It’s been two months since I’ve gone back to work after maternity leave… and I’ve survived! Some days I didn’t think it was possible. But here I am! Getting used to being away from my little girl for 10+ hours every day definitely has been an adjustment. Also, just getting back into the work flow has taken some getting used to. But I would say my biggest challenge has been pumping.
Kinley is exclusively breastfed and the whole experience overall has been pretty great for us. She had no issues latching in the hospital and she loves to eat! I’ve got plenty of milk, probably an over supply TBH which is why I’ve had mastitis twice already in the first 3 months. Ugh.
I realized early on that I hated pumping. It’s everything that breastfeeding isn’t. Cold, sterile and mechanical. No bonding… no special snuggles with my baby girl. Just suction. So I was already dreading it when thinking about going back to work.
Since then, I’ve gotten into the groove. And while I don’t love pumping…. it’s my goal to breastfeed for a full year. So I gotta make it work in the office! I’ve rounded up a list of all the things that I bring with me in my pump bag, and I thought it would be really helpful for other mamas heading back into the workforce after baby.
1. A cute pump bag – this may sound trivial to some, but if you’ve gotta lug it all over the place, it might as well be in a bag you like to carry. But also make sure it’s practical. I’ve linked my bag which is a backpack style, because my laptop bag is already an over the shoulder bag.
2. Parts bag – After I pump, I just rinse my parts and stick them in my parts bag in the fridge. At first I was just using a ziplock bag, but that wasn’t cutting it. With this parts bag, it gives you a bit of privacy in the public fridge in your workplace, but it’s also super convenient. It has a dry pocket, a wet pocket and even a wipeable staging mat for setup. I also don’t bring my pump bag home every single night, so I just grab my parts bag and toss it in my purse to take home to sanitize.
3. Cooler bag – you can always just use a regular lunch bag with an ice pack, but this one is super nice. It’s just the right size to stand up your storage baggies and prevent leaking. The patterns are so cute and keeps your milk discreet.