What's in My Pump Bag?

I'm coming to a close on my breastfeeding and pumping journey. Our sweet girl is going to be one year old next month and slowly but surely she is weaning and my supply is dwindling. Before I my breastfeeding journey with our first baby though, I want to give you guys a peek into my pump bag. Being a part-time working mama means I need to pump on the days I work to provide milk for our babe. In the beginning, I also pumped on days I didn't work to get some extra milk for our stash and because I was dealing with some oversupply but now I only need to pump on days I work. I am so thankful to work in a place that provides me my own private room to pump in and are more than accommodating for plenty of time to pump.

First let me say, do yourself a favor and get a Sarah Wells pump bag. When I first returned to work I had put together a bag for all my pump stuff but it really only held my pump and some milk bags, nothing else fit. For four months I ended up carrying this bag, a lunch bag, a cooler for my produced milk, and my purse. Oh and I also carried the diaper bag and our baby out the door in the morning on our way to day care. In December, I used my Christmas money to buy myself a Sarah Wells pump bag. Buying this bag was the best decision ever. I went from carrying 4 bags to work every day to 1. The bag includes a spot for the pump, a cooler built right into the bag, plenty of room for pumping accessories, my wallet, phone, lunch and other things I kept in my purse. I would highly recommend every pumping mom to invest in a Sarah Wells bag.

What's In My Pump Bag?

1 | Pumparoo // Another Sarah Wells favorite. This bag is a wet/dry bag designed for your flanges, bottles, and all your accessories. It also includes a staging area where you can put all your parts before you start pumping. This works great if you aren't sure how clean the surface you are using is. Everything can be stored in the wet part of the bag and kept in the fridge in between pumps. My favorite prints are the floral and greige.

2 | Water bottle // Staying hydrated is so important!

3 | Hands-free bra // I love to read or watch Netflix or text my husband while I text. It tends to be my only time alone during the day so it's nice to just relax for a several minutes. This bra allows you to use both hands while you pump making it basically possible to do anything while pumping.

4 | Lil'buds // I posted about these breast comfort packs in my Breastfeeding Essentials post while back, but these are also essential for pumping. I pop these in the microwave for a few seconds when I go to the fridge to get my pump parts and stick them in the hands-free bra while I pump. They are great to get milk flowing and have helped with so many clogged ducts I've felt starting. I have ones with lavender in them which helps with relaxing as well. She just came out with some adorable new prints so go check them out!

5 | Milk bags // To save on space, I put all my milk in milk bags. Running out of milk bags would not be a good thing so I like to make sure I have way more than I need. I've tried a few different brands and Lansinoh is the way to go. I've never had any problems with spilled or spoiled milk with them!

6 | Sharpie // The best marker I have found for writing on milk bags. Easy to use and read and it does not smear.

7 | Pump // Obviously my pump is in my bag! I love my Spectra pump. You can read all about the pumps I have tried here. It is still my most popular post to date!

8 | Accessories // Flanges, tubing, backflow protectors, 2 bottles, and valves which are all necessary parts to make a pump work.

9 | Ice packs // Not pictured, but I carry a couple ice packs in the cooler region of my pump bag for toting milk home after work.

10 | Snack // Also, not pictured but I always bring a snack along with me and I always keep a snack bar or two in my pump bag for a rainy day when I'm more hungry than usual. Much like staying plenty hydrated it is important to nourish yourself so you can nourish your baby!

Is there anything I forgot? What are your must haves in your pump bag?

Kayty

Mama's Breastfeeding Essentials

There is a lot of work that goes into breastfeeding. It is such a beautiful and rewarding thing though! It took me about 8 to 12 weeks to feel really comfortable with breastfeeding, but now it does not seem as overwhelming as it used to. I honestly thought about giving it up so so so many times in those first few weeks. Breastfeeding is tough at first, but as you and baby learn, and baby grows things get easier and you will both figure out what works for you.

Breastfeeding Essentials

1 | Breastfeeding pillow // No matter what kind you get, you are going to need some kind of pillow to help prop baby. We use a Boppy pillow, I don't love it, but it gets the job done, and we can use it for other things like propping baby and will be able to use it in the future for tummy time.

