Pumping is a labor of love. It takes a lot of time and effort, but you press on (or pump on) for the sake of your child. While everyone has their own timeline for how long they want to pump – or chose not to pump at all – here are some tips that helped me while I pumped at work.

First, let’s review the laws shall we….In California:

• Employers must provide employees with a reasonable amount of break time to pump. (Labor code: 1030)
• Employers must make reasonable efforts to provide
  employees with the use of a room or other location for pumping. This does NOT include toilet stalls or bathrooms (that is against the law). Also, it must be in close proximity to the employee’s work area employee. (Labor code: 1031)
• If you feel that your pumping rights are being violated in any way, file a complaint with California Department of Labor.

Now, for the tips:

1) Get your hands on a quality breast pump. I use the Medela Pump In Style Advanced and really like it. I found it to be just as strong as a hospital grade pump, making it super efficient. Only downside is that it’s pretty loud.

PRO TIP: The health care law requires most health insurance plans to provide pumps for FREE. The only caveat is that your choice of breast pumps may be limited depending on your carrier. Before you go out and buy one, definitely check with your insurance carrier to see which pump they cover.

2) A hands-free breast pumping bra is your BFF. These babies are essential for multitasking. Just strap in, pump, and email on! I like the Medela brand – it’s nice and snug, keeping pump parts in place, yet still comfy. They tend to run small, so best to size up.

3) A cooler and ice pack makes for easy transportation of your liquid gold. This cooler, which includes two ice packs, by Munchkin worked great for me, but any ol’ cooler is fine.

4) An easy way to disinfect your pump parts will save you a lot of time and energy. I should know because I did it totally wrong by bringing a different pumping set for each session – that’s SIX (flange, pump, and valves) different pieces to wash every night! No bueno. Instead, put your used pump parts in a ziplock bag and store in the fridge in between session. As long as the parts are kept cold, the risk of contamination is very low.

5) Make pumping a part of your workday routine. Work can get very demanding and distracting. Before you know it, you’ve completely missed a pumping session and you’re engorged and uncomfortable. Grrrrreeeaaaat. Avoid these snafus by slotting your pump times into your work calendar. By blocking out times, not only will it help you stick with it, it will also let colleagues know you are occupado (busy).