Look at this woman. Where is her pump? Do you look like her when you express milk for your baby? If so, please explain yourself.
One night this week, we sat in a cafe with two other moms and started comparing notes about where we pump at work and where we have pumped. Here in California, our employers are legally obligated to provide us with a room that locks and has a plug AND is not a bathroom. I am grateful. I realize many of you are not so lucky.
We got the idea that we should collect pictures of these environments so that we can honor the organizations that do it right and mock those that do not. Please photograph your pumping place and post it to our Flickr pool.
| www.flickr.com |
Do you have a pumping story that is tragic or funny? Share it here. And tomorrow, take your camera to work.
{ 6 trackbacks }
{ 58 comments… read them below or add one }
I work at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and they (though not required by law) do provide a room for working mom’s at the Museum to use.
My pumping story (although tangential to pumping) is this: When my son, Nick, was 7 weeks old we flew from Boston to Oregon so he could meet his grandparents, Aunt and Uncle and two cousins. His cousin Saranda, then 5, had been fascinated by the baby and had been asking questions since I had been pregnant. We arranged for her to give Nick a bottle (since at that age there wasn’t much else that he did, besides eat, sleep, and poop). As she was feeding Nick, she asked me what kind of milk it was. I told her it was breast milk, and clearly wondering how I got the milk out and into the bottle, she said, “How do you that?”
Because I’m a contractor at my job, they’re not really required to provide me with a place… so I consider it a favor that they allow me private access to a computer storage room. Funny room, I’ll have to send a picture.
Earlier this week, I was in the Minneapolis airport and the only place I could find to pump between flights was the very public part of a public restroom. I hung my pumping backpack on a wall hook, plugged in near the sink, put my leather jacket on for “privacy” and just went for it.
My story is in the ‘who woulda thunk’ category.
Let me start by stating that my office was on the 2nd floor of a large building on a high hill in a rural area and there were plenty of trees outside my window, so I never expected anybody to be able to look in. Unfortunately, about a month after I returned to work following the birth of my first daughter, my company decided the windows needed washing. I didn’t realize this until the middle of one especially productive pumping session, when I was startled by the sight of a man hanging from some ropes outside my blinds-wide-open window. I had just had a good letdown, so I sort of turned my back and kept on trucking.
Ah, well, that was less embarrassing than the time I came out of my office after having forgotten to finish buttoning up my blouse, which was less embarrassing than the security guard at the airport… Well, never mind. Let’s just say that with a combined 24 months’ worth pumping experience, I’ve had my fair share of moments.
Good luck to you pumping ladies. It’s a tough job, attagirl for taking it on!
I pumped for my son until he was 7 months old. I have been bumped from room to room trying to find a comfortable place to pump.
#1: A large bathroom on main floor owned by a department manned by one man. The facility department and Human Resources tells me that the bathroom is rarely used by anyone else in the building. It has the obligatory toliet and sink plus a shower stall. After a while, I noticed it started to have this weird sewage stink. I complained to Scott in Facility. They are stuck because there are LITERALLY no other empy rooms in the building… Eventually I find out that several people in the building uses the bathroom for #2 because it’s more private than any other bathrooms in the building. I can’t pump there anymore!
#2 I moved to an storage room on my floor owned by my department. I found this room by myself. I pumped there for a leisurely 1 or 2 months until Fall came. This room has no air conditioning and heating. The heat part didn’t bother me but the coldness bothered me very much. Again I complained to Scott in Facility.
#3: Scott let me in the Jaintor’s supervisor’s office on my floor. It has cleaning chemicals everywhere, the obligatory drain on the floor, a desk, computer, and windows out to the traffic. Set up pump admid the clutter. Scott then tells me they found a room.
#4: They sent me back to the same department on the 1st floor where the bathroom was but except it’s a empty office with door and a lock. This yet is the best room possible but why didn’t they let me use in the first place because it was empty. it’s owned by one woman who lives in Kentucky and I live in South Dakota and she flies in like every blue moon. I pumped there for a few weeks then Cole (department head of this department office) tells me that Bobbie (from KY) is flying in and I need to find another location for a few days. I pump in #3’s office. yuk.
#5: I get bumped out again three more times, I got fed up and ended up pumping in the women’s bathroom on my floor. This bathroom has the obligatory toliet and sink but this is a large handicapped bathroom so I was able to move in a table and put a nice bottle of Febreeze on the toliet. It was also easier to clean up the pump parts, etc. Only disadvantage was the jaintor putting the chair back in the hallway EVERY NIGHT and EVERY MORNING I had to drag the chair back in. This bathroom is easily viewed by everybody in the hall. I would obsessively check the door lock in fears it would swing open and bonk me.
#6: Wha? Number Six!! No, there was no number six. This bathroom was the last resort and I got fed up with pumping plus dealing with a breast infection. I sadly stopped pumping. THEN two weeks later, my company dealing with finacial problems laid me off along with few other employees. I took this opportunity to continue to breastfeed in the comforts of my own home where I never have to be bumped out.
