stupid question

[darcytrue]

I have a question about pumping. I definitely plan to put it off as long as I possibly can.

In my BF classes nothing was ever mentioned about how to use bags to store the milk? The pumps have bottles that you attach to them and get the milk that way. Do you just transfer the pumped milk from the bottle to the bags?? I thought there was a way to pump directly in to the bags. I wouldn't want to contaminate my milk by moving it from bottle to bag. But if that's how it's done then I guess I need to know.

I haven't bought any of this stuff yet and it's all verrrrry new to me! TIA.

[pumpkinseed]

It depends on the bag. Medela makes some that you put directly on your pump. Others are just for storage.

Also-my SIL searched high and low to find a bag that you could use with the drop-in bottles-so you just used the storage bag as the drop in -instead of having to transfer it to the bottle. I think it was Gerber bags-can't remember which drop in bottle she had though.

[curious&eager]

I've seen pictures of it done- medela pump with medela bag. But, the bags cost more so I haven't looked into it. I pump into the bottle and then transfer to a bag. Mainly because I pump two bottles once a week and only feed one. The second is just in case and it gets frozen if it's not used that day.

[caitsaunt]

I used to pump into the bottles and then transfer to the Lansinoh bags for freezing or directly to the drop in bottles. I don't see how milk could be contaminated by transferring.

[wombatclay]

Yup, Medela does offer a "direct to bag" option. But I've always pumped into the bottle and poured the milk into a bag (usually Lansinoh bags).

The bags are sterile and generally 'sealed' in some way (the Lansinoh bags have a sort of tag you have to rip off in order to open them for the first time) so basically you open a new bag, unscrew the bottle from the pump, and pour the milk directly into the open mouth of the fresh bag. Squeeze the air out and seal the bag, then lay it flat to freeze. There shouldn't be any contamination as long as you don't put your fingers/anything else inside the mouth of the bottle or inside the bag.

Depending on how much milk you need to pump/store you may find it easier to use a product that creates "milk cubes" (supposedly easier to store a lot of milk, and they thaw quickly), or individual freezer safe "one use" bottles (Medela makes these, you thaw and serve in the same bottle). When I worked full time I generally left what I pumped at work in the pump bottles in the fridge for use the next day (you could attach a nipple to the bottle for feeding) and froze milk I pumped in the evening/weekends using bags to build my freezer stash.

Currently I SAH so while I'm slowly building a freezer stash for emergencies I'm only using bags since I'm not using the stash for regular feedings (which could make the cost of serving bottles worthwhile).

Also, is there a reason you're putting off pumping? It can take a while to get used to a pump and many mamas find they can't pump much at first. If you know you'll need a regular supply of pumped milk you should start sooner rather than later. Also, given the supply/demand nature of breastmilk and that it's often easier to encourage a larger supply by having higher demand from the start (instead of trying to increase supply down the froad when your body has already decided on "how much" your babe needs) it can be tough to significantly increase supply after a few months of breastfeeding. So again, if you know you need or want to pump regularly then starting sooner can help.

[katmann]

I use gerber milk bags on my ameda purely yours pump, and I just use a twist tie to put the bag on the pump. Then I pop them in the freezer. I've been doing this for 6+ mos with no problem. I do not reuse the bags, though.

[_betsy_]

Once you're actually pumping, it'll make soooo much more sense.

I pump into the collection bottles that came with my Ameda Purely Yours, and store those in the fridge until I transfer to Dr. Brown's bottles. Or if I have ample stock in the fridge for the next day, I'll freeze it using the Lansinoh breastmilk storage bags. I lay them flat to freeze so they store easier. Once frozen, I put them standing up in a gallon sized freezer bag, putting the new stuff in behind the older stuff so DH doesn't have to go searching through to find the oldest bags.

HTH!

[savithny]

I pumped by hand with an Isis (only had to pump once a day).

I could pump straight into the 4oz bottles (NOT into the 9-oz). Or you can set up a bottle wtih the plastic bag insert and pump into that.

When I was getting more than 4-5 oz per pumping, I liked pumping into the bags because I didn't have to unscrew the bottle, cap it, screw on a new one, and continue. It also meant that I could clip the bag and freeze it without ever moving it and introducing new potential for germs. It was pretty handy.

With #2, when she only took it from evenflo bottles, I pumped into the small hard bottles and decanted into the little 4oz bottles to store or freeze.

I did find that the milk bags were more likely to get damaged in the freezer than the botttles were.

[darcytrue]

Thanks for all the wonderful information everyone.

Originally Posted by wombatclay

Also, is there a reason you're putting off pumping? It can take a while to get used to a pump and many mamas find they can't pump much at first. If you know you'll need a regular supply of pumped milk you should start sooner rather than later.

I work from home and also home school my older children so I don't see myself going anywhere too far from baby at least for a couple of months. I'm mostly interested in pumping for when I might need a bottle at the kids classes or while visiting someone. I'm not sure yet how I will feel about BFing in front of other people or in public, having never done it before.