r/HumansPumpingMilk

Second-time mom here. I breastfed my first exclusively until I went back to work at 14 weeks, then pumped for his daycare bottles until he was just over a year old using my trusty plug-in Medela. That was 4 years ago, and now we have a 7 week-old too, and I'll be going back to work later this month. For this round of pumping, I decided to upgrade to a wearable Eufy S1 Pro. I'm loving it, but am stressing about and overthinking pump maintenance! Can anybody help?

With my Medela, I just had 2 sets of everything to alternate washing in the dishwasher and sterilizing in the microwave. What has been the easiest way to clean and sterilize your Eufy parts? Are those $300 bottle washers/sterilizers worth it for wearable pump parts? I don't relish the idea of hanging around the kitchen to boil sterilize them every night, but $300 is a lot! Are the standalone sterilizer machines ok worth it?

Thank you!

I want to EBF my baby, but right now, I probably don't have enough milk, so I would like to start pumping to increase my supply. My pump doesn't quite fit (it doesn't get much milk out), so I would like to buy a new one. Do you have any recommendations? I want to pump daily, so something practical (but strog enough to really empty the breast) would be great.

Looking forward to any suggestions 🫶

Does body armor actually help increae your milk supply in your experience?

I’m an under supplier to my second child ( which is huge bummer because I didnt have this issue with my first and I’m having to supplement baby formula so he is able to make his weight) how many time are y’all pumping a day to increase your supply?

For context, I no longer pump, but I’m a boss with an employee who does and I want better for her.

When I had my baby, my job (specifically the female HR administrator that deals with all things baby leave/etc) basically told me to try and book the conference room if I needed to pump. Well, many people have keys to the conf room, and it’s always booked for meetings, so I wasn’t comfortable using it.

I only have an open cubicle, so I tried to advocate for myself and they erected a small cubical inside of a closet on the floor below my office area. It had a fridge, a chair, and a small side table. Problem was that though the cubical had a door, it wasn’t ceiling height, so people kept peeking into it wondering why there was a cubicle in the lab coat closet, which had a ton of traffic. I searched some laws, and found that areas provided to pump had to be a certain height, brought that back to the company, and they had to bring it to the ceiling.

Now, I don’t want to sound unappreciative, but having to come there every 2-3 hours (the time my baby was feeding at the time) and pump, plus cleaning the parts, plus the travel time, and lugging all my stuff back and forth. (There was no sink so I’d also have to go to the cafeteria if I wanted to wash anything, but tried to just use wipes.) Well, you can imagine it took so much time from my work day, and the constant disruptions impacted my work.

It wasn’t long before I just stopped going to the room bc it was so far. I ended up (when my boss was in meetings or not in office) used her office to pump which at the time was near my desk, or pump in my car. Eventually, I started pumping less bc of the disruption it made to my work which lowered my supply and I had to combo feed. It sucked, but I was the only one pumping, they technically were adhering to the laws, so I just let it go.

My boss ended up moving her office downstairs next to this pumping room, and then after having her 2nd baby, attempted to use it, but found the same issues I did, even though the room was on the opposite wall of her office. She eventually just pumped in her office and kept the door locked when doing so, and that worked for her.

Welp, my employee just came back to work, and facilities gave her access to the “pump room” (really just a closet in a closet) upon request. Luckily, they’ve moved the lab coats so there’s not as much traffic, but had similar issues I did. So she started pumping at her desk (with the ones that go in your bra) by like day 3 back at work. She told me about it, and I asked her if there was anything I could do, maybe I could talk to HR/Facilities if she could use an office upstairs, or if they could just close off her cubical. She agreed to the closing off her cube, and so I asked if that would be possible. Welp, HR told her it doesn’t meet the requirements, so she’s not allowed to pump AT ALL at her desk, or in any office even if it’s not in use, and she HAS to use the “pump room”. She was so upset, and I feel like I made things worse, bc now she can’t even use her (in bra) pump at her desk.

I don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve tried to go back to HR and they just say it “doesn’t meet the requirements”. (Assuming they mean fridge access and height of space.)