3 | Lil' buds // Useful beyond breast care, but amazing relief for symptoms related clogged ducts and mastitis. All you have to do is stick them in the microwave (my preference!) or refrigerator. We have the lavender ones & I would definitely recommend them, it makes them extra soothing. Pictured is the Classic Aqua Net

4 | Jumbo water bottle // The first couple weeks I was so thirsty. Almost every feeding I had Josh fill up my 32 oz. jug the hospital provided. Even now almost 4 months later it is still my go to cup!

5 | Grab & go snacks // Babies seem to want to eat right around meal time! So, having handy snacks are useful until you can grab a few bites of your meal. We really like making energy bites, cheese and cracker plates, and having plenty fresh fruits and veggies cut up and ready to eat.

8 | Ottoman // We all need to put our feet up a little bit! I love having an ottoman to put my feet on while feeding our sweet girl, especially when it is 2 a.m.

9 | Coconut oil // The early breastfeeding pain is legitimate. Coconut oil is something most of us keep around the house (I used it on my belly all the time while pregnant.) and is an easy and safe nipple salve. If you're looking to buy one, I recommend Earth Mama Angel Baby Nipple Butter

10 | Nursing bra // There are a million and one nursing bras out there. My advice is try on a bunch and figure out what works for you. Also, invest in a few sleep bras, because they are wonderful and I love that you just pull the cup to the side.

2 | Breast pump // Definitely a must if you want to be able to give your babe a bottle when you are away and also if you are going to go back to work. You can read all about the breast pumps I tried here if you're looking for one.

6 | Pump bag and reusable pump parts bag // Going along with #2, you are going to need something to tote your pump around in. The absolute BEST pump bags out there are Sarah Wells bags. I'm eyeing one up for Christmas so I can stop carrySarah Wells also makes a bag calling 3 bags to work everyday. Sarah Wells also makes the Pumparoo which all pumping mamas need to have. It is a breast pump parts bag which is reusable. Stop using Zip-loc bags & get this instead, you'll save money in the long run! Pictured is the Pumparoo in limited edition Floral.

7 | Bottles // Every baby is different and I know some mamas have to try 5 kinds before they find one baby likes, but we like the Avent Natural bottles. We had about 3 smaller 4 oz. bottles and now have 6 larger 9 oz. bottles. This number works well for us!

And of course even almost four months in things get messy so just laugh when you get spit up all over you or your little one has a blow out in the middle of feeding!

Pumping Mama! A Breast Pump Review

Three pumps, many weeks, and a whole lot of milk! Over the past seven weeks I have tried three different breast pumps. Why three different pumps? When I started researching breast pumps before little C was born, I wanted to know the difference between Medela and Spectra. While researching, I found reviews of the pumps separately, but none where anyone compared them side by side. So, I decided to do my own comparison to help other mamas who were in the same boat I was!

Obviously, I included Medela and Spectra, and then we were offered an Ameda to review so we decided to toss that into the comparison as well! The pumps I used were the Ameda Finesse, the Spectra S2, and the Medela Pump In Style Advanced. Over these weeks I've used one pump at a time. Also, I e-mailed the companies various times with questions to be sure my comparison was as accurate as possible! If you have questions that are not answered here please comment, I'd love to help!

Side note: It can take your body up to 3 weeks to adjust to a new pump so if you are switching and getting lower volumes, give your body time to adjust before thinking the pump 'doesn't work as well!'

This post contains a TON of information so hang in there friend! I've given a brief review as well as listed the pros and cons of each pump.

Breast Pump Comparison & Review

Spectra S2

This pump is wonderful. I still haven't found a reason to not love this pump. Number one reason I love this pump: It is a closed system. From KellyMom, "A closed system pump has a barrier between the milk collection kit and the pump mechanism to prevent contamination by bacteria/mold/viruses/etc. An open system pump has no such barrier." The Spectra has a digital screen so you can easily see how long you have been pumping which is really handy if you don't have a clock, your phone, or its 1:30 in the morning and you don't know when you started. The screen also displays your vacuum, speed, AND it saves the settings you had it on last for both letdown and expression mode. This way you never have to adjust dials or buttons unless you want to. The pump starts in expression mode so you have to press the letdown button when you power it on. The only thing I found frustrating about the pump, was the bottles leak sometimes if you do not screw the lid on tight enough. Instead of using those, I just started pumping into the bottles Cora drinks from, which was easier in the long run.

