Pumping and biking

[Kio]

Hey all, new mom here! Our kiddo is 4 months and I've been back at work for 1 month. I've been taking the bus/train because this whole new baby / pumping at work thing has been A LOT to adjust to, and I'm trying to take it one step at a time.

I'm finally in enough of a routine where I think I can add something new, and I'd like to start biking to work again. I'm also looking forward to the physical activity (I don't know how people with new babies work out! I figure my commute might be the only chance I have to get some exercise nowadays.)

I'm wondering if any other working moms have tips for cycling and pumping?

Pre-baby, I barely carried anything when I biked. Now I'll have my pump, accessories, cooler and at the end of the day my milk (on top of my computer and lunch).

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[starbuck]

Do you use panniers on your bike? That is a great solution to carrying more on your bike, no matter what the contents. I hate riding with a backpack, especially during the warmer months.

My baby was born in November, and my health insurance allowed me one breast pump per calendar year. So I requested a second breast pump in January so I could have one at work and one at home. Since yours was born in February, that's probably not helpful, but maybe you could get a manual pump for home since the majority of pumping will be during the workweek.

If there's no need for pumping at home, I suggest bringing the pump in on Monday and home on Friday. Or just leave it at work full time if there's no need for pumping on the weekend.

Don't forget to eat and drink more now that you're back into cycling! I was always extra ravenous on days I worked out while nursing.

[blikeafox]

I left my pump at work and just brought home milk and accessories to wash. I used a cooler lunch bag and could fit a number of bags of milk in there, but it was pretty compact. Not really a bike related tip, but I stored the accessories in the refrigerator between sessions instead of washing after each session. My office's lactation room doesn't have a sink, and I found washing in more trafficked spaces awkward.

My bike commute was also my main source of exercise until I figured out how to make time to go to swimming a couple mornings a week when my daughter was 8 months old.

[LouLou]

I don't bike commute, but here are some pumping tips that helped me:
- I bought a used pump to keep at home, and mostly kept my new one at work. The mom I bought it from also gave me tons of bottles and a nursing cover.
- I wash parts only after using them all day. Otherwise I throw in the fridge.
- I bought extra sets of cheap off-brand parts on amazon (Maymom?) so I did not need to actually wash pump parts every day.
- Breastmilk keeps for hours without a cooler. My milk was refrigerated at work, so there was no need to keep it in a cooler for my commute. I use the cooler when I need refrigerated/frozen to last basically all day, like when I was traveling or at an all-day conference where I didn't have a refrigerator.

My life got a lot easier when I did those things. If you do the same, you would only carry some milk and a few parts most days instead of the pump, cooler, etc.

FYI, I did not even attempt exercising until she was 8 months old. Nursing/pumping was all the exercise I needed!

[MayDay]

I also left my pump at work. I brought home the pump parts and the bottles of milk every day (I got bigger 8 or 12 ox bottles that fit on my pump, so I only carried two bottles a day, not a bunch of little ones). I put the pump flanges in the fridge after each use, and just washed at the end of the day. My work had a place I could actually wash them at work (I never sanitized them). If you could do that then you only need two bottles of milk which might fit in your lunch box.

[mm1970]

Hey all, new mom here! Our kiddo is 4 months and I've been back at work for 1 month. I've been taking the bus/train because this whole new baby / pumping at work thing has been A LOT to adjust to, and I'm trying to take it one step at a time.

I'm finally in enough of a routine where I think I can add something new, and I'd like to start biking to work again. I'm also looking forward to the physical activity (I don't know how people with new babies work out! I figure my commute might be the only chance I have to get some exercise nowadays.)

I'm wondering if any other working moms have tips for cycling and pumping?

Pre-baby, I barely carried anything when I biked. Now I'll have my pump, accessories, cooler and at the end of the day my milk (on top of my computer and lunch).

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

I couldn't swing it.  I didn't bike for the year that I pumped, with either kid.

[Kio]

Thank you all so much for the advice! I figured I owe you all an update since you were so helpful.

 I've been able to successfully bike to work almost daily for the past 2 months. I got a basket for the back of my bike to put my bag in, which makes riding easier with a heavy bag.

I splurged for another pump to keep at home, which helped immensely (not just in terms of weight, but also cognitive load of things to remember). I first bought a used one, but it had been very well used and was not powerful enough to get much milk, so I just bought a new one.

I started carrying my milk in an insulated lunch box, and also use the trick of keeping my pump parts in the fridge at work in-between pump sessions.

Riding my bike is definitely the only exercise I'm getting right now, and even though I am just so tired all the time, it does feel good to finally move again!!

Being a working, pumping mom has been such a huge adjustment for me, but I've got a routine down now, and it's feeling a lot less overwhelming.

Thank you all again!!

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[Blissful Biker]

I did a lot of riding during and after my pregnancies but did not face your challenges.  Canadians thankfully have a 1 yr paid maternity leave and we tend to wean at about the 1 year mark.

I am so impressed with your dedication to riding and to your child.  Well done Kio.  Kudos to you!

[I'm a red panda]

I don't bike, but I leave my pump at work.  I have a manual pump I keep at home if I need it, but I almost never do. 
I use an insulated lunch bag to put her bottles in. I pump right into her bottles and divide them into 3 ounces after I pump, but I could easily just use 2 storage bottles (or even one nalgene type bottle) for the 12-15 ounces I pump a day if I wanted to decrease what I carried.  I wash my pump parts at work.

Now that I am back to work, I only pump what I need to feed her. I don't shoot for extra, hence leaving the pump at work.  I have about 60 ounces in storage from when I was on maternity leave.  Since it expires, I cycle through it by freezing Friday's milk and give her defrosted milk on Mondays. That way nothing goes bad.  But in general the "stash" is only for emergencies (like the time I left the bottles on the counter overnight).  I have some travel in January, so I will use my December days off to try to up the freezer a quite bit.