When I go back to work, I work out of my car mostly and don't have an office with refrigerator. I can pump while I drive between visits (hopefully anyway... that's the plan... if needed I'll just space my visits further apart so I can pump in the car), but I need a place to keep my breastmilk completely cold during the day. I feel like the medela cooler would be too small and inefficient to really cool the milk and keep it safe for a full workday.
Did you get a larger cooler and fill with ice every day? It seems tedious but I guess I'll do what I have to. Any recommendations?
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I think most people get personal size cooler to keep in the car with those reusable ice packs
https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-FlipLid-6-Personal-Cooler/dp/B00363X3F2
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I have an insulated lunch bag I use and 3 reusable ice packs. It's works fine and my milk is always super cold. Never had to leave it in her car though. Always was in an office. The only issue would be if I forgot to put the ice packs in the freezer before bed.
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I follow this blog and she is a physical therapist that visits patients at home and has to pump in her car. I know in the past year or two she posted a day in the life post that included her pumping in the car logistics. I tried to search for it but it's hard to find on my phone. There is this other post she did when she had her second (I don't think she was doing the home visits at this time) but maybe you can find it!
http://julia-transition.blogspot.com/2012/11/breastfeeding-as-working-mom-aka.html?m=0
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@Mrs. Pen: I kept my milk in a cooler at the hospital because I didn't want to go back to the break room at the end of my shift! EBM should be good in a cooler for 24h with ice so I figured 5-6hours was no big deal.
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@Mrs Spoon: good point! I had to remember to re freeze my ice packs or I'd be stuck using my back ups which weren't as good
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I use the Medela cooler and it's been working great for me!
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I had a small cooler for this purpose that came with three ice bags. It fit my small Medela bottles perfectly. Mine was from Nenesupply and its under $20.
https://www.amazon.com/Bottle-Breastmilk-Storage-Lansinoh-Storage/dp/B0052PM09M -
I just got a PackIt lunch bag for when I go back to work next week. It's freezable and it folds up pretty small. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IAY6HAA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_pbYfybW6F4QYP
They have several sizes available, plus one that says it's for bottles. But that one seems more suited to carrying two taller size bottles, though one review said you could stack the 4oz bottles. There's a mini size that seems like it would fit four bottles, which I almost got. The size I ended up with can fit six and is big enough to double as a lunch bag and folds up smaller than the mini, which is good for packing it in my pump bag.
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I don't have access to a refrigerator either and the Medela coolpack has kept my milk cold with no issues. I think the special form of the ice pack helps.
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Maybe get a plug in cooler for your car's cigarette lighter as a backup too?
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