Exclusive Pumping Favorites

When I had my daughter in May of 2025, I had zero trouble nursing her for the first month. Once we introduced a bottle around 4 or 5 weeks, everything went downhill really fast. She started screaming every time I tried to nurse her and it was very emotional for everyone involved. I eventually landed on exclusively pumping, and I’m proud to say that our daughter received breastmilk through the first year of her life! Now that being said, I hated pumping and never want to do it…ever again. It was terrible and I hated every second of it. Since I exclusively pumped up until 10 months (I had an oversupply and built up a freezer stash to last her up until a year), I have a few favorites!

Pump: Spectra! The blue one! This one was my tried and true pump. It did the job. I do want to throw it off of a cliff though, now that I’m not pumping anymore. I got mine through insurance.

Wearable Pump: Loved my Willow pumps. I tried the MomCozy5 and they were very uncomfortable for me. I researched and found that these Willow pumps were the most gentle, and they really were!

Boon Frosh: Loved this for when I was pumping on the go! It has a middle section that you can refill with ice to keep cold. This is what I used when I would pump on the go, pump on the plane, pump in the car etc. It was easier to pour it all in instead of pouring in bags. It also conveniently fits in a cup holder. You can go through TSA with ice in it! Just no water.

Deep Freezer: I didn’t want to have to get one of these, but since I was immediately freezing the milk that I pumped, we quickly ran out of storage space. Now that our daughter is off of breastmilk, we just use the deep freezer for food and Costco purchases.

The Fridge Method: Since I was pumping 8 times a day for months, I would just seal up all of my pump parts in a gallon ziploc and reuse those parts throughout the day. At the end of the day, I would throw everything in the dishwasher and grab a new pair of flanges/pump parts. I don’t think I would’ve made it to 10 months if I had to wash my pump parts every single time I pumped. Some people think that this isn’t sanitary, but I did it and it worked for me.

A few notable mentions would be breastmilk storage bags (I didn’t really have a favorite), replacement duck bill valves, and a support husband who encouraged me to continue! I did not have any fancy bottle washing machine or anything, either. I used our dishwasher and said, “eh, this is good enough.”

I am so glad to be finished with pumping! It was a long and hard journey for me. That being said, if you are in the throes of pumping, I am happy to listen or talk. I lived for talking with my friends who were exclusively pumping and understood what it was like.