I’ve felt so terrible about this. I offered to my employee (who was already working hybrid schedule) to just work from home entirely if she wanted, whatever she needed to support her and her baby. I also, out of my own pocket, went and bought a portable bottle/pump part dishwasher/sterilizer/dryer and a separate drying rack since there’s no sink access in that room. I also got a bunch of other things to make it better/more comfortable: ice packs, breast milk bags, labels, storage containers, pump/bottle wipes, a rolling cart/desk and attachment for cup/bottle holder, pump chargers for two different pumps. I figured if anyone else has a baby, they could use all this stuff too.

Since I know she uses a spectra, I’m going to bring in mine (I can go online and get some replacement parts for her) and just leave that one in the pump room. This way she never has to worry about lugging hers back and forth to work. And again, if anyone else has a baby and ends up pumping and needs to use it, they could just plug in their own parts.

I just feel bad for making the situation worse. And I know other people have it worse, and it wasn’t a terrible situation, but I just didn’t want her to end up how I did. I just need a sanity check. Was the request unreasonable? Should I be more thankful of the space provided? Did I mess everything up for my employee?

Edit: I forgot to also mention that the only other person that was pregnant recently before me, was in a different building. She was told the same thing about using a conf room, but the only conf room in her building had one wall of window, barely covering by some flimsy blinds, so she ended up just pumping in her car. And within a short period, stopped pumping all together for the same reasons regarding it being a disruption to have to constantly go to her car.

Hi! Are you washing your pump parts every time? Or if you’re pumping every 2-3 hours (like at work) are you storing in a ziplock in the fridge?

I’m currently cleaning every time but man it’s a lot of work!!

FTM and I’m looking for some kind of cooler bag to store milk in while I pump at work. Preferably something that can have a second life as a snack bag later. Currently comparing the yeti 3L snack box vs their 9L day trip box - both are insulated the same. And then thinking to put the cooler in a secondary bag with my pump and pump parts? Any suggestions or alternative recs appreciated! Should I be concerned about an ice pack keeping the milk cold enough?

So I’m going back to work in a couple weeks and EBF right now, I do pump here and there to build freezer stash- I hate it so annoying, but when I go back I’ll obviously be pumping to keep my supply.
I have the mommed s21 wearable pumps and a medals hand pump. I know the wearables aren’t meant for every pump so I’d like opinions on that and what do you do / need for work when you pump? Are you washing them after every pump? How do you do cleaning?
I’ll be working 7:30-1ish
Baby is 4 months this month
TIA

I’m going back to work in a month - I need to figure my sh** out.
I HATE pumping but I know I need to do it when I do return to work. I’ve only pumped a handful of times (outings without baby during feeding times) and I dread it every time.

I currently have the spectra S1 - I like the suction power as I feel like it truly empties me. But I’m going to lose my mind with the flanges. If they don’t sit just right- I lose suction and milk starts leaking all over me. I have tried different flange inserts, I tried the pumpin’ pal flanges - I just can’t with them.

I’m a teacher and know that my pump breaks will end up being during my plan/lunch, so I need something that I can move with.

Please give me your wearable pump recommendations/thoughts- hoping for something that still gives good output.
(Bonus if you can compare your wearable output to your wall pump output).

Thank you!!

Hi everyone!

I'm about to buy a breast pump and would love to hear your personal experiences. 😊

I'm mainly interested in the following models:

- Momcozy M5, or S12 Pro

If you've used any of these, would you mind sharing your experience? How effective was it at emptying your breasts? Was it comfortable to wear? How noisy was it, and how did it fit into your daily routine?

I'd really appreciate both positive and negative feedback. If you had to choose again, would you buy the same pump or go with a different one?