Well, it’s a tough job but somebody has to do it! I did it for 7 months! I have retired my pump to the closet.
Good luck ladies.
Here’s a funny one that I think everyone can relate to:
My daughter was about 5 weeks old, and I had just started to get the hang of the pump. But only after a couple of weeks of postpartum depression combined with several failed pumping attempts and MANY crying sessions! So at that point, I was feeling like this stuff was liquid gold, and was just trying to conserve every little drop I could get. One night she decided to sleep a long stretch, and I woke up at 2am in quite a bit of pain. I checked on her to make sure she was okay, and since she was sleeping soundly, I decided I needed to pump. I ended up pumping around 10 ounces, and was nearly overflowing my collection bottles. I was so excited that I just wanted to share with someone, and everyone in the house was sound asleep. After standing in the kitchen for several moments holding these 2 generously filled bottles with no one around to be excited with me, I grabbed my digital camera and took a picture! At least everyone got to be excited with me the next morning when they got up!
I don’t have kids but your site is quite fun, nonetheless! Nice pump picture. My goodness, is that what I have to look forward to? Yowsas!
Dear lord, where did you guys find the photo of that pumping mother? She looks like a robot. Do you need to pump for robot babies?
I’ve been pumping in my boss’ office at work since returning. It’s so humiliating to have to break up an afternoon meeting in order to milk the girls.
I pump in my office, but I work with a bunch of women who come knocking and asking me work questions while I pump.
My funny story is that when I first started pumping, I liked to stare blankly out my window across to the neighboring building, which I thought was vacant. One day I’m doing the double pump thing and next thing I know there were no less than 8 men coming off the elevator next door and walking toward the windows. I ducked, got dressed, and looked up and didn’t see anyone. I still don’t know if the word got out that there was a bare-breasted woman in the window, or if it was just a coincidence. I now keep the blinds closed. Needless to say, I endured weeks of office jokes after that. (Well, actually my workmates are still milking the incident for jokes, no pun intended.)
I have pumped in many strange and dirty places. As a teacher in California the vice principal let me use her office, in my classroom with the door locked and scared that my male co-teacher would come in, in a fellow teacher’s little back room scared and hoping a little first grader wouldn’t come back to see what was making that pumping-groan and splash sound. I’ve also pumped at teacher conferences that were held a good hotels that had absolutely no place to go for privacy if you weren’t checked in to the hotel. Bathrooms were pretty much the best place, except that you have to put up with the “Awwwww!” looks from women who proceed to tell you about how long they nursed their children. I’ve also pumped in a non-tinted windowed car in broad daylight and I looked everyone in the eyes that walked by.
My last two blog entries have been about pumping at work (one is a photo collage).
http://officiallyamom.blogspot.com/2006/02/working-mom.html
http://officiallyamom.blogspot.com/2006/02/she-brings-home-bacon-err-breastmilk.html
My favorite pumping story is that I have a coworker who whispers the word “pumping” like it is a dirty word. Cracks me up.
Great project! I’ve linked to it from the Lactivist blog.
I’m a work at home mom, so my pumping environment was usually crosslegged on the couch with the pump bottles tucked into the corner of each knee while I continued to type on the computer. (thank goodness I’m flexible)
Odd locations though…on a rifle range during the state championships, in the back of a bus on the way to Yahoo! headquarters while talking to a VP from The New York Times…in many a plane bathroom…in the car during a horrible blizzard because the power went out and my car has a household plug.
EPed until DD was 13 months, so plenty of interesting stories.
Oh man…..if I only knew of this site while I was pumping. The stories that you would have gotten and the pictures would have been priceless.
I pumped for almost 9 months, daily at least 6 times a day. I worked as a corporate trainer. On days when I was at the corporate home office, no issues. We had an exclusive pumping room with couches and a small private refrigerator. It was a shared space, but I quickly learned not to care about “exposing” myself. Besides, it was a great time to chit-chat with other moms about babies.
When I was sent out for training sessions, that was when things got interesting.
Some of the places I have pumped:
+ in the car while parked
+ in the car while in motion
+ in the car while I was driving (TIP: do the setup before)
+ in the airport bathroom
+ in the airplane while in flight (can be done only while plane is in cruising altitude or else flight attendants might get snippy)
+ in conference hall/convention center bathrooms
+ in hotels
+ in theme-park park bench
In the last few months of my pumping life, I had switched jobs and lost my exclusive pumping room. I had a stall in the bathroom which turned out to be ok since there were only 3 women in the company and for some strange reason, everyone “gravitates” to the other stall. So I had an exclusive stall to use for my purpose.
