Sunday, October 22, 2006

pumping at work: Avent is best

with my first baby, i used one of those large, electric pumps (medela, maybe?). while it was okay and did the job, it was such a hassle to lug around on the train during my commute. with my second baby, i used the Avent hand pump and was SO much happier! i understand that they now make a double pump, which would be even better. the Avent is great because it is so small and compact, you can easily carry it in your purse, briefcase, lunch bag, etc. the other bonus is that you hook your regular Avent bottles right up to it and it can go straight from the pump to your baby's mouth. (with other pumps, you pump into a collector bottle then have to pour that into your regular bottle. this means you have twice as many bottles to wash at night, and as a working mom that is the LAST thing you need!)

practically speaking, here's how you do it. pack your Avent pump and two to three Avent bottles into one of those insulated lunch bags with one of those re-freezable icepacks. at work, keep the pump and 1 bottle in the lunch bag. put the other bottle(s) in a desk drawer. put the ice pack in the company freezer. when it's time to pump, shut (and lock!) your door, or go to wherever you have arranged as your pumping room. pump both sides. close up the bottle with the flat Avent top and pop it into your lunch bag. rinse out your pump (you can give it a thorough cleaning at night but rinsing should be good enough during the day). put the lunch bag into the company refrigerator and put the pump in your drawer. the next time you pump, you can put the pump and the next bottle into the lunch bag to bring it to wherever you need it (if you feel funny walking around with a pump), or you can just pump and put the new bottle into the frige with the other one. at the end of the day, throw your ice pack into the lunch bag and head home.

NOTE: you don't have to rinse out/clean the pump after your last pumping session of the day because you can just do it at home.

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