Please talk to me about the best cool bag milk storage system for pumping at work

[nosleeptilbedtime]

Going to town tomorrow to try and buy something to bring my ebm home from work. Would be gratefull for any advice as to which is the best sort of cool bag or storage for breast milk.

I bought an insulated bag designed for lunches (from Boots or Asda) with a top compartment and an underneath bit, and string side pockets.. The plug bit of the pump zipped underneath, empty bottle in the pocket and the milk - in a bottle- went in the top.

You can buy storage bags for the milk but in our town they are only in Boots and also very expensive.

I used an insulated bag as well- a little lunch sized one that I got free at M&S for buying picnic food. I left my pump at work so I only had to carry the milk home. My commute is only 30mins so I didn't bother using an ice pack. Milk I was going to give to DS the next day I put in a plastic container with a screw top lid. Milk I expressed on Friday I put in storage pouches I bought from Boots and froze til Monday.

Good luck with the expressing. I did it from when DS was 5 1/2 months til he was 1 year. I then carried on feeding him myself morning and night til he was 20 months and once you get into the habit it isn't too bad. I'm back to work on Monday so hoping it will be as easy for DD.

Thanks for the tips folks, good idea about the lunch bag, I can just use DD's old 'doctor who' lunch bag! It's insulated so will be perfect.

[words right out of my mouth]

and remember you'll need another coolbag for getting the milk to nursery with dd.

Much better than the storage bags are Axifeed bottles that stack nicely in the freezer, go in the dishwasher and never ever leak. Try ebay as well but you won't find them in Mothercare or anywhere.

I used to take a square insulated cool bag and have a few kitchen towels and sandwich bags there. Sterilised pumper went into a bag with bottles then into the cool bag. After expressing I would then put milky pump back into sandwich bag. Bottles into other sandwich bag. All in the cool bag.
I found the kitchen towels handy for wiping boobs after expressing and catching any escaping drips.