The indispensables of my pumping life:
- handsfree “thingy” = much like what you have pictured above
- dual powered pump - can be plugged in or battery operated
- antibacterial wipes
- lansinoh storage bags (they held up to being packed away and smushed with no leaks), cold packs and a soft cooler
- reading material - let’s face it…it gets pretty boring
- lots of spare batteries - just in case
- a sense of humor and a positive attitude - this is definitely not the most glamorous or easiest path to take and having a great attitude helps a
I am a working-pumping mom of a four-month old. I have surprised myself as I am somehow don’t seem to care where I am when its time to pump and I tend to forget I am in public. My funniest story has to do with pumping in the car. I travel for work and have an AC adapter for my pump.
I hooked up the pump, single only since I needed one hand to drive, and started on my way. I am driving down a rather busy four-lane lane road, one hand on the wheel, the other holding the pump/bottle/sheild, when I realize EVERYONE at each red light can totally see my DD breast and very large nipple being sucked in and out of the breast pump. A guy in the delivery van next to me was so shocked, he didn’t see the light turn green, which caused a great amount of horn blowing. I burst out laughing and covered myself a bit better. I am more careful now.
I am currently pumping for my third baby. I teach middle school, so my only time to pump is during my planning period (and occasionally lunch). I set my classroom up so that I have an area that cannot be seen through the slit-like window in my classroom door. I lock my door daily and go it. Because of the time of day, I need to pump right before my students come back from their exploratory classes so my door is sometimes locked when they come to class. Earlier in the school year, a couple of nosey kids were banging on my door and then bugging me about why I had locked myself in the room. I didn’t see it as any of their business as to what I was doing so when they asked, I just told them I was calling their parents. Ironically, I DO call parents while I pump (when necessary) b/c my pumping spot is right by the phone.
Most of my colleagues have been understanding about my 20 minutes of inavailability every day (and occasional need to pump instead of be in the cafeteria at lunch when the schedule is screwed up). I also feel fortunate to have had an administrator “know THAT bag” b/c of his pumping wife and consequently take its appearance on my desk as a hint to vamoose!
It may be a hassle at times, but I definitely prefer pumping to buying a ton of formula. I’ve been able to work full-time and not buy ANY formula for babies #2 & 3 and only a little formula for my first!
Fun! I just got back to work after having a baby in November. My lactation station (hee) is the women’s bathroom; not ideal, but it’s a biggish room with a door lock, we put in a comfy chair and it’s very convenient for washing up. I keep a manual pump in my cute little hard school suitcase that I bought from the art store. I used the Medela Pump in Style with my last kid and hated, hated, hated it; this time I’m using the little Medela Harmony, and it’s much less stressful somehow.
Last week the VP of biz dev came by and asked what was in my schoolcase. “A clarinet,” I said without batting an eye. But the office manager, who does not love this VP at all, said “It’s her breast pump, silly!” just to make him squirm. Now all my work friends laugh at me when I go to the bathroom to “play my clarinet.”
I love reading everyone else’s bizarre places to pump - some of them even surprise me. I’ve been pumping for 22 months now, and hope to hang up the horns when my baby turns 2 in April - although I’ll continue to breastfeed.
Pumping locations:
Hospital (shared room) - starting 2 days after birth
Home (generally in front of the TV)
At the office originally we were allowed to use spare rooms in the health unit, but then I requested a lactation room and due to some fortuitous circumstances a room was established for up to 3 moms. Areas are divided by cubical walls, and the door is locked. Unfortunately there is no sink in the room so we have to walk down the hall to the bathrooms. Generally not a problem, but yesterday I walked out of the lac room with my horns in hand into a crowd of people all looking at me - they’d mistaken the room for a training room and were waiting for someone to open the door.
New Executive Office Building Health unit
X country’s embassy (both bathroom and spare office) during trade negotiations
The AV room of an association’s conference room
On the metro (whoops one day I hadn’t attached the whisper wear stem properly and it fell off with all the milk just as I was getting off the metro. Not sure if the people around me knew what to think).
The car (both when I’m driving and my husband is driving - thank you whisper wear).
Airport and hotel bathrooms (ugh).
Walking from my office to another building in front of the White House.
Pumps: I’ve used: Lactina, PISA, Ameda PY, Playtex Embrace, Whittlestone, and Whisper Wear. Some people collect strollers, I seem to collect pumps.
I couldn’t have done it without the handsfree device similar to the one above! That’s definitely saved my sanity and my wrists.
I was still on maternity leave when this happened… I was running around town without the baby and took my pump with me because I was going to be gone most of the day. I pulled over that afternoon in a shady area of the grocery store parking lot. I was parked as far away from the store as I could get and was sitting next to wall. It seemed private until I see a car pulling up one spot down from me. My jaw hit the floor when I realized it was a co-worker of mine who is known around the office for not looking at you in the eyes when talking to you, he looks at your chest everytime! What are the chances that he would pull up in that spot? I didn’t want him to see me and come over to talk so I cut that session short. I also called up the ladies that I worked with and we all had a good laugh over it!
My first pumping experience was for my first child who was born at 28 weeks. I had great success with the pump. I could let down great every time I heard the pump, just like any mom who hears the sound of her baby.. Unfortunately the washing machine on spin cycle sounds just enough like it that I started letting down every time we did a load of laundry.
