Express Lane
Posted on March 5th, 2008 – 9:05 AMBy Kay Krhin
Today’s topic: Pumping and driving - and I’m not talking gas.
I was perusing a parenting message board earlier this week and a woman was gushing on about how she used this contraption to express milk hands- free during her commute.
Oh my.
Now, I am all for finding short cuts and efficiencies for busy moms - but really? This is a whole new kind of distracted driver that I hadn’t been aware of. What if the ganglion of tubing gets caught up in your steering wheel? What if one falls out while you’re making a left turn? What about the guy in the semi in the next lane? What if you get pulled over? I know that some breast pumps do come with a car charger but I always assumed that was for a road trip to be used once you reach your destination.
I appreciate the multi-taskiness of the halter for reading and typing. Let’s face it - pumping milk can be a chore and would be nice to be able to easily flip pages in a book or magazine whilst doing so. It’s actually a pretty ingenious invention. (And look! The models seem so HAPPY!) But nowhere on the site does it say “great for driving!”
So my question is - was this just a random scenario on a message board or are women out there really expressing themselves in the other lane on 35W ?
21 Responses to "Express Lane"
Well, I haven’t pumped while driving, but I’ve heard of quite a few moms who do this on the mommy message boards I’ve frequented.
I’ve been through the pumping “experience” with my first child, and now again with baby #2 and I have to say that hands-free pumping is the way to go!
I bought the Easy Expression pumping bra and totally love it. It holds the cones in place perfectly and I never worry about shifting or spilling. I got it from easyexpressionproducts.com and I highly recommend.
For my first child I went the FREE hands-free route, using rubber bands. A little more complicated and less sturdy, but did I mention free? Here’s a page with the info.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/hands-free-pumping.html
For the occasional pumper, the rubber bands are the way to go - but I’m so happy I bought the bra this time around - although I’ve heard of some moms who just cut holes in a sports bra…
I have to confess - I have pumped while driving. It’s not a regular thing for me, but I have done it when in a bind. I would say I’ve done this maybe half a dozen times at the most in the last nine months. I use the hands-free pumping bra. I set everything up before I go, and the devices don’t get in the way of anything. When done, I shut the machine off and wait until I get to my destination before dis-assembling the contraptions. I keep a shirt and coat on over everything, so only the ends of the bottles stick out. I don’t think anyone can see what’s going on. I have thought about the day where I could get pulled over while pumping. Boy, will that cop be in for a shocker!
I can’t say I would ever do this, but I am a bike commuter and I did haul my breast pump and bottles of milk on my bike. I told my babies that they would never get more organic and all-natural than that: bike-delivered breastmilk!
The Easy Expressions Bustier is way better than the halter - you don’t have to remove your shirt to get the bustier on (whereas I have to with the halter). I got mine from an online store called Breakout Bras and they were cheaper than most plus free-shipping.
I have pumped while driving when there just wasn’t anywhere else to do it. I work full-time and sometimes off-site meetings just don’t have the facilities. I am an exclusive-pumping mom (breastfeeding didn’t work for a variety of reasons that I’m not going to get into), so I’ve got the whole pumping thing down pat. I wear my winter coat while I shimmy into the bustier and get everything set up (or put the bustier on in the restroom of wherever I am if I can). 15 minute drive to wherever I’m going and I can disassemble under my coat and no one really knows what I’m doing (though I do try to park where people can’t see). It’s hardly distracting while driving - it’s certainly less distracting than those who chat on the cell phone because it’s a totally passive activity. No leaks or problems at all.
Other drivers can’t really see because my shirt covers up and the pumping bag sits in the seat next to me. If they see the tubes coming out from my shirt or jacket, that’s really all they see.
You do what you have to do.
I never pumped while driving, but there was one time I almost didn’t but something was out of my reach so I wasn’t able to. I’ve definitely pumped as a passenger on long car rides though.
