Expressing at work

[ElphabaTheGreen]

For those of you who expressed at work with a view to keeping the milk for later use, and not just a pump and dump, how did you sterilise your expressing equipment? Did you do it at work, or sterilise at home and take into work? If the former, what sterilising method did you use? If the latter, how did you keep your stuff sterile (or at least, as sterile as possible) during transport?

Thanks!

[Xenia]

Caveat that the oldest of my babies is now engaged herself! but I did with the first three - bought a good book on it at the time.

I sterlised everything before I left home. I took ice packs to work as did not want to bother asking about fridges or drawing attention to it. I then pumped into the bottle(s) and saved it agains the ice pack. It was always kept cool. Took it home and put it in the fridge when I got home. There would be nothing to sterilise at work really. I did rinse the pump top bit that goes over your breast just under the tap after expressing. I did not sterlise that bit at work before the next pumping and the babies are pretty strong. One ran the London marathon last year and both the oldest are about to do triatholons and they were rarely ill - may be because they only ever had breastmilk.

I breastfed just before I left the house and as soon as I got home.

I had one of those insulted picnic things with the ice packs in which would take the milk too for the journeys home. It all worked fine. In fact I've never fed a baby from a bottle in 28 years as a mother.

The milk I took home was then used whilst I was out the next day on the baby.

[CMOTDibbler]

I had an Ameda Lactaline, and bought extra pump head sets, and a big locknlock box. Then in the evening everything got a good wash, put a Milton tablet in the box, put the pump stuff in, fill with water, put lid on. Then after it had been in there long enough, I rinsed with boiled water (ie, pour milton out, pour kettle of water in, then pour out), and sealed the box. Then I just took out what I needed during the day. Not a faff at all, and meant I wasn't trying to rinse stuff in the canteen sink or leaving pump parts in the fridge.
I expressed at work for a year

[LexiWITCHious]

I had the use of a broom cupboard small meeting room, and a fridge in the office. I used a double medela and was forever fascinated by the variation in how much I got out of each side when I pumped!

In the morning I would microwave sterilise the pump head and bits, and six of the storage bottles and caps, take them in to work in a little insulated zip up cool bag, the pump bits in a zip lock sandwich bag. In fact I think the cool bag and some bottles came with the double medela when I bought it. Most days I would then just take the cool bag over to the nursery at pickup time, leave the bottles in their fridge for the following day, and take that day's empties home.

Once you have sterilised a storage bottle and cap, if you put the cap on it stays sterile inside. After each pumping session I unscrewed the boob parts from the bottles and put them back in the sandwich bag, and kept them in the fridge too. You can't pump body temp milk into a cooled bottle of earlier milk, but if you only get them partly full, once they are cooled to the same temp in the fridge you can consolidate them a bit. But bear in mind that when one is warmed up to give to your baby, it has to be all drunk then rather than dipped into. So perhaps having a lot of half bottles is better, certainly in the early days of childcare when baby may just be getting used to taking your milk from a bottle with a carer.

[LexiWITCHious]

Oh and I did this for six months, then boy was 1 and could have cows milk as a drink. After that, for another 8 months I think, we had a feed first thing in the morning, and as soon as we got home from work. Excellent reason to make the sofa the first port of call!

[SauvignonBlanche]

I used an Avent Isis pump, sterilised everything at home.
Kept milk (hidden) in the fridge during my night shift, took it home then DH took it to the childminders.

[NovemberAli]

I also had an avent isis. Microwaved sterilised pump every night at home and kept pump parts in tupperware box. Took 3 sterilised bottles in with me everyday, had to store my milk in the fridge with everyone's lunch boxes and washed my pump in the coffee room sink . Had cool bag to take milk home in and only a 15 min walk so stayed cold.

[ITryToBeZenBut]

I express at work like the others. Went back at 4.5 months, he's now 9 and intend to until he can get onto cow's milk at 12 months.

Like the others, with a bit of organisation, not a problem. I commute for 2 hrs each way. Take 2 sterilised bottles with me in a medela cool bag with ice block which I put in the fridge at work with everyone's sandwiches but it's zipped and sealed (although if out and about the cool block from the freezer can easily chill the milk for 12 hours). I have 2 pumps. One at home and one that lives in the office. Expensive - yes - but means less carting stuff about as I need to express at the weekend to build up milk for Monday.

We don't really have many facilities at work so I express in the disabled loo - wipe surfaces and wash hands etc then careful with the pre-sterlised equipment. Wash the pumps bits in boiling water with washing up liquid and put in a clean sterile tuperware in the fridge at work. I also, before I use the bits from the tuperware again, rinse them in boiling water again just in case.

Take pump bits home every 2/3 days and whizz through microwave steriliser and back to work, just to be safe. I was told though, especially after 6 months, that washing in boiling water in good enough. We haven't had any upset tummys or sickness so I can only assume the method works :-)

If out and about for meetings all day so not able to get to a kettle etc, take both sets of pump bits from both sets pre sterilised so I can express twice and not worry about cleaning kit bits in a client office or the many other interesting locations I have expressed in.

A bit off topic from your original question but my top tip is to buy enough bottles. I work f/t and we have 9. On any given day, I take 2 with me and he takes 3 to nursery (2 with feeds plus 1 with milk for baby porridge, started on 3 full bottles of milk until weaning at 6 months). Leaves 4 spare bottles in the fridge so I can prep next day bottles when I get home and then the used ones from that day go in the micro steriliser . It means if something happens and you forget to do it one eve, you're not scrathing round trying to get bottles ready whilst getting ready for work.

Good luck.

[Xenia]

I had a battery operated hand pump which was quite light and worked fine. I took it home ecah night with the milk and I did sterilise its parts and the bottles for the next day every night.

I certainly remember how nice it was to come home and breastfeed right away, very relaxing.

With numbers 4/5 I was working for myself which was easier so I had our nanny bring them to me to feed in my office here or I went to her unless I was out at a meeting and that was definitely easier as I hardly had to express at all BUT with the older ones there was no other option and it has really paid off - I wanted them to have breast milk and I wanted to work full time.

Like some above we also carried on with some feeds when they were eating more foods. I never voluntarily stopped feeding but the toddlers did which was fine.

[getagoldtoof]

I did the same as above. Bought loads of bottles as all the sterilising can get a bit rough. I hated doing it every night after work, but it had to be done. Reckon a microwave steriliser might be easier? Get the caregiver to wash the bottles after use if they get the chance. It'll make life a bit easier.

I went back to university lectures when my son was a week old, and full time at work when he was a month old, so even with a very tiny baby it can be done.

However, i had a two week break from work when he was 5 months old and he gave up on bottles, just wouldn't take one at all, all day. He breastfed all night long instead (still does.... but thats another story).

If you plan everything carefully, there is no reason for it not to work. Good luck.

[Val007]

I hand expressed at work in one of the toilets. I did not really advertise what I was doing there approx 2-3 times a day. I hid the small Medela bottle in my trousers pocket on my way to and from the toilets. Then once at my desk, I transfered the milk to a bigger glass bottle (luckily I had no colleagues in my office at the time), which I kept in a coolerbag with a few packs of ice, all brought from home each day.