I’ve pumped while driving down the interstate (I’m sure the truckers were thrilled), in bathrooms, in the back of cars, and anywhere else that happened to be convenient. After three kids, I’ve pretty much done it everywhere.
At an out-of-state conference, I was in a mtg and, during a break in the meeting, I told my (male) coworker I needed to leave to go pump. His wife had a baby about a year prior so he was very well versed in pumping technology. He began asking me about what kind of pump I had, that his wife had manual & she didn’t like it, and wanted to see my pump, etc. Meanwhile, the speaker is trying to start the meeting again and my boobs feel like I need to pump NOW! I finally tell him “shhhh!” and nod my head toward the meeting chairperson - my colleague remembers we are in a meeting and says “oh yeah…” and I sneak out to go pump. I have to smile when I think about this - I was so thankful to here in a day & age when nursing & pumping is something that my male colleauges feel comfortable talking about! Oftentimes, I would be on a plane or in the office, and a person (often male) would recognize my Madela pump carry case & make a comment like “my wife has that same pump!” or “good for you! That is best for the baby”. I love the 21st century!
My sister and brother-in-law were eager to visit my son, but being sick, they couldn’t come in to our house. We invited them for a picture window view. My partner sat in the front window with our son on her lap while they stood outside gazing at him through the glass. They hadn’t yet seen my new pumping bra tube top with the pump funnels sticking out, so I dashed out and showed them with the curtain open. No neighbors walked by, thankfully.
I had to attend a training and i was still pumping for my baby. Well, my batteries DIED for my pump… I had the adapter, but it turns out that the outlets in the bathroom were all switched off! I went to bathrooms on 3 different floors before i found one that worked, but the only working outlet meant that i had to pump in the entry of the bathroom… Not ideal, but a pumping mom has got to pump, so i hooked it up and prayed for low traffic! One woman walked in prior to me starting and was a bit stumped by the pump noise that she could now hear in the bathroom… After she was done and walking out, she walked by me. She said “Ohhhhhh - that’s what that noise was!” then she said “You breastfeed? That is so awesome - you go girl!” It made an awkward situation feel very empowering! It was my only “pumping in semi-public” event and it was nice that she made it a positive one! Thankfully, this was one of only a few challenging pumping experiences because I have my own office that I pumped in once I returned back.
I work for a WONDERFUL company that provides the technology to build power plants and all the necessary equipment. I just had to speak with the ladies in HR about my situation being 9 weeks pregnant and that I planned on being a pumping mom. They actually have maintenance build in rooms especially for nursing moms into our bathrooms which normally are like an entry/sitting room when you first walk in and then into another door which is the bathroom itself. They told me that they provide a chair,an outlet, a refrigerator, and a lockable door and that I will be the only one that will be using it so I can feel free to go when I need to. They also provide us with our own parking spaces next to the entrance that is most convenient for us. I was so shocked that this place is so accommodating to everything I could need since there is only one other pumping mom in this building and they already showed me where they had her room set up
This website is great to read. I am heading back to work in a few weeks and have already been pumping a lot on maternity leave (to build up a supply in the freezer in case I feel like I can’t do it anymore). I started pumping because my Lily was jaundice and they wanted me to supplement with formula to get more fluid in her, but this was a far better option as far as I was concerned. My Company is great “on paper” for being supportive about pumping - they even pay 1/2 of our pump price. However, we travel to clients so I am going to have to figure out at each client where I can pump so I am nervous. My stories so far about pumping are limited to my husband who, even after 5 weeks of pumping, still gets a kick out of it. When I get excited about having a productive session I go to show him - sometimes he comments I should open a dairy!
Thankfully, I have my own office at work and can close my door and lock it. But that doesn’t keep some maintenance workers from trying to barge in to clean! In my first weeks back from work I locked my door, plugged my pump in and started doing my business. Well, lo and behold my doorknob begins russeling and I have to literally scream for maintenance to NOT COME IN! Ugh, from that point on I have had to post a note on my door in big red bold letters “DO NOT DISTURB. DO NOT ENTER.”
When my daughter was about 5 months old we went on a trip. I had to express while in flight, so I broke out my manual pump, put my daughter’s receiving blanket over me and went at it! That was probably the most uncomfortable place I’ve ever pumped.
When my first child was about 7 months old, I went to the annual conference of the National Association for the Education of Young Children–a professional organization for early childhood educators. It was held at the Javits Center in New York. I brought my small electric pump (no battery–didn’t think I’d need it, duh) and spent a half hour cruising bathrooms trying to find a place to plug it in. All the bathrooms were jammed because the conference’s attendees were about 90% women. And anyway there were no outlets in the stalls. I went to an information desk and begged for help. The best they could do was point me toward a completely public, but unused hallway up a roped-off flight of stairs. It had a 3-story high wall of windows. I turned my back and hoped for the best.
In retrospect, I’m really sorry that I didn’t send a letter of complaint to both the convention center and the organization sponsoring the conference.
