Hellobee Boards

Definitely get a good hands free pumping bra. I use the simple wishes one and I'm a big fan. I pump both sides every three hours at work. I bring four of the larger sized medela bottles. At each session I pump into two bottles, but then consolidate the milk into one bottle and then pump into two empty bottles next time around. I keep my flanges and any bottles that have touched milk in the fridge, and then put the milk in my cooler bag when I go home, and wash all the bottles and pump parts at home. I definitely noticed a dip in supply when I went back to work, but the combo of More Milk Plus and Mother's Milk Tea is making a difference for me already after only a few days of taking it!

I had a system. I pumped ever 2-3 hours at work. I would bring 4 large bottles with me daily. USe the double pump, then combine the output into one bottle (or fill one and leave the extra in the second bottle.) At the next pump. Id use 2 clean bottles and combine them into another bottle, so essentially I was pumping into empty bottles each time. I bought the Medela wipes and wiped off my parts and the bottle I used and emptied between each pumping session, or I would just refrigerate them without wiping. At the end of the day, I brought everything home and washed it. I also bought the Medela steam bags and used those once a week since the pump was being used SO frequently.

Def pump both sides simultaneously, its much quicker. Make sure you have photos and videos of your LO to look at whlie you pump. For me, videos really helped letdown. Just hearing her voice made it happen. I also had a video of her nursing, so when I was having a tough time with letdown, that one always helped.

Youll get it down to a science soon enough!

@LivsMama: Haha, I'm right there with you! No hands-free bra, and I use my pumping time as me-time too, to catch up on my iPhone games

I don't produce very much, so after every pumping session (every 3 hours) I would pour what I had into a breast milk bag, then rinse out the parts with soapy water and let them air dry on the counter in-between. No one else uses the mother's room. I have a cooler that I keep ice packs in to keep the milk cold. I washed everything really well once I got home.

I was able to pump in my private office so my set up was this:
pump, two bottles and flanges, EMAB Natural Nipple Butter, one burp cloth, a halter style hands free pumping bra, a small cooler, and plenty of lansinoh bags.

I would lay the burp cloth in my lap to catch any drips and protect my clothes and wipe off after pumping, pump while looking at pictures of DS (some people recommend watching videos of your baby), pour pumped milk into the lansinoh bags, put them in the little cooler and pop them into the freezer to take home at night. I did wash my pump parts between sessions because I used EMAB's Natural Nipple Butter during every session as a sort of lubricant so my skin wasn't pulled and I was over cautious. I would steam clean them after washing using those microwave bags and then let them air dry in a drawer lined with paper towels.

In the early days I pumped directly into medela bags so I had less cleanup but I didn't like that they didn't freeze flat so I switched to pumping into bottles and transferring to lansinoh bags.

I'd encourage you to hand express at the end of each pumping session to get the most you can (I could get over an ounce more once I got good at it - it takes practice). And try not to stress over how much you are pumping as it will vary.

I take my pump parts already assembled in a tall bottle bag as well as an extra bottle and caps. I pump, pour all milk into 1 of the 2 bottles previously attached to the pump, reconnect the one that I didn't consolidate the milk into, and put the fresh bottle on the pump part. All assembled, it goes back into the tall bottle bag. After my second pump, the bottle of consolidated milk is usually full to the brim. For the drive home (third pump session) I usually condense the milk from this session into 1 bottle and don't reattach a bottle. When I get upstairs, I divide the milk into portioned bottles for LO and wash all parts.
This style of bag is a life-saver as I can have my pump parts attached, ice packs, and the bottled milk all in one slim bag, but I bought mine at somewhere like Target for $10. It's 3 bottles wide, and about 9 inches tall.
http://www.shopping.com/especially-for-baby-especially-for-baby-bottle-cooler-bag-with-eva-piping-black/info?sb=1

@Pink Champagne: I just tuck them into my regular nursing bra, but I'm awfully well endowed so that might be why they stay so well. I use the cut sports bra at home.

@lindseykaye: The bra holds while I drive, so it works well! I wouldn't mind getting a hands-free bra at some point though.

@coacheswife123: it really isn't bad once you get your routine all set and you get into a groove! good luck

@Bookworm: because i don't pump every 3 hours (more like every 4 hours) i take a longer time to pump, so i will wait until the second letdown, which usually happens at 17-18 minutes. after the milk stops dripping with every pump, i will start massaging to get more milk out and once the drips stop with the massaging, then i'm done. total is probably 25 minutes of pumping and then with set up and break down of the parts, etc, it takes a total of 30 minutes per session. when i was at home on mat leave and pumping though, i would stop after 15 minutes because i was lazy and wasn't under pressure to make enough milk for LO the next day.