Thank you so much in advance! 🤍

Hi moms, I’m 4m pp, my baby was premature and had latch issues so she was fed formula by a Vati spoon for the initial two months and switched to BF + top up formula by a bottle combo for the last 2 months. I’m looking to buy a wearable pump to increase my supply because I hate hate hate not being able to move and washing the parts after every single pump is doubly exhausting to me. I did get the Spectra S1 and used it only one day because the schedule exhausted me to the point I couldn’t get out of bed at all this morning (combined with the Metoclopramide my doctor started me on). I’ve realized that I can’t continue with the Spectra anymore, I do know about the fridge hack but my LC advised against it. These past few days have been emotionally heavy on me too because my baby cries constantly and gives me really bad looks and doesn’t play with me as as she used to, she was a really happy baby on the old schedule and I really really miss her. She has a shallow latch now and gets frustrated very easily. I figure I can manage pumping better if it’s a wearable pump, doing it 8 times a day is better than being exhausted and giving up completely. I will also be joining work in 2 months.

What I’m looking in a wearable pump

• Increase supply
• Truly portable
• Can wear at work
• Not too many parts to wash/ easy to clean
• Closed system
• Doesn’t leak
• Build a small stash

Thanks in advance Moms!!

PS : Also looking to sell my Spectra S1 plus.

Not sure if there is such thing to test with output of milk but my left boob barely produces I am using eufy s1 pro wearables. How do I make it or what setting should I do to help it catch up.

Im almost at 50 ml for right boob. Left is barely 5ml.

What do you suggest ?

11 days pp.

Mi bebé tiene 4 meses recién cumplidos. Di el pecho el primer mes y medio pero tuve que dejarlo por problemas de agarre. Muchísimo dolor y grietas. Lo examinó la matrona y dijo que no había problemas de frenillo ni nada aparente que pudiese mejorar. Juro que lo intenté, pero lloraba mientras le daba el pecho (y eso que di a luz sin epidural, tengo un umbral alto de dolor). Desde entonces me extraigo leche y se la doy en biberón, complementando con fórmula (1/3 del volumen aprox, el resto es mía). No tiene interés por la teta. Hace un par de semanas conseguía que se agarrase al pecho algo, pero no lo veía tragar. Ahora pasa de la teta directamente. Protesta cuando me lo intento poner al pecho. Me gustaría volver a ponerlo al pecho, e idealmente volver a LME. Alguien tiene una experiencia parecida? Como lo hago? Es posible o me doy por vencida? Estoy agotada de extraerme.

If you have either of these pumps what setting and what is your pump schedule if you have a newborn or first few months.

I am 11 days pp. Doing every 3 hrs for 30 mins on gentle or lowest setting for max for eufy.

Still working on zommee i need a bra.

Hello, I’ve been mostly pumping and sometimes breast-feeding for the last six months now. Around mid May I started feeling very uncomfortable while pumping. I will pump for 20 to 30 minutes and feel very uncomfortable with the vibration from my pump to the point where it makes me feel very overstimulated and angry during the whole pumping process. I do have a Spectra and i pump at a low massage and suction since I have elastic nipples. I do notice if I start pumping on higher levels than usual, I either produce less milk or after a while i’ll experience nipple pain. I have changed my flange sizes, I have tried to put something on the TV or read something on my phone while I pump and I just I cannot get rid of that super uncomfortable feeling by distracting myself. I have tried using a manual pump, but can’t seem to get as much out as I do with the spectra. Is there anything I can do for this issue? I had no problems pumping for months before the only thing different I do now is pump four times a day for 20 to 30 minutes and I do not take levothyroxine anymore. I should also add that I do not feel uncomfortable when I breast-feed or use the manual pump so I think it’s the vibration not DMER.

I’m 8 weeks pp and have been exclusively pumping since day 1. Baby was premature so we have been fortifying my milk to make all bottles 22 cal. Because of the fortifying, going to the boob isn’t the best option for us.

I’ve honestly enjoyed my pumping journey thus far & am happy to be making enough to feed my baby.

Literally overnight I have begun to feel rage as soon as my pumping session start. The feeling of the pump pulling my nipples is making my skin crawl, I literally shudder throughout the session and want to punch something.

Has anyone else experienced this change? Did it get better? I want to keep pumping for the foreseeable future, but if this feeling persists I’m going to need to stop.

I did recently go back on hormonal birth control and am wondering if my cycle has anything to do with it? Period isn’t due for two weeks though.

SOS