I love this idea of keeping track of which employers are accomodating, or not, nursing moms. I love it so much I blogged about it and linked the project in the hope more people will come and list here!
Milk Me: Is the Breast Pump the New Blackberry?… wow! I love it! This Slate.com article by Emily Bazelon is a fun read that I found over here.
At the airport, in the stall, with my battery pack, my mercifully happy baby in his carseat, and the toilet flushing rhythmically under my fully clothed butt. Ahh, the memories. (Yes, he was with me, but wasn’t a nurser. Now he can’t get enough of my boobs. Go figure.)
My funniest pumping story is the first time I pumped, 3 days after delivery at the time of engorgement. My D breasts had ballooned to something enormous, I don’t know - maybe J’s or K’s. Anyway, I was trying to relieve the pain of engorgment , bed bound from a C-Section, no shower for days when a girlfriend popped in and almost died laughing as I sat their without a shirt on, clumsily holding the flanges, with no way to hide my gi-normous chest. That’s what friends are for - sharing these moments!
I went back to work when my son was 4 mos old. Being a fairly vocal person, I met with my male boss about a month prior to my return to work. I told him I’d need to pump 3 x day and I couldn’t do it in the bathroom because it was unsanitary. Period! So far I typically have my choice of a conference room or a vacant office - neither of which have door locks. So, being vocal has turned out to be a good thing. I have a “Do Not Disturb!” sign that has little baby bottles and pacifiers on it and I tape the sign to the door of whatever room I’m in. As for the blinds, I leave them open because I’m pretty sure noone can see through the tinted glass. And if they can see through, God Bless em! Welcome to the show!
It does feel weird putting my baby bottles of breast milk in the fridge next to the beer and pizza (yes, we have beer in our oompany fridge), but I kinda put it in the back so it’s out of sight. It’s also a little awkward when my male boss rushes into my cube and says we need to meet now and I reply with, “Can it wait 15 min, I was just about to pump.”
When I did have off-site training one day, I got there early (or so I thought) and told the receptionist I needed a private, clean room to pump. She looked at me like I was nuts, “Pump?” I replied, “Yes, pump - breast milk.” She fumbled and found a vacant room - with tons of windows! I went to the trainer to let her know I’d be back in about 15 min, and found the class had already started! So, I not only had to pump in a glass room with only 1/2 the blinds working, all 30 + people in the training class knew exactly what I was doing!!
Lastly, I’ve pumped in my car in front of the movies in broad daylight. Truth is, most people are so self absorbed that they never even realize you’re there!
The thing that has helped me the most is to reject the term “Working Mom.” I’m a “Mom Working” - that reminds me (and everyone else) that being a Mom is my first responsibility, and the work is my second. I don’t work while I pump - I relax and think about my son. While many of my co-workers (and my boss too) would say I’m irreplaceable, I know that’s just not true. There are other people out there with my skills. But, to my son, to my husband, I am truly irreplaceable.
With my son, I talked to the HR person and she offered to leave her office twice a day for me to pump (door that locks with blinds) - she was the mom of twins and pumped as well. Unfortunately she changed jobs and I had to find another room. The facilities guy freaked at the mention of Breastfeeding but gave me a conference room. It locked but people were always trying to get in. Plus, I had to walk all the way back to the ktichen to clean the whole thing. Then I got the workout room, ladies bathroom. No one used it and it the cleanest room in the building - I hated standing there in a full length mirror holding up two bottles while watching my giant breasts get sucked into the bottles. - I got a ton of comments with the Pump in Style back pack - from the boys (not men, boys because they act like they are 13) “Hope it all comes out okay” and “Got Milk” - or others who were wondering why I was leaving already… Geez!
With my 2nd child, she had medical issue and was in NICU. SO I pumped at home with the Pump in Style. Plus at the hospital with their super duper industrial pumpers - LOVE those. At the hospital they had rooms all over the building for pumping. My favorite pumping was during my hospital stay, I have giant breasts 36 G normally so while pumping, I must have been a Triple Z (hehehe) - so I use both hands. A doctor (not mine) came in to talk to me about extending my stay since the baby was so ill and couldn’t come home. He walked in with the little knock and barged in. I was fully comfortable pumping but he turned purple and said he’d come back. I’ve never seen a person move so fast.
Me, I was fine, I’ve fed and pumped so much with my son, that nothing bothered me when my daughter was born.
I am lucky enough to be a SAHM for the moment and pump right here in front of my computer! But I have a funny(?) story about someone else’s choice of where to pump… a friend of mine worked at Courteney Cox’s production company last year and told me one day Courteney actually pumped all through a meeting with about 10 people present! She kept the cones etc under her shirt and the pump on the chair next to her. I think it’s just a little out there to pump in front of so many people - men included! Even if they can’t see any skin I can’t imagine seriously running a meeting while my pump grinds in the background. The worst part is after she was finished one of her writers asked if he could taste the milk - and she let him! Unbelieveable, but this was told to me by a close friend who was there when it all happened!
