Hellobee Boards

Hey! I just went back to work last Friday so I feel you. This was my second time, though, so here is how I handled it last time and am doing it this time. I pump three times a day while at work. I have a Medela PISA, so four bottles. The first time I pump into two bottles and the second time into two other bottles, an the third time I consolidate what I've already pumped into two bottles and pump into two empty bottles again. This is because I use the cooler pack and it's not good to combine warm milk and cold milk. I do all the bagging once I get home.

With my first baby I'd play around with the bottles -- usually making a fresh bottle or two for the next day and thawing one or two from the freezer stash. Right now my new babe is still getting the hang of the bottle so I am not making the bottles; I just leave the nanny milk in the fridge so she can make tiny bottles until we figure out how much she's going to take and how many times a day.

Good luck at work! You'll come up with a system that works for you!

I pump 2-3 (usually 2, it's hard finding the time to fit in 3!) times a day while working. I pump into two bottles, combine those into one bottle when I'm done. I wipe down my pump parts with. Medela pump wipe, and put it all in my cooler bag. At my next session I pump again into two bottles, combining that milk into one bottle when done. Repeat with wiping down and storing in cooler bag, or if I know I'm not going to pump again before I go home, I don't bother.
I got one of those smaller, soft sided coolers to take back and forth and I leave my pump at work (I actually have two pumps).
ETA: I combine milk all the time. Whatever works to get to bottles of 6 oz, which is what LO is currently eating. Just no warm milk with cool milk.

At work, I pump 3 times. I usually get around 5 ounces at each session. That's what my daughter gets in each bottle at daycare. I pump into my Medela pump bottles and then store those in the cooler that came with my PISA pump. When I get home, I put the bottles in the fridge and the ice pack in the freezer. I put the pump parts and bottles from daycare in the dishwasher and we wash them (and any dirty dishes from dinner) when we're getting our daughter ready for bed. By the time we go back downstairs after she is asleep, the dishwasher is done. I'll take out the bottles, dry them by hand and fill them with the milk from my pump bottles. Then, I wash my pump bottles and hang them to dry on the drying rack. I pick them up the next morning and pack them into my bag. I also take my 3 sets of pump parts out of the dishwasher and hang those to dry. That way, everything is in front of me when I go to work in the morning and just have to toss it all into my bag.

I take a tote bag to daycare. I carry a small, soft-sided cooler in there with her milk (and now purees). 3 bottles, 5oz each. I'll also take extra onesies, diapers, outfits or whatever else is needed with me in that bag.

Good luck today!!

I pump at 9 am (usually get 8-9 oz) and put those two bottles in the fridge, rinse pump parts and put them in the fridge in tupperware.
Pump at 12 pm, usually get 6ish oz, put both bottles in the fridge, rinse pump parts and put them in fridge in tupperware.
Pump at 3pm, usually get 5ish oz, before this pump consolidate milk from fridge into 3 bottles total. Pump into the one previously used bottle and one more clean bottle, consolidate this milk into one bottle (so I have 4 bottles of milk total, which fit in the Medela carrying case).

This is all good to know! I go back to work in a few weeks, so this is helping me to think ahead.