three months of his life I was a full time student doing 12 hour clinical rotations and for the last five months I've managed to successfully work full time as a nurse and continue to breastfeed him without needing to supplement with formula. My goal was to get to a year, and I've pretty much made it. He eats enough other foods now that I've been able to stop pumping at work, but I do still pump at home from time to time. And I still have a freezer full of milk so I think we'll get to a year just fine without formula (his birthday is February 5th).

Since I've managed to do this, I thought I'd share some tips for my friends who are currently doing the same thing or are considering it. I found a lot of tricks along the way that made it much easier.

The first and most important thing is to bite the bullet and buy a nice pump. I have the Medela Pump in Style, which goes for $280 new.
Sounds expensive, but it pays for itself quickly. I did the math once, and I can't remember the numbers exactly, but I think it pays for itself in about 3 months compared to buying formula. And if you consider that you'll use it for future children, it's definitely worthwhile. Also, I have seen it on sale at Target for $220. So if you plan ahead and watch for it to go on sale you can probably get a good deal.

I've heard the Avent Isis is a good one, too. I also think WIC provides pumps, so if you're on WIC that's an option. The important thing is, if you're going to be working full time, to get a double electric pump that will maintain your supply and make it so you can pump as quickly as possible.

For me, one of the worst parts of pumping was washing bottles. Jack wouldn't take the bottles that came with the pump. So I'd be pumping into those bottles, then transferring it to another bottle that he'd take, then putting the rest in bags to freeze.

It took me until he was 7 months or so before I figured out an easy way around this. (I so wish I had thought of this from the beginning!) I started pumping directly into the bags. Here is the setup:
So simple, that I cant believe I didn't think of it sooner. You just tape the bag onto the pump and you've saved yourself a bunch of hassle. I just pump right into the bags and then throw the bags into the freezer when I get home. No bottle washing! For even less washing, we use the bottles with the liners. All we ever wash is nipples and the actual pump parts, which are all fine to go in the dishwasher. (I also bought myself an extra set of pump parts for a few bucks on ebay so I don't have to wash those as often. That was helpful too.)

And finally the biggest lifesaver of all and the reason for the title of the post: the hands-free pumping bra. I discovered this, thankfully, right before I started my job. As a nurse there really isn't extra time on my shift for pumping, so I have to squeeze it in on my lunch break. Eating and pumping at the same time sounds really difficult, right? Nope. It's too hard to explain so here's a picture (not of me, of course).
Yep. It really works. I can sit and eat my lunch, talk on the phone, read a book or whatever while I pump. This gives me my whole lunch break to pump, which for me is sufficient and I don't have to try to get away any more than that. If you're lucky enough to have a job where you can get away more often, or you could get away with pumping at your desk, then I don't see how it could be any easier. I know it looks like it wouldn't work or that the attachments wouldn't stay in place, but they do. No leakage, no slipping, nothing. Even with the bags completely full. (It might be harder if you happen to really well endowed. I wouldn't know :)) All you need is a room with a door that locks and an electrical outlet, which I'm lucky enough to have at work (I know not every work place can provide this, so best of luck).

I only know for sure that the brand of pumping bra I have works, so I'm not going to recommend any others. It's called Simple Wishes Hands-Free Breastpump Bra.
I honestly can't understand why it doesn't just come with the pump. I can't believe I spent those first three months at clinical holding the blasted things in place! Now that I've been using it for a while I don't know how I ever did without it!

So, there you go. That's how I've managed to work and pump for most of the first year of Jack's life. It's a pain sometimes, but it was really important to me so with a combination of luck and shortcuts I found a way to make it work. And you can too. If anyone out there has any more tricks, please share them with me :)