NYTimes article this week about pumping is both eye opening and sad: On the Job, Nursing Mothers Find a 2-Class System
Yeah, I saw a similar photo to that of a lady in an office doing her “job” while she pumped hand free. My hubby and I just laughed at how “professional” she looked!!! LOL
I have no funny story to share. My HR department arranged for an empty office to be used by me and another expecting mom. I have been using that room for 10 months now and I am so grateful for it! I can’t imagine doing that in the bathroom!
I feel priviliged. I have an office - well, a closet, what has a desk and phone. No lock, but a nice laminated sign that warns “Do not Disturb” that my mostly male colleagues all obey.
Only problem is, whoever designed this floor placed an industrial size A/C duct in the closet. So, while the rest of the office is 72 degrees, my pump room is 61 degrees. On occasion 59 degrees.
I have terrible supply issues - I’m wondering if I just need to heat up my boobs!
Thankfully I have my own office, so when at work it was never an issue.
But I was really surprised that convention centers, meeting places, etc. didn’t have anywhere for me to go — not even McCormick Place, which is huge and could really use one. Some hotels will put little refrigerators in your rooms though, which is nice when you’re at conference and you can stay in the conference hotel.
I always kept batteries in my Medela, and I pumped in my car, in public restrooms, wherever. Nowhere too embarrassing. Some of the parking lots were more public than others! Probably the worst was McCormick — I just took over a bathroom stall, put on my headphones, hung my pump off the hook on the door, and tried not to think about the women standing in line to use the toilet…
I had a friend who’d pump in the truck while at work as her tech drove — she’d cover up with her jacket, and they kept the milk in the truck’s refrigerator (she’s a vet).
I have to admit, while I sometimes miss breastfeeding, I NEVER miss pumping!
I recently reacquainted myself with my breastpump and something funny happened after I boiled all the accessories… strange how our bodies can react to certain things and situations.
I don’t have pictures, but I am frightened to say that I had pumped in airport bathrooms on more than one occasion. GROSS!!!
People driving while pumping breast milk?!!! That should be illegal in the same way using a cell phone while driving is.
These posts show just how far the breast feeding lobby have gone. It has created mothers who are willing to put themselves and others at risk of serious injury or death, so that they can continue doing what the “experts” tell them they should be doing.
Looks like we can add the Golden Globes to the list of unusual places to pump. Thanks to Will Ferrell for this one!
No crazy stories other than my poor hapless 12 yr old stepson walking in the kitchen, curious as to what “that sound was” moments after I told him to NOT ENTER the kitchen. The look on his face when he said WHAT….are you DOING? was priceless. Professionally, I must give a BIG shout out to my employer, Kaiser NCAL regional offices. They give us a small break room with lock only those in need have, with dedicated fridge, sink, and super hot water tap for sterilizing. Moms post their babies photos on the wall for inspiration. My supply dried up after 5 months, but I doubt I could have lasted that long with out it.
I do not have any truly crazy stories, but I have pumped in a lot of places.
My friend’s vehicle
My vehicle… including at half-time of several football games
My own house
My dad’s house
My aunt’s house
My grandparent’s cabin
The “lounge” area of a conference center bathroom
A storage closet
The lockerroom at work
I work for the Corps of Engineers, and my supervisor constantly talks to me about pumping…especially how pumps have changed since his wife carried around one the size of a coffee table 20-30 years ago. LOL! He doesn’t say anything when I take two 20 minute breaks in addition to a slightly longer lunch so I can pump, and he constantly tells me how great it is that I am doing what is best for my baby. The best part… he sticks up for me when other, less educated in breastfeeding people in the office start giving me a hard time (not that there are many of them).
Oh, I do have a funny pumping story!
I was pumping at my aunt’s place. She is only 6 years older than me, and her youngest is just one year older than my son. Anyway, I was pumping in her bedroom, and we were talking. She pumped for her youngest, which the four year old remembers. He walks in and starts talking to us. No big deal. Suddenly, he crouches down and stares at what I thought was my breasts with great interest. Suddenly, he says, “That one is bigger than the other one.” My aunt and I just about died laughing. What he meant was that one bottle had more milk in it than the other. I still laugh thinking about it!
I’m very fortunate. I work for the U.S. Census Bureau outside of Washington D.C. There is a “mommy” room with three hospital-grade breast pumps. All of us lactating mommies can leave our pumping flutes, tubes, and bags there (sinks, microwave and fridge for storing and cleaning). We only need to transport our milk back and forth from home. We also have a wonderful nursing staff who will help you with anything you need and the community of lactating moms is great. So no weird places for me.
A funny story, though, happened when my son was 10 weeks old. My husband and I took our son back to our college town for a reunion. We were heading out for the day so I wanted to pump beforehand. There was a knock on our hotel door and without thinking my husband said, “come on in” and went to answer the door. Four of our friends walked in the room while I was sitting topless on the hotel bed attached to the pump. I yelped and threw the sheet across my breasts. Three of our friends were embarrassed but the fourth (with three kids of his own) said, “Eh, I’ve seen it all.”
