I am a breastfeeding mama that also works full-time away from home. That means that while I am at work, I have to pump. When I return from work each day, I have to prepare bottles for the next day at daycare. I love my babies, but the routine of pumping bottles can become a quick frustration. Our daycare requires our child’s name and the date on both the bottle and the bottle cap.
I won’t lie, the best part of my son weaning was that I no longer had to pump at work or prep bottles for daycare. My daughter has just started going to daycare 4 days a week, so we are back to the daycare bottle grind. I have searched and searched for products that help to make the process of prepping bottles faster and easier. Her bottles are also required to come in a labeled Ziploc bag each day. Here is my bottle set up:
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InchBug Orbit Labels
On the bottle itself is a silicon band that has our daughter’s name on it. InchBug has a bunch of colors and design options. We send 4 bottles with her each day, so I have 2 sets. 1 will go with her and the other will come to work with me to pump directly into. These bands can be reused on sippy cups later down the road.
InchBug Circle Label
Also from InchBug are the round name labels. These labels can withstand the dishwasher or being steam sterilized. These also come in a bunch of different colors and design options. They come in a pack of 20, so after labeling your bottle lids, you will likely have a few left over. I find it much easier to have her name permanently on her bottles and caps, rather than to have to rewrite it again each day on a piece of tape.
Why buy the cow when you get mama’s milk for free?
Name Bubbles Date Labels
We tried a BUNCH of different options for dating the bottles. I found that I really did not like to have to physically remove a sticker each day. Then make replacement labels. AND then replace them onto all of the bottles. The write-on labels from Name Bubbles are placed onto the bottles and bottle lids. They come with a marker and a pencil that allow you to write directly onto the labels. The pencil marking can be removed by being rubbed with your finger and warm water. The marker can be removed with rubbing alcohol. We just use the pencil and make sure to rub off the date when we are rinsing the bottles at the end of the day. At the end of each day, while prepping the bottles with nipples, I simply add the date to the lid and bottle. This system is SO MUCH EASIER for us. These labels are also dishwasher and steam sterilizer safe. Use this link to save $5 off your first order from Name Bubbles!
Reusable Ziploc Bag
Breast milk is better than any udder milk!
When you are a pumping mom, the every day routines can start to feel so draining. This set up has made the bottle prep process less frustrating and less time-consuming for us. I can’t imagine ever going back to the time that we were writing names and dates on new pieces of tape each day.
Looking for a way to label clothing and other personal items? Look no farther…!
Avery No-Iron Kids Clothing Labels
These are one of the most recommended items I have gotten from my readers. Save time, mess and effort apply these no iron kids daycare labels directly onto the surface without bothering with an iron. Name labels are water resistant and durable enough to withstand multiple washing machine and dryer cycles !!
Keep reading for more tips…!
I am going to let you all in on a little secret… pumping sucks. When my son was born, I was on a mission to breastfeed to at least a year, and nothing was going to stop me. My twelve week maternity leave came to an end and I was shocked at how much I hated the entire process of pumping. Carrying everything I needed to work was difficult. Storing all of my pump parts was a pain. Washing all those parts at the end of the day was such a strain on my husband and I. During my 14 months of pumping at work for my son, I picked up a few tricks to make the daily routine more manageable.
Invest in a Pump Bag
When I first started back at work, I would carry my purse, a lunchbox and a tote bag with my pump. I looked and felt ridiculous. At the three-month mark of pumping, I figured that there HAD to be a better option out there. Thankfully, there was! I discovered Sarah Wells’ pump bags and have never looked back! I am currently on baby number 2 and am using a Sarah Wells’ bag that I love. It has two insulated pockets on the sides. I fit my Spectra S2 pump and parts on one side and use the other side for an ice pack and 4-5 5oz bottles. In the main compartment of the bag I can easily fit my wallet, 1 bag filled with snacks, a cosmetics bag, my lunch and an insulated water bottle.
I make milk. What’s your superpower?
Use a Hands Free Pumping Bra
These allow you to have free use of your hands during your pumping sessions. Need I say more? There are a bunch of different options out there. I prefer the Simple Wishes hands free bra, because it has a huge range that it can be adjusted. Compared to other hands-free bras that I tried, I also found that this one held its shape and didn’t get floppy over time.
Rinse And Refrigerate Your Pump Parts Throughout The Day
In between pumping sessions, you can store your pump parts in the fridge and reuse them for your next pumping session. Just give them a quick rinse to remove any milk after your pumping session. Full disclaimer, sometimes I don’t even rinse them and just stick them into my wet bag. This will save you space in your bag from needing to bring another set of pump parts. It will also save you time from having to fully clean the pump parts after each pump session.
Pump Into The Bottles You Will Be Sending To Daycare
Pumping into bags may take up less space in your bag, but unless you will be freezing the milk, you are making more work for yourself later on. If you pump directly into the bottles that your baby will be using tomorrow, you will save so much time prepping bottles once you are home.
Keep a Spare set of Pump Parts at Work
This is a lesson that I learned the HARD way. I was already 20 minutes behind my pumping schedule, my boobs felt like they were going to explode and surprise, no membranes for my pump. There is nothing, I repeat, nothing worse than going to pump and discovering that you are missing parts. Balancing work and motherhood is hard enough without having a mid-day crisis. Do you attempt to hand express? Do you leave work and go home to pump? Learn from my mistake and have a spare set of parts at work as a back up.
I used to POP bottles and now I PUMP them!
If You Can, Leave Your Pump At Work
If you don’t utilize your pump at home or on the weekends, then there may not be a need for you to ever bring it home. My Spectra S2 weights 3.3 lbs. That’s a lot of extra weight to lug around when you consider all the other things that are also in your bag. If you do use it on the weekends, but not during the night, you can also leave it at work during the week and just bring it home for the weekend.
Use Machine Washable Wet Bags To Store Your Pump Parts Between Pumping Sessions
I have seen and tried a bunch of different options for storing my pump parts throughout the day. Tupperware is bulky in my bag and is not at all discreet sitting in the work refrigerator. Some bags specifically made for pump parts have to be hand washed and hung dry. I found this to be a pain in the butt during the week. Plus, those bags usually cost more. My perfect solution is machine washable wet bags. At the end of the week, they get washed and are ready for the next week. Having a bag ready to go the night before also helped by making it possible to pre-pack my pump parts the night before. The bags I use each have 2 compartments, so I can use each bag twice (one day in each compartment). These are super affordable on Amazon.
Invest in a Bottle Sterilizer
I stumbled across these while pregnant with my second baby and I am still mad that I didn’t have one while pumping for my first. With my bottle sterilizer, I now only have to lightly rinse my bottles and pump parts. They then go into the sterilizer and 45 minutes later they come out completely dry. Every day we save at least 10 minutes that used to be dedicated to cleaning bottles and pump parts. I also love the fact that each and every day my pump parts are actually sterilized, not just washed. I can fit 6 bottles and my pump parts in this sterilizer. We purchased this from Amazon and my husband refers to our bottle sterilizer as the best money we have ever spent.
I hope these tips help make your pumping journey better! Happy Pumping!
Check out my other blogs
Why You Need a Silicon Breast Pump AKA how I saved hundreds of ounces of breastmilk without using my electric pump