Hey Mommas, it's been a great month here at Close to the Heart and having Jeannine Kitzerow, our lactation consultant has been so helpful. Jeannine totally blew my mind the other day when she mentioned pumping in the car. I had never even thought about the commute as being a time when you could pump. Jeannine mentioned this can be a less stressful time (unless of course, everyone is running late) and that can be a great time to get the milk flowing. So let's chat about a few things to make pumping in the car easier.

1. First off, you will absolutely need to get a pump that either will run on a charge like the Spectra Baby S1 or Baby Buddha or you can use a car charger with a Medela.  A manual hand pump is also an option. Keep one hand on the wheel though so just do one breast at a time.

2. A comfortable pumping bra to keep your flanges in. Hands-free is the goal here and to do that you will need a bra that will allow you to keep your hands at 10 and 2. Katie from Precious Milk Drops is an exclusive pumper and says "most important is a good supportive pumping bra. The goal is to be hands-free."

3. A cover-up or clothing that allows you to easily pump. No one wants someone leering at them in the car one lane over. So having a nursing top or a nursing shawl to throw over can go a long way. 

4. Set up before you drive. You don't want to be adjusting as you drive so get everything set up and started before hitting the gas pedal. Katie from Precious Milk Drops says "I put my pump either on the lanyard around my neck (Katie has a Baby Buddha) or in the cup holder so it doesn't move when driving.  Putting on my seat belt before hooking tubes up to the flanges is best as that way I can unhook without taking off my seat belt."

Katie also found that pumping in the car really helped her transition between two and three kids easier!