A few of my breastpumping essentials

It's recommended to start pumping after at least 6 weeks post-partum, when the mother's milk supply is already established. However, I've been really worried that Maddy may not take a bottle of breastmilk when I go back to work. I started pumping to store around my 4th week, because I wanted her to try feeding from a bottle. Plus, I wanted to give myself a few hours in a week to go out, go to the mall, watch a movie with Hanley etc.

Several of my breastpumping items have been preordered from Amazon and some were only purchased recently, like my pumping bag.

1. Wallaby Mommy pumping bag - The Wallaby Mommy hospital/nursing/pump bag is locally made. The owner Minnie has been very accommodating when I was contemplating purchasing one. What I love about this bag are the front drop-flap and the side drop-flap! Plus it comes with an insulated bag already!

The front drop-flap has my wipes, Sharpie and masking tape for labeling my breastmilk storage bags and storage bottles, hand sanitizer/Casino Femme alcohol, and other smaller items.

The side drop-flap opens up to a cubby hole where I put my breastpump, adaptor and transformer, and allows me to access them with ease. The cubby hole and side flap also "hides" the items when I want to pump in public.

My record book for Maddy's feeding and sleeping schedules fit in the deep side pocket at the back. The bag itself is roomy enough inside to fit the insulated bag, although I use the Fridge-to-Go cooler instead, which anyway fits just right all the same.

2. Fridge-to-Go - The Fridge-to-Go has surround cooling and removable cooling panels on all sides, which really keeps my stored milk cool for up to 10 hours. It has a 6-can or storage bottle capacity and I can actually shove the entire bag into the freezer, instead of removing all the panels and freezing them separately.

Also, since I haven't really been pumping 6 bottles of milk yet, I use the extra space to keep cool my pump parts and the Lock&Lock twist container I put them in, after each pump session within a day.

I ordered my Fridge-to-Go from BaoBaoBabies.com.

3. Medela Swing Solution Set - I contemplated getting a double electric pump, but the more I thought about it, the more it appears to me that a single electric pump would be much easier and convenient to use. I want to leave a free hand for working/typing and I don't want the hassle of putting on a hands-free pumping bra.

My Japanese and former law office roommate Tomoko used the Medela Swing to store milk for her two kids.  She was pumping at work and storing for at least a year, using just the Medela Swing. So in my head, the Medela Swing has already been established to be effective, so I didn't really exert that much effort to look into other brands or models.

I got the Solution Set because it was more value for money. Aside from the pump itself, the set came with 2 breastmilk bottles and lids, 30 disposable bra pads, a lanolin nipple cream, 5 Quick Clean bags (good for 20 uses each) and 20 Pump and Save breastmilk bags.

i'll be doing a separate review on the Medela Swing soon.

5. Philips Avent Natural bottles and sealing discs - The Natural line's wide, breast-shaped nipples promotes natural latch-on and has an anti-colic venting system. The Natural bottles are made from polypropylene, which is BPA-free.

I also got sealing discs which can turn the bottles into storage containers! Perfect for when I don't feel like using or bringing the Medela storage containers just to transfer the pumped milk to the bottles. This way, I can pump and store directly in the milk bottles themselves.

6. Philips Avent milk storage cups - It's too expensive to buy like dozens of Avent milk bottles just for storage purposes. It's advised that you pump and store around 1oz of milk for every hour that you will be away from the baby, since they consume an average of 25-30oz of milk daily. This means that with Maddy taking almost 3oz of milk if bottle-fed, I'll need to keep a stock of at least 10 3oz storage containers of milk at any one time. 

I purchased the Avent milk storage cups because not only can they be used to store my pumped milk, but also with the adaptors they come with, they can be hooked up to Avent milk bottle rings and nipples.  By being able to pump, store and feed from just one container, there's no need to transfer breast milk and wash twice as much bottles/containers.

The storage cups also have leak-proof twist-on lid for a more secure seal.

7. Maymom conversion kit - Since the Medela pump isn't compatible with Avent bottles and storage containers, I bought a Maymom conversion kit, which includes 4 conversion rings with sealing rings, which enables my Medela pump to attach to the Avent bottles and storage containers. For the storage containers, you just need to attach the adaptor as well, in addition to the Maymom converter.

8. Lock&Lock twist container - While the instructions are to wash the pump parts after every use, most of the mommies I know agree that it's likewise safe (and more convenient) to simply put your pump parts in a ziplock or airtight container in the fridge in between pump sessions (no need to rinse). The pump parts will be fine in you simply take them out for the next use and put them back in the fridge again. I only rinse and then sterilize the entire set at the end of the day.

For me, the Lock&Lock container is the perfect size and has the perfect dimensions to fit all my pump parts and to fit in the Fridge-to-Go.

9. Reusable gel ice packs - While I'll be using my Fridge-to-go for keeping my pumped milk at work, Maddy's yaya will be bringing the Wallaby Mommy insulated bag for my already pumped and refrigerated milk when they go to the in-laws while I'm at work. Reusable gel packs help keep the milk cool in transit to the in-laws.

10. Milk bags - I use milk bags if I want to pump and freeze my milk.  Milk bags are more expensive in the long run, since they're disposable (and cost around Php20-30 pesos PER BAG).  Frozen milk lasts 3-6 months in the freezer and since milk bags take up less space than storage containers, they're more practical to use for frozen milk.