Spectra S2 Pros

Duckbill valve is one single piece, no losing those little white things like with Medela
Everything is dishwasher safe
Closed system
Separate vacuum/speed options--super nice for unclogging ducts!
Nightlight with two settings
Digital screen displays
Timer so you know how long you've been pumping
Auto shut off after 30 min
2 year warranty since many moms pump longer than one year
Rechargeable battery model option (S1)--I have not found that I would need this option yet

Spectra S2 Cons

It is recommended to not use microwave sterilizer bags
Bottles that come with are difficult to get a good seal on, so they leak sometimes, I just pump into the bottles our baby drinks from to solve this issue.

Ameda Finesse

I was impressed with the way this pump presented, but not with actually using it. The pump has separate vacuum and speed options for customization which is ideal for getting your pumping as close to baby's sucking as possible. This pump is also a closed system (see definition from KellyMom above). This pump is fairly quiet when turned up to full vacuum; however, the power of the vacuum is hugely lacking and no matter what I tried during my times using this pump it was not efficient enough in emptying my milk fully. It was also difficult to remember where I had the separate vacuum and speed dials for letdown and expression so I was always adjusting the dials to get it 'just right.' Overall, this pump was not as friendly to use as the other pumps because of the dials, but the information provided with the pump was great.

Ameda Finesse Pros

Everything you need comes sterilized, so you don't need to sterilize before using
Comes with a guide for measuring nipples to get accurate breast shield size
Guide explains the difference between letdown and expression
Pump itself is very compact
Can easily be put into a pump bag you like
Comes with hand pump
Closed system
2 year warranty since many moms pump longer than one year
Separate vacuum and speed options
Decently quiet

Ameda Finesse Cons

Have to adjust speed and vacuum dials each each time you switch between letdown and expressing milk.
Hard to remember exactly where you had dials each time
Noise is annoying to listen to

Medela Pump In Style Advanced

All the moms I know have a Medela, and most of them have said they really like it, so I thought it was going to be a pretty great pump! But I was actually rather disappointed in the pump for many reasons. This pump is not a closed system so the setup of the pump does not prevent contamination of breastmilk (see image here). The Medela pump is also extremely loud. Every time I start using this pump, which is usually at 1:30 in the morning both my dogs come running because they aren't sure about the noise! There were a few nice things about the pump, including that it comes with a bag, and it switches to expression mode manually. The breast shields are designed to pump into narrow neck bottles like the popular Dr. Brown's so you could probably pump right into them. We use Avent bottles which are wide mouth and there is a conversion kit available if you want to pump into wide neck bottles. Overall, this pump was not as customizable as the other pumps and highly disappointing since it is an open system.

Medela Pump In Style Advanced Pros

Can be taken out and used in any bag
Automatically starts in stimulation (let-down) mode
Automatically changes to expression mode after 2 minutes or you can hit a button to manually change to expression mode
Comes with battery pack so you can pump anywhere (batteries not included :))
Comes with cooler bag and ice pack
1 year warranty
Comes with a carrier bag (not as nice as a Sarah Wells bag though, not much can fit inside)

Medela Pump In Style Advanced Cons

Not a closed system
No separate vacuum/speed options, not as customizable
No auto off
Hard to see inside bag when pumping to see where dial is set at
Those little white pieces get lost all the time
I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have about any of the pumps! Feel free to comment below with your questions or e-mail me at simplysheard@gmail.com!
What kind of pump do you use? If you are a mom-to-be what kind of pump do you want? Share below!

[Disclaimer] I did receive two of these pumps in exchange for a fair and truthful review; however, all opinions are 100% my own! Thanks to the weeSpring Parent Panel for providing me with one of the breast pumps!