Expressing at work

[Pootles2010]

Right i'm having a one-off back to work day next week, i'm going to have to express otherwise my breasts will explode. We have a little room by nurses office, i plan to use this, its private and lockable. But i'm unsure how it'll all work. I'd rather not pump and dump, as it seems a waste! But the ins and outs of washing pump up at work, sterilising etc have got me in a stew. I don't want to put my milk in the normal milk fridge, would feel too wierd! Can i keep in cool box? If i do, can i freeze it when i get home?

Also sterilizing - my steriliser is massive, could i use that milton stuff? how does it work? Any advice, or just how it works for you, would be great. Thanks!

Do you need to steralise the pump at work, if you are only going to express once could you just rinse it out and then sterilise when you get home?

ow much space is in the milk fridge - could you put the milk into a small box/bag and then into the fridge so that others cant see it and then into the fridge.

I used to use the milton tablets, though not sure how conveinient that would be for work as you then need a container to soak it all in.

I was going to pump 3 times - once on arrival, once at lunch, once before leaving. I will be there at least 8 hrs. There would be enough room, but they're really funny about milk in the fridge - something to do with health + safety? If anyone leaves anything other than the milk (bought by work) in there it gets chucked out. If i left mine in there, even if i ok'ed it with work first, everyone would be talking about what it was etc (its a thrilling place to work...).

Do you just dissolve the tablets in tap water, or does it need to be boiling water?

Could you speak to HR about milk storage? Where I work you can ask to borrow a small fridge to store milk in.

I cant remember about the milton tabs - sorry - Im pretty sure it isnt boiling water - might just be cold tap water.

Why don't you take one of those small freezer bags - or maybe two - keep one in the fridge empty (they look like lunch boxes so this should avoid curiosity) and have another cooled one with you.

They should last about four hours each.

I will try send a link of a pic.

[[http://www.chinatraderonline.com/Bag/Can-Cooler-Bags/Picnic-Cooler-Bags--Made-of-Striped-Polyester-300D-with-Adjustable-Shoulder-Strap-111218822.htm cooler bags]

Bags/Picnic-Cooler-Bags--Made-of-Striped-Polyester -300D-with-Adjustable-Shoulder-Strap-111218822.htm cooler bags

And HR should be able to provide you with privacy if you need it - they should already be up to date with this - seeing the Equality Act!

Afaik from reading posts on here, you can wrap the pump in clingfilm and put it in the fridge between some sessions.

Do remember that your work legally have to supply you with what you need to express at work, e.g. fridge space.

I'm sure if you carry your pump in a sterile sandwich bag and put it back into the bag between sessions, it will be ok. Or you could just keep the first lot of milk to take home and dump the rest.
What about putting milk in breastmilk storage bag and then putting that in a Tupperware ? You could express directly into the bag on subsequent expresses.
Re Milton, you need a big container to dilute tablets to correct amount if water and then you have to leave for 30 mins minimum.
There are special travel steriliser bags which would be perfect for you as long as there is a strong hook
somewhere to hang it. Sold in boots for about £7 for 6.
I am doing kit days soon, they told me it wasnt a legal requirement ! Interesting to find out if it actually is.

Oh and safe to freeze when you get home, I was donating milk to scbu and if I couldn't fill the container in one express, it was safe to add to it the next day.

i have just started back at work after 5 months leave. this is what i have been doing.
i pack avent isis manual pump and 4x 125ml bottles into a nifty insulated sandwich bag (£5 from tesco) along with some ice packs. i sterilise in milton before i leave for work and i fill 3 of the 125ml bottles with milton.
i express in the first aid room, rinse the pump in boiling water then pour one bottle of sterilising fluid through it to flush it through. i then put the pump and milk back in the office fridge, where it looks like an ordinary lunch bag and dosent arouse any comment. the nice thing about the isis is it has covers for both ends to keep the inner parts sterile.
on the days i am out of the office, i put the mini cool bag into a bigger one and carry it with me if i need to.
i also take a clean tea towel to protect my clothes as i express, alcohol hand rub and spare breast pads. i am managing 3 lots of expressing a day so far.
does that arrangement sound sensible?
i will say the only comments so far i have had have been very positive (and i am ever so slightly disappointed - i'd love to get on my high horse with some poor fool!) someone did once see the cool bag and say - when i had come in specially to do some training 'oooh brought
your own sandwiches' ...when i told her 'no i'm a nursing mother ive come in off my maternity leave to do this' she said well done and went off looking embarrassed!
good luck with it
(ps milton works in cold water and sterilises in 15 min, you dont need to rinse. beware some cheaper own brands take longer and need rinsing in boiled water - more faff)

I don't do anything to my pump or bottles, except put them back in the fridge and take out when want to use again. Pumped milk gets poured into another bottle and topped up throughout the day.

milton is fine and what I used - cold water, tupperware box. (two babies, back to work at 3 months, pumped till they were one and never had to use formula).

Medala do a good insulated bag, and the ice pack that comes with it is excellent - stays cold enough to keep the milk for eight hours plus, and the milk is fine for freezing when you get home. Also if you (understandably) don't want to use the communal fridge - would you feel more comfy doing so if the milk bottles were in an opaque coldy bag?

Finally, ignore all the rubbish about milk only being good for 2 days, and freezing when you don't have too. Adivce I got from the dutch HV equivalent was 5 days is fine, and you'll smell it if the milk has turned. (plus it curdles like too old milk in tea) Neither of my girls got ill following this advice, while the eldest in particular was a bit sniffy about pre-frozen milk.

If you are planning on long-term puming I would also definitely advise getting a double pump. It makes a huge huge difference in terms of time out from work, and hence your ability /wish to continue for a longer period.

Don't they have to provide you with somewhere to store milk? As for sterilising, I only ever sterilised my pump once a day.

Medela do breastpump sterilising wipes which may help. I never sterilised (as they didn't on NICU where dd was) so I used to keep pump kit in fridge and once a day wash and scrub in hot soapy water rinse well and air dry. A coolbag for 6cans should fit your pump kit bottles and ice for the day and I found it was kept sufficiently cool I didn't need a fridge! Good luck.

Buy a small cool bag and some ice blocks if you are not comfortable about using the work fridge. You can always put the whole coolbag in the fridge if you want - I was comfortable with this.

I found that I only really needed to express once at day (on my KIT days) - I expressed before I left the house in the morning (to make sure both breasts emptied) and at lunchtime at work.

Thanks for all advice! I really can't use work fridge - they'll chuck it out! I think they maybe would buy me a little fridge of my own, but in the meantime, can i use cool box, then freeze when get home?

Do you have a microwave at work? You can sterilise in a plastic bag or box with water

Nope no microwave. We do have a hot water thing, but i'm not convinced its boiling water. Not allowed kettles or anything either.

You don't need to sterilise your pump during the day - it'll be fine to do it once you get hone - especially if you have a cool bag to store it in.

I used to travel down to London - red eye flgiht first thing and back up early evening, so no chance to use the firdge. Expressed multiple times (loo on Heathrow Express, loo at Tate Modern, office meeting room, Heathrow Executive lounge loo), just kept everyting in a plastic bag (didn't even insulate it) and never had any problems.

Breast milk has its own amazing preserving properties :)