Are you a breastfeeding mom who also works full time? Working full time with a young baby can be challenging enough, let alone navigating breastfeeding, pumping, and keeping your sanity through it all. That’s why I created this guide of the top things you need as a breastfeeding mom. I work full time as a middle school band director and breastfeed my 10-month-old son. These are the products that worked for me in order to continue my breastfeeding journey with as much ease and comfort as possible. I hope you find some helpful tips! Stick around for more lifestyle hacks and guides for the career mom!
Silicone Breast Pump (Hakka)
If you buy one thing from this list, let it be this. This product is a godsend for any breastfeeding mom. I heard about it right after I had my baby, purchased it right away, and I am SO glad I did!
It is essentially a manual, silicone breast pump that you wear on one side while nursing your baby on the other. It uses suction to draw out milk from the breast. All that extra milk from your let down won’t go to waste. The Hakka collects it so you can save it to either feed your baby later or freeze. This product also helped keep my milk supply up for a while!
Nursing Pads
We’ve all seen the cliche Instagram and TikTok videos of breastfeeding moms with two glorious wet spots on the front of their shirt. We all laugh, but it is serious business. Right before I had my baby, my sister-in-law insisted that I purchase nursing pads, swearing I would need them. She was right. The ones I bought are disposable, but you could certainly purchase reusable ones if you prefer. Either way, get them!
Portable Breast Pump
As a working mom, a breast pump was an obvious essential. I confess, I have only ever used a portable breast pump. That’s right, I skipped over the intense hospital grade electric breast pump, and went straight for the wearable, rechargeable ones. There is no particular reason, and you definitely can use both if you wish. However, I found the MomCozy M5 wearable pumps to be AMAZING! They are easy to use and charge, and the best part is….they are portable, wireless, and they fit right in your bra. This makes it so easy for a busy working mom to pump anywhere, any time. I exclusively used these and was able to pump very well with them. I will say, you will need to replace all of the silicone parts every couple of months, but I believe that is true of most pumps with silicone parts.
Milk collection bottles
You are going to need bottles to collect your pumped milk in if you are pumping. You do not need any specific sort of collection bottles, but it might be easiest to go with some that are compatible with the bottles your baby takes while you are gone at work. In most cases, you can just take the cap off, replace it with the bottle nipple attachment and it is ready for feeding. Whatever you use, make sure they are packed with your pump whenever you go out!
Bottle Brush
There are tons of bottle brushes on the market now, and I have tried a lot of them. This is the one you need. The other ones I tried crapped out after a couple weeks. This one by Munchkin is the sturdiest I have tried. It fits into narrow bottles too, a feature that some bottle brushes do not have. You can certainly wash bottles in the dishwasher, which I have done on numerous occasions. However, It’s nice to have the brush and hand wash the items when you need them quickly.
Baby Bottles
This is an obvious one, but you are going to need some bottles for feeding while you are at work.
As a working mom who had to pump but also wanted to breastfeed, I had two major concerns when it came to bottle feeding: 1. My baby would not take the bottle at all. 2. My baby would take the bottle, and then refuse to breastfeed.
I met with a lactation consultant who told me that Dr. Brown’s bottles were the best for breastfed babies. She was right! They have a gradual nipple, so that the latch isn’t very different from the breast latch. And, you can start with a level 1 (slow flow) bottle nipple so that the milk flow isn’t so speedy. Thankfully, using these helped avoid both of those concerns.
Cooler Bag
If you don’t have a place to store your pumped milk at work, you will definitely need an insulated cooler bag. Breastmilk that is freshly expressed is good sitting out at room temperature for 4 hours, but it lasts up to 4 days if it is refrigerated.
Nursing Bras
If you are planning on breastfeeding at all, you’re going to want/need some good nursing bras. I have tried a few and I have to say that I think the MomCozy ones are the most comfortable and durable. The MomCozy Nursing Bras are the softest material and they stay that way even after being washed! Highly Recommend!
Countertop Drying Rack
As a working mom, or any mom that pumps, you will have to wash your pump parts constantly! I have a drying rack that sits on my counter top to keep all of my freshly washed pump parts, bottles, and other baby feeding paraphernalia. It’s not the cutest as far as home decor, but hey…you’re a mom, your home decor is now unfolded laundry and inconveniently placed shoes.
Are you a working mom who is planning on pumping at work? If so, let me know what products you have tried and love!
This is such a helpful guide, even though I’m not a mom yet! I can imagine how challenging it must be to balance a full-time job while breastfeeding, and it’s great that you’ve put together these tips and product recommendations to make things easier. I’m bookmarking this for future reference because I know this information will be incredibly valuable when the time comes. Thanks for sharing your experience and offering practical advice for working moms—it’s great to have resources like this to help navigate such an important journey!