10 Pumping Essentials as a Surrogate
Depending on your contact, most of these products can probably be covered in your pumping supplies by your Intended Parents (IPs). If you are a surrogate with NW Surrogacy, you should be able to send your receipts directly to accounting for processing as long as your contract covers pumping supplies. I would get all of this stuff ahead of time. Take it from someone who learned the hard way and was waiting on supplies.
- A Good Pump
You will want to find a good pump. Your insurance company should cover one and you can order them online https://aeroflowbreastpumps.com/ or pick one up at your local Norco. Personally I had issues ordering mine online (through a different site) and ended up picking one up at Norco anyway.
I had the Madela Freestyle pump. It wasn’t my favorite, but it got the job done. I’ve heard great things about the Spectra pumps. Anything you can find that is medical grade should be solid.
The two most important things are going to be suction and durability. Just because a pump has a high setting doesn’t mean the suction is going to be great. From my research the Spectra 3 is the best for both these attributes. My Madela’s motor started making funny sounds after only about 6 weeks. I can’t imagine it would have been able to last much longer.
2. Nipple Cream
Yeah, don’t skip this one. I got the Bamboobies “Boob-Ease” (haha) nipple cream and it worked great. You can honestly go with whatever organic (or non-organic, I don’t judge) nipple butter. I’ve linked a few that I heard good things about.
Earth Mamma Organic Nipple Butter
3. Reusable Breast Pads
I decided to go with reusable breast pads mainly because it was better for the environment, but they ended up being a lot easier to deal with. There were a couple times I had to use the disposable breast pads and they were such a pain to get opened and into your bra. You can get a stack of the reusable pads from Amazon for pretty cheap and depending on your contract you can get it covered by your IPs.
4. Pumping Bras
This item is 100% essential. Don’t get the strap that wraps around, get an actual pumping bra. There are so many different pumping bras you can get. My favorite by far was this one that I got off Amazon. It comes with a bra extender and probably is best about holding the flanges in places. I also put a link to one of the higher end bras I would have liked to get, but didn’t feel like spending the money.
I would make sure to get at least 2 pumping bras. With how much you’ll be pumping, you’ll have one on at all times.
Amazon Option
More Expensive Option
5. Babmoobies Soothing Nursing Pillows
These babies were amazing. After my nipple peeling episode, they literally became a lifesaver. It was like a sauna for your boobs and it was amazing. I would save yourself the pain and just get these ahead of time.
You can also throw these in the freezer and use them as cooling pads. I never did that, but it still sounds very nice if you were to have mastitis or something.
6. Haakaa Manual Breast Pump
So typically moms get these to catch the letdown when they are feeding their baby on the other side. I used it for my epsom salt baths for my boobs. At first when I nipples started peeling, I was putting my boob in a bowl of hot epsom salt water. This was difficult because I had to literally lean over a table to do it. With the Haakaa I could just fill it up with the water & then suction it to my breast.
The Haakaa also came in handy when I got a blood blister and couldn’t use my Madela to express.
7. Haakaa Breast Shells Milk Saver (aka Haaka Ladybug)
These were seriously amazing and they are so cute. They look like little ladybugs! I essentially used these to catch my milk in the middle of the night so I could stop waking up with my milk pads completely soaked. They also helped a ton when I was weaning my supply to help stop me from getting so engorged.
Haakaa Breast Shells Milk Saver (Haakaa Ladybug)
8. Lansinoh Milk Bags
These are by far my favorite bags to store milk in. They seal really well and don’t leak when you freeze them. AND they have adapters (see below).
9. Lansinoh Pump Adapters
When I bought my last bag of milk bags, I saw there were 2 little adapters in there. Where had these been my entire journey! You could literally attach them to your pump and pump directly into your bags as opposed to having to pump into a bottle and then transfer to a bag. I was so mad that I didn’t discover these until my 8th week of pumping, but at least I got to use them for about a week.
These are an absolute MUST. I am pregnant again and will definitely be using them for when I pump in this next journey.
10. Traveling/Hands Free Pump
I personally did not need a 2nd pump or a hands free pump because I worked from home and typically wasn’t away from my house for more than a couple hours. If you do have to work and are intending to pump, I would look into a hands free pump. If I was working in an office I definitely would have purchased one but it wasn’t necessary for my current lifestyle.
I’ve linked a couple good ones below. There are cheaper options but these two are by far the most convenience and best working from what I’ve researched.
