Do you pump like an executive?

Last night we attended a panel discussion about working and motherhood in San Francisco. There were 600 women present, and it was strange to realize that everyone in the room was a mother. I am used to assuming I am special when I’m at a work event. I have thoughts like, “I have to get home and nurse my baby — y’all wouldn’t understand.” But everyone there last night did understand. And my breasts were totally cooperative with my four hour outing, although I had stashed a hand pump in my purse just in case.

Also present were some cool book authors including the women behind the milk memos. Have you heard about this book?

It all began when IBM manager Cate Colburn-Smith sat down in the company’s employee lactation room, shed a few silent tears, and wrote this on a paper towel: I’m a new mom and today is my first day back at work. Is anyone else using this room?

Right away women responded, and the paper towel was eventually replaced by a series of notebooks, in which these moms offered one another advice and support for juggling work, life and a newborn. Based on the original notebooks, The Milk Memos is an informative, encouraging (and often hilarious!) guide to blending motherhood and work. Actual journal entries are interwoven with information-packed sections on subjects that matter to working moms, such as:

* Finding the right childcare solution
* Getting a decent night’s sleep
* Finding a private place to pump breastmilk
* Establishing a pumping routine in the midst of a
busy workday
* Negotiating with an employer for flextime, part-time,
or a job share

The web site for the book has some helpful PDFs that you back at work nursing moms should take a look at. At the event last night, they also had a recipe for milk production-boosting cookies. I’ll find out if we can get our hands on that and share it with you.

And, before you click away to check it out, have a look at the Rookie Moms pumping project and share your story.