It was all good, we’re college buds, there really wasn’t much they hadn’t seen before, except the pump.
I have an entire blog dedicated to it!Pump Room Confessions
I pumped for both boys in various places at work (they were fairly accommodating), in hotel rooms and often in my car on my long commute but my funning pumping story involves my older son, 20 months old at the time. He was used to seeing me pump for his little brother, and when he asked what I was doing, I would tell him that I was making milk for H.
One day I found him sitting on the couch where I pumped with his shirt pulled up and holding a flange to his belly button. When I asked him what I was doing, he told me “Making milk for baby.”
Leigh
I have pumped for both of my kiddos. My oldest is nine, and I rented a hospital pump from a medical supply store for him. For the newest baby 5 months, the people I work with bought me a Medela Pump in Style as a baby shower gift. I must say it is the most awesome gift I have ever received!!
I am a graduate student and in all of the classes I have taken so far there are many more people who are my age or older and who have children of their own and who thought it was great that I was pumping, it also helped that my friend Danielle was also pumping at the same time. Well I needed an undergraduate class for my degree and the school transferred it in as a transfer credit. Well, in this undergrad class, I was the oldest and I had to leave class to pump. Several of the young girls walked in on me pumping, and I knew I embarrassed them, but I do not eat in the bathroom, therefore I think I should not have to pump in the bathroom. Well, I am not modest every girl has boobs, not a big deal, but I decided that I should pull 2 chairs into the bathroom and pump in there. So every class I leave and go pump in the bathroom, upon returning to the classroom, these girls stare at me like my boobs are going to just pop right out of my shirt!!
I like pumping, I like being validated in that I am doing the right thing for my kiddo, I also secretly like embarrassing people, as I know that nursing is the BEST thing I can do for myself and my babe!!
Keep it Girls!!
i pumped for 6 weeks when i finished the school year. i had a fellow teacher walk in on me when i was pumping in my classroom at work once and forgot to lock the door. he was a bit taken-aback, but we both laughed it off.
another much more painful story is that i continued to pumped so i could give my girls sippee cups. they wouldn’t take frozen expressed milk, so i ended up throwing a TON of milk away. i actually thawed every drop and measured it…76 ounces!! i couldn’t believe that they wouldn’t take it. they loved nursing and wouldn’t take the thawed stuff.
Its so funny to read this today because as I was pumping today at work in the crappy bathroom I was thinking how much it sucks. Everyone I work with uses formula just because and thinks I am weird…I think THAT is weird. At my last job I worked for a small house museum and shared an office with a 21 year old male intern. I was allowed to pump in my office (which used to be a bedroom btw) but would have to ask him to leave our office. He would stand out in the hall and listen to my pump go (eeee-rrrr-eeeee-rrrr). How embarrassing. Our state just passed a bill that will be in effect in July that there must be a place for women to pump and store milk-Praise God!
Hmm, as far as weird pumping places go I have quite a good one. When my son was three weeks old my husband and I went to a convention here in town. (Megacon! Anime, comics, gaming, and more…we’re geeks) I had pumped the day before but I didn’t know he would go through it all so quickly.
So in the middle of the con we go over to the side of this giant open space and find a plug. We ask the people using it if they could just inch over a little and let us use one of the outlets for the pump. They moved and I set up on a little chair with the pump in my husbands lap and a jacket over my chest.
Our two friends stood on either side of the stroller in front of us to somewhat sheild us from veiw. But it was this big wide open space and we were just right out there in the open. It was…interesting to say the least but thats about the extent of my weird pumping stories.
Breast-feeding though…I’ve walked and breastfed him recently which is just odd. ^^
I was able to breast-feed for 7 months. I work as a nurse (i am a nurse and i did nurse, ha-ha) so my workplace is all female except for Dave, token male nurse (we call him that to his face, it’s okay). It went very well. I was hoping to breast feed for an entire year but dumb-dumb me decided to do CPR out-of-state. We were visiting my in-laws in Indy. While driving to see the rest of the family, we witnessed a street sweeper truck run a red light at 55 MPH, totally smashing the first car in line at the light. Unfortunately, the gentleman didn’t make it. Problem is, since there was blood exposure, I had stop breastfeeding. The real problem was the coroners office refused to release the fellows HIV and hepatitis status. *FYI- as part of good samaritan law, you do have the right to that information* After 6 weeks of antiviral drugs, anit-hepatitis shots in the rump, and lots of threats to the coroners office and with the help of my doctor, I finally got the information. But the new problems: very low output from 6 weeks of pumping and the development of 2 teeth. I am pregnant with number 2; so I’m going to try again for the year goal. This time, no mouth to mouth.
I am SO glad I found this. I was actually routed here through the 101 Cookbook site.
My own blog turned one yesterday! (woohoo!)
