Breast pumping equipment needs
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Anonymous
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Very clueless soon-to-be FTM here. Could you please educate me on what the “must-haves” and the “nice-to-haves” are for breastfeeding? (Including pumping?)
And, for things like milk storage bags - should these be compatible with any/most breast pumps? I got the Spectra S2 free through insurance. Any need for an additional manual pump for times I don’t want to set-up the spectra? Any wisdom and specific recommendations are very welcome!! |
Anonymous
| I always tell people to rent a hospital grade pump and if you find you're actually using it, then buy. I don't let down for pumps but EBF two babies. Other women figure out BF is not working for them but use the pump once or twice and make it un-returnable. |
Anonymous
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You want at least two sets of pump parts (flanges etc.) so that you always have a clean set.
You can use any milk storage bag. I find Lansinoh to be the best. You can pump directly into bags but then you're never super accurate about how many oz is in each bag. I prefer to pump into the bottles that come with the pump parts and then pour into bags so that each bag has 4oz in it (the size of a bottle, typically). I'm on kid 3 and never used a manual pump. |
Anonymous
But(1) it's free through insurance and (2) it's useful to have even for emergency backup situations. I would never advise someone to forego a (free!) pump because they don't intend to use it regularly. |
Anonymous
| Don’t get too much now. Get your pump from insurance, a box of milk bags, but that’s it. You really don’t need much until you either go back to work or end up exclusively pumping. Focus on breastfeeding for the first 6 weeks then worry about pumping later |
Anonymous
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I pumped at work. I had a spectra S2, which I loved. Get an extra set of flanges, tubes, etc. I had a small bag with a freezer insert to store milk in. I also had a tub to carry the pump parts to the work kitchen, a drying rack for my office, and a designated bottle cleaner for my pump parts.
If you're at home, the tub, bottle brush and drying rack aren't a bad idea. At home I had a plastic tray for my freezer to hold milk bags once they were frozen. I froze them flat then stored them standing up in the tray. As for bags, I usually poured the milk from the bottles into the bags, attaching them to the pump never worked for me. |
Anonymous
It's not free to the people paying insurance premiums and it needlessly junks up landfills. Some of those pumps are $500. Seems like a fantastic waste to me. I EBF two babies and never ran into an emergency pumping situation. I can rent a pump 24/7 from my hospital because L&D is open 24/7. |
Anonymous
It cost me $100 to rent the hospital grade pump. Not covered by insurance. It worked no better than my spectra which was easier to use (s2 was “free” (to me) but I paid $50 for upgrade to S1) I personally think the rental advice is terrible advice. Just get a breast pump in advance (I didn’t which is why I had to rent and I regret not being prepared.) if you end up not using can pass on to another mom. (I got a free S1 through next door so I could leave a pump at work.). A Spectra which is a closed system so easy to pass on to someone else. No need to landfill it until it is ready. |
Anonymous
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I will add - don’t get too many breastmilk storage bags (same story with bra pads) until you know what your supply is like (I got some for free on my local buy nothing group.). My kid sucks down all I have and I supplement a bottle to make sure she has enough. It took 4 days to amass 4 ounces to freeze for return to work - I had a six ounce “stash” stored in two glass bottles pre work return.
I have some glass breast milk storage bottles which I use to store the little milk I pump at work and it typically goes straight to daycare the next day. Never once used one of the milk storage bags. Also with the exception of the aforementioned 6 ounces never freeze my breastmIlk. Freezer bags will be regifted. Agree with the drying rack but I use mine at home. I have extra flanges and I just store the used ones in the fridge at work and wash all when I get home. I use two freezer packs which I got from something shipped to me to keep milk cold on the way to daycare. I store my pumped milk in the work fridge til I go pick up my daughter. |
Anonymous
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I was so clueless with my first and totally unprepared. I didn’t realize you need nursing sleep bras. I personally prefer the pull down type rather than the clasp kind. I liked the ones from target and gap has some nice ones too. I prefer the kinds with no pads and then I just insert the reusable washable nursing pads inside. Everybody has their own preference tho. I absolutely could not stand the sensation of my nipples touching anything other than a nursing pad for the entire 16 month duration of nursing with my son. This was a shock to me because I love sleeping braless in my non nursing life. I like the washable pads on Amazon.
Also make sure you have lanolin in advance. I think the haaka is helpful too. Pumping accessories can go either way. For some they are a must have but I find the pump extremely stressful and depressing and too much to juggle with a newborn. I would wait and buy back to work pumping stuff later. Who knows maybe you will end up deciding pumping at work just isn’t for you anyway. If you do buy storage bags I vastly preferred then Medela brand over lansinoh. |
Anonymous
| Make sure you have a go at hand expressing. It’s handy to know how if you end up having an issue with the pump sometime, and I found it was better at relieving discomfort. |
Anonymous
| Make sure to get a haakaa! And if you have to pump a lot, consider the ceres chill. I would consider upgrading to the S1 for the easier portability, but no big deal if you can’t. Good luck with your pregnancy! |
Anonymous
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I would make sure pumping is for you before you buy tons of supplies. That said, to start you will want a haakaa, some extra bottles with caps (I use the tall 8 ounce Dr. Brown's bottles), labels for the fridge so you can date and time the milk, and a good hands free pumping bra or two.
I have been exclusively pumping for 7+ months and I have 4 sets of flanges for my Spectra S1 with caps for the bottles if you're on the go, an extra charger to keep in my office, a pair of Elvies, 4-5 hands free bras, have gone through like 3 boxes of storage bags, many packets of labels, a bottle cooler for when I am pumping on the go, etc. etc. But I accumulated all of this over time based on what my needs were and the fact that pumping is working for us. I wouldn't go out and buy all this right away. |
Anonymous
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PP here - I did get a manual medela pump just in case of emergency because if for some reason my pump dies, my baby doesn't nurse anymore and I would be in hot water. I've never used it but it was maybe $25 on Amazon? Again, I would make sure pumping is for you first!
Oh, another thing I swear by is the Medela Quick Clean wipes for pump parts. I am kind of a germ freak so if I am pumping on the go, I wipe my pump parts with these before storing in a plastic bag. I don't like to reuse sets before I wash them but I have had to do it a couple of times and these definitely made me feel better about it. This is also a good general resource: https://exclusivepumping.com/ Pumping is HARD but having all of the right supplies definitely helps! 
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Anonymous
| Bamboobies pads, nipple cream/balm, lecithin |