I’m having a baby in a couple of months.
I’m so freaking excited! But if there is one thing I am D-R-E-A-D-I-N-G more than anything (even more than the lack of sleep and insurmountable blowouts) it’s pumping. Oh yes, the act of connecting myself to a breast pump and feeling like a dairy cow as I express milk for my wee one.
I pumped religiously from a few weeks after she was born and stashed 220 ounces before returning to work. I lugged my loyal pump around every step of the way.
I’ll never forget one day getting in the elevator with a male coworker who looked at my bag and curiously questioned:
“What ya got there? A camera?”
“Umm, no, it’s my breast pump.”
“Eeew, I didn’t want to know that!”
“Well you asked!”
Every day—twice a day, if I was lucky I’d go into my designated room and pump for my nursling. There were a few times where, due to breaking news, I couldn’t pump all day. My boobs would be so sore, rock hard and leaking like a broken faucet. I’d pump right before going home and get about a dozen ounces.
It was sort of like a strange torture, but I survived and never needed to give my daughter any formula. Never in a million years did I think I’d be able to accomplish that.
I gladly retired my breast pump on my daughter’s first birthday. I hung the horns with a goodbye salute ‘til next time! Love, The Ladies.
Alas, next time has come. It’s about time to dust the duty bag off and get it ready for another tour. Round 2 baby.
Some mothers in the BabyCenter Community “Working Moms” group are discussing pumping and how they go about it at work. At my job we pump in the makeup room. It’s not big and fancy. There’s a bunch of people’s suits, a shower, and it’s a bit cramped; but there’s an outlet, a lock on the door, and a soft chair to sit on, so I can’t complain.
One thing I never got around to was putting a sign on the door when I was pumping. I’m not sure if I was shy, embarrassed, or what, but I almost wish I had because it never failed, as soon as I’d get all hooked up to the machine, someone would try to walk in. Then, if the locked door wasn’t an obvious enough sign that the room was “in use” people who knock.