Breast pump sterilising. How often?

[reallacecurtains]

Hi there! I'm going back to work in a couple of weeks, will be away each day from 8am to 5pm. Dd2 is 6 months old, has so far ingested a mere taste of solids by baby-led-weaning and is really currently EBF. Dh will care for her. I'm going to start using a Medela Swing pump to express at work and from the literature it appears it's OK to sterilise the pump once a day but wash and dry all the parts after each use throughout the rest of the day. Is that correct? Or should I sterilise it in some way after each use. I'm feeling a little daunted by all this as with dd1 I returned to work much later and I need to start storing milk asap.

Also, how often do you reckon I will need to express at work?

Any tips gladly received

Do you already have the Swing? The reason I ask is that a closed system, like an Ameda Lactaline avoids milk getting into the tubes and mechanism. As such, there would be very little to wash.

I think (though I'm no expert) that it should be ok to wash and dry it between uses in the day. The important thing would be decent hot water, a properly clean sink and to take your own brush, etc. A wash in some office sinks would be, well, none too clean...

My Mendela pump instructions seemed to suggest that you needed to sterilise before first use but only wash from them on, but perhaps I misunderstood them?

If you can make sure Dd2 will take a bottle. DD is EBF and took a bottle for the first few months (expressed milk so I could have a break) but has refused the bottle since 4 months old!

Have just borrowed the Swing second time, am in the process of working out how`to use....

and boo boo, dd2 is fairly easygoing, generally a happy little bottle, possible more than dd1, who took the bottle at 5 months when I went to work on Saturdays only (teacher), so I hope she will take the bottle....if not, cup?

i meant happy little bunny!!

I think you should study Kellymom for support for this advice, but the approach I took was - express three times a day at work, rinse out pump each time, sterilise in the evening. This gave me enough milk for two small cups of milk, dd was a bit older and eating meaningful amounts of solids too.

You don't need to sterilise, just wash the bits you can wash in hot soapy water, rinse in cold water and allow to air dry. You may need to invest in a tiny bottle brush as some bits are hard to clean properly.

However, the good news is that one of breastmilk's many amazing properties is that it is pretty much self-sterilising as it contains some ingredients that kill bugs it comes into contact with, so the above washing will be fine.

You also won't need to sterilise bottles or cups, again hot soapy water will be all you need to do.

I bought a couple of insulated tommee tippee bags for carting my milk back from work - it is fine for an hour or two, certainly enough time to get between work fridge and home fridge.

When you begin expressing at work (which can feel like a hostile environment) it can help to have a picture of your child in front of you - silly but it was advice I was given and it certainly seemed to help in the early days, before dairy cow became a familiar feeling.

Yes! I remember having her picture on my phone and singing her lullaby to think of feedy-let-downy type moments. Wonder if it would work now...

I hate to put a downer on things, but you may want to read this about borrowed or second hand single-user pumps, like the swing

secondtimelucky I've just read that and I don't think it applies to the Medela. You can buy completely new bits for all the pieces that come into contact with skin and bodily fluids if you purchase a second hand one, and the flim-flam in the last paragraph seems to be looking for any negative reasons to go against second hand pumps. Of course there is a risk buying anything secondhand which does not have a guarantee.

I would also love to see some peer-reviewed research with studies into just how many babies have been infected with any nasties from secondhand pumps. I've followed the link to the FDA website and there is no research there either.

Pumps are expensive, especially the good ones. I spent the first 5 months using a hand held Tommee Tippee and felt so liberated when I switched to a Medela. It cut my expressing time in half. Medela also replaced, completely free of charge, a part of the pump that broke.

i'm not sure how great that article is (couldn't find the one I was looking for) but here is LLL's (international) take on it, and they do specifically reference Medela (I think with a US product name). Personally I'd only ever use a closed system second hand, but other people may have different risk analysis. I just think it's better to make an informed decision.

Keep all the collection bits in a sterilised box in the fridge during the day and you only need to clean / sterilise it once a day.

I used to sterilise once a day, and in between sessions, keep the collection bits in the fridge (in a non-see-though plastic box!).

Secondtimelucky, I've actually gone ahead and ordered my own Medela swing pump. Figured I didn't want to take any risks, the pump's already been used by a friend and her sister, so the cost (£85 from the NCT website) was worth the peace of mind. Shame I can't pass it on to someone or resell it afterwards, though! Bit like a mattress! Hope it arrives soon, got an out of office reply though I ordered express delivery, as I need to get a day's worth expressed by a week on Monday. Will then give dd what I have expressed in the previous day at work.

Thanks for all your advice, people, it is very useful. Off to work with dd today for a reccy as regards available rooms/ whether the staff loo has a powerpoint etc. Can't think of any other rooms I can use.....

Agree, bearhug, will need to put the evidence in a non-see-through box in the fridge plus the expressed milk in lansinoh bags in another one.

Another question, how long does it take to express? Guess I'll find out over the next few days - I need to do it within 20 mins if poss.

I was is SCBU for 6 weeks and they got everyone to store the funnel bit in tupperware boxes with Milton fluid. I had the swing - you don't need to clean the tubes.

The swing can work on batteries too. Another cost, but it's not too bad, I bought a huge huge box of batteries so that I wouldn't be caught out, but I only changed them twice in three months I think.