Hands free is definitely the way to go. I used the free method from Kellymom on my first go around and plan to do so again with #2.
I am a parent of a almost two year old daughter and she only drank formula on two occasions. My daughter never was able to get the concept of latching on so I pumped for a year and once you got in a routine it was great. But during the 5+ car drives to my in-laws house I had to pump in the car. I was able to sure the shield while covering myself with a receiving blanket and it worked great! I will definitely do the same thing if I’m lucky enough to have a second child.
I have never pumped while driving but I could see the advantages if you have a snazzy handless pump and spend a lot of time a way from your baby.
I’ve never pumped while driving, but I’ve done it plenty of times while my husband was driving. After two kids and pumping for almost a year with both of them, I’m thinking the hands free set up would be pretty nice if #3 ever comes along. I think of all those times I pumped at work with nothing to do but flip through a strategically placed magazine. Maybe I could have gotten actual work done! Although, I have to admit that sometimes the brain candy of just looking at a magazine in the middle of my work day was refreshing.
Can you still wear a seatbelt while pumping and driving?
I have not pumped while driving, but I will say that my hands-free kit was my best friend while I was nursing. Mine isn’t a halter — just an elastic and velcro strap that goes around your chest. I don’t know how pumping would have gone at work if I hadn’t been able to hook up and then keep typing. My #1 product recommendation to moms-to-be is the hands-free kit.
I had NO idea there even were things that allowed hands-free pumping! I so wish I had known about this when I was nursing; I might have been able to do it much longer than I did. Good to know in case we ever decide to go for #3…
Where do all of you work that you would continue to keep working while you are at your desk pumping!!! I go to the mother’s room here at work but would still love to do have my hands free to read a book,etc. I am going to try the rubber band approach and see how that works - maybe I will willing to pump a little longer if it’s not such a task ender! Thanks for the tips ladies!
Yes, the seat belt still works fine. I put the seat belt on before I hook the tubes up. It’s really not that complicated being hands-free. 
Toss a blanket or jacket over yourself for extra modesty - or wear a nursing shirt and just hope people ignore the ‘lumps’ under your shirt.
Like I said before, people who talk on cell-phones are way more distracted than pumping hands-free.
To amend - no distractions provided you’re pulled over and parked for the hooking up and disassembling… Hooking up and unhooking while driving is not recommended. The actual pump part can be done without doing anything but driving and turning off the pump when done, and that can be as simple as pulling the adapter out of the cigarette lighter.
I did it one time while making the hour long drive from a rural area on a not-very-busy highway to a city. I needed to pump and had no time to do it at either destination. I had no problem with the tubing or anything else, and when I finished, I stuck the bottles between my legs until I could pull over and put the lid on them. If I had a longer commute, I would probably have done it more often. Oh, and I wore my seat-belt the entire time.
If the pumping doesn’t require the use of your hands while driving…why not?
I only pumped while driving one time(driving alone, country highways, laughing at the thought of getting pulled over…), but I pumped hands free at a desk (in a private office) several times a day for almost a year. I was able to just strap the pump into a nursing cami and it worked great. I got a ton of work done, “double pumping-no handed”. One of my co-workers was always threatening to take my picture to document the working breastfeeding mom, but we never got around to it. It is totally possible and the only way I was able to continue nursing for so long.
I guess I haven’t seen everything.
That’s a funny comment Dale! I have pumped while driving and have pulled up to many semi’s wondering just how far they could see into my car….. For those of us who work and decide to continue nursing and therefor the need to pump. I can’t tell you how many odd, crazy, public and non-public places I have pumped in. It’s just a fact of life that pumping in the car(done safely) if way safer than all those manics who drive and talk on their cell phones. Three cheers to us dedicated mothers!
Since I have never seen any one of you pumping, it seems discrete and safe. Now the driver working on his flowchart on 494…
I love the people I pass on the interstate who are READING A BOOK! Not a magazine, A BOOK!