I exclusively pumped for our second daughter for seven months as she was born with a cleft palate. As a stay at home mom, I primarily pumped on the couch sitting indian style, never pumped sitting the way the woman is up there in the pic, although once I ordered the halter that she’s wearing things became MUCH easier.
I pumped for 28 days in the NICU and at relative’s homes without hands-free accessories and lemme tell you… nothing is MORE boring than sitting there holding a couple of horns onto your boobs. Watching the clock is about the ONLY thing you can do . My Father in law once commented that it was “nice” that the pumping room at the NICU had a window. Ummm.. yeah, but the curtain blocked it once you were in the chair and pumping (THANK GOD!)
I quickly learned to not worry about people walking in on me - even had a nurse apologize for walking in on me as I pumped in the hospital the evening of my daughter’s cleft repair. I chided her that she was certainly not the first and would probably not be the last.
Our two year old daughter would run around with my pumping halter on singing that she was going to “make milk just like mommy!” LOL.
The strangest place by far that I pumped was when I was admitted to a mental ward for Postpartum Depression. They were nice enough to give me access to an exam room and allowed me to keep my supplies in there by the end of the weekend. It was very unreal to have the nurses waking me up to go pump.
I certainly plan on adding this to my blogroll and will definitely pass this on to other pumping mama’s I know! What a great great idea! Thank you!
Warmest,
Lauren
I’m the doting mom of a 6 month old and still nursing and pumping. I’m lucky to have a great employer that has 3 “Mother’s Rooms” in our building.
With such great facilities, you’d think there couldn’t possibly be a funny story….except when you factor in my mommy brain. I keep forgetting to lock the door! Luckily I know all the other mommies that use the room, but the poor janitor got quite an eyefull when he came to clean the room.
It’s great to have a door that locks…I guess you just have to use them!
My employer has a pumping room with 3 spots for nursing moms including computer access and a phone. It is a nice setup and allows us to multitask. I feel lucky to work for a company that provides this benefit as well as flexible hours that help with daycare drop off/pick up.
Strange places I’ve pumped are all due to the travel required for my job. I’ve pumped in extremely busy airport bathrooms with my pump over a hook on the wall using either my battery pack or a nearby plug if there is one available. I’ve pumped in a stall wtih my pump on a diaper changing table using my battery pack. My least favorite experiences were in cars - once in a fast food parking lot with my coworker sitting across the way on a park bench. Onother time was as we were driving down the highway with my poor coworker driving. I got really good at positining quickly and pulling my shirt down over the shields. My favorite pumping (and nursing for that matter) accessory is a good nursing tank. I use the ones from Target, they ensure I’m not showing skin once I pull my shirt down over my daughter while she nurses or over the shields as I pump. I pumped for 13 months and continue to nurse at night, right now my daugther is approaching 15 months.
The waiting/family room of the Paliative care wing will we were waiting for my mother who was taken off life support to expire. Sadly that hopsital refused to loan me a pump when I first arrived without one and it took us 4 days to drive back to CT to get mine. They also refused to supply me with another place, instead suggesting that I pump in my mopthers room if I wanted more privacy.
At work I pumped in the facail room (I am a hairdresser) after all of this and 3 months of eping, I quit qorking even part time and just stayed home to pump and BF.
With my first baby, I pumped every day in a bathroom stall at my office. It wasn’t so bad until I had a woman come in one day and ask, “Are you okay in there?” I just said “Yes” and didn’t bother to explain.
Since then we have had an office remodel and I have my own office. I was pregnant during the remodel so I convinced my boss to put a lock on my door. I can now pump in complete privacy in my office and not have to worry about someone walking in. I do have to go down the hall to the kitchen to clean my pump parts, but that’s not so bad.
I work in an office of guys and my first couple days back they hadn’t thought to set up a place for me (nor did I think to ask) so I tried the bathroom which had outlets - but they didn’t work. So I ended up cramming myself into the air conditioned server room, in February!
Fortunately one of my co-workers was kind enough to switch workspaces with me and I now have an office to myself.
So I’m in month 10 of exclusively pumping for my little mouse who never took to the breast, and I can see the one-year horizon in sight!! I’m definitely one of those ‘pump in the car’ folks, I had a 35 minute commute until 3 weeks ago, so it was the only thing that made sense. I used one of the hands-free zip-up thingies
http://www.easyexpressionproducts.com/picture2.html
plus a Bebe Au Lait Hooter Hider
http://shop.bebeaulait.com/shop/originals/parfait
for coverage, and have mostly avoided the weird looks from truckers. Can’t do much about the suck-squish noises, but at least you’re not worrying, which makes for more milk! Those with supply issues, check out this supplement -
http://www.breastfeeding.com/all_about/all_about_fenugreek.html
I wouldn’t still have milk if it weren’t for this!!
Happy pumping.
In the back seat of a car during a particularly long road trip. It was easier (and faster) to give her a bottle in her carseat instead of pulling over to nurse so I just hoped no one was looking into our car windows as they passed us!
Leave a Comment