breastfeeding – Page 3

Efficient Way of Cleaning Your Breast Pump at Work

I use my pump both at home and at work. When at home, after I use the pump, I disassemble it, wash it and then put it in the sterilizer.

At work, I have no access to a sterilizer. During Alex’s time, I would wash every single part after using and then immerse them in hot water for a while or until the water is already cold. This time, I read that I can wipe off the milk in every part then put it in the refrigerator. Before I put mine inside, I place it in a clean plastic bag and it’s ready for the next session. This is a much more efficient way of cleaning your breast pump while at work than what I used to do. It works just as fine as nothing really happens to Max nor to the milk that I collect.

Since I use milk bags to store my breast milk, I rinse the bottle I used with hot water several times every after session.

Working Outside Home and Breastfeeding

As most of you are aware, I am a breastfeeding advocate and has a fulltime job outside home. I express milk at work to continue feeding Maxyn with breastmilk even when I am away from her.

Below are my breastfeeding paraphernalia that I always have with me to work.

1&2: Avent Isis Uno Pump / 3: Thermal bag / 4: Avent motor and socket storage / 5: Ice cream container for milk storage / 6: Igloo gel ice pack / 7: Spectra milk bags / 8: Pentel pen for marking the milk bags / 9: Paper towel for hand drying and cleaning of pump / 10: Avent bottle / 11: Alcohol for hand cleaning

As soon as I arrive at work, I express milk and then every after 3 hours. I clean my hands using the alcohol then I put my ice pack in the freezer and start pumping milk. I can express about 4-7oz of milk per session.

After expressing breast milk, I transfer it in a milk bag, which I put in an ice cream container. I put that and my cleaned pump inside the refrigerator in our nursing area. I rinse the bottle I used with hot water for several times then I’m back to work.

Before I go home, I pick these up and put them into my thermal bag to lock in the coldness of all the milk.

TIPS

If you can express milk at the same time your baby feeds at home, the better.
Alternate your starting point. If you feed your baby on the right before you go to work, start on the left on your first session at the office. This will ensure that both breasts get enough stimulation.
Bring an ornament of your baby that can help stimulate your let down.
Drink plenty of water so that the liquid that goes out of you body is replaced.
Relax when you express milk. When you are stressed out, you may not get as much milk.

Got tips that you want to share with other breastfeeding mommas? Please share them in the comments section.

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Review: Lansinoh Milk Bag

We have a limited freezer space so weeks before the end of my maternity leave, I was already planning how am I suppose to store my breastmilk. I researched online and I found that Lansinoh has the most positive feedback among nursing moms.

After reading reviews, I looked where I can buy it and found that it is only available from ebay.ph.

Positive Notes

It has double zip lock. This ensures no milk leakage (of course it still depends when the bag is not properly closed).
Per box contains 25 bags. I use 2-3 bags a day so depending on my usage, each box can last about a couple of weeks.
Each bag can contain 7-9oz of milk. When I maximize each bag, I only use 2 bags a day. This really saves space in the freezer.
Each bag has a write-on area for labeling. I like this feature very much because I won’t need stickers or masking tapes anymore when labeling the milks.
Each bag is BPA-free.
When filled with milk, the bag stands up. You can also store it lying flat like I do.
Each bag is already pre-sterilized so I also save electricity.
The bags come in a Tissue Pack Dispenser, which allows for easy access and storage. I can get a bag with just one hand.

Negative Note

There is only one thing that I don’t like about Lansinoh Milk Bags and that would be its availability here in the Philippines. I was not able to get this from leading department store’s baby section. It is only available from online sellers who import them from other countries like USA. If it happens that your seller ran out of stock, your only option is to look for another online seller, which may have a different pricing. That is exactly what happened to me.

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