Urban Mamas

With my two previous champion nursing babes, I pumped until about 12-13 months.  After that, even though I was working and away from them full-time, they drank cow's milk in my absence.  Still, we nursed when we were reunited in the evenings, and we nursed all through the weekends on our days together.  Each of my first two children nursed until 2.5+ years old.

Now, with our more slender newest member of the family, I have continued to pump as additional nutrition.  Not only has he been so slight, he has also had food sensitivities to dairy & gluten that have prevented him from eating the high-fat, high-protein toddler foods that I relied on with my first two children.

And, as I was traveling for work today, hauling my pump and all its parts, pipes, nozzles, bottles and valves with me, I thought: my "baby" is almost 20 months old.  And still I pump.

Has it gone too far?  I mean, he is now eating cheese and yogurt (and apples and cereal), and a lot of them!  He is getting plenty of nutrition outside of the measily 5-6 ounce I produce for him daily.  He seems to be continuing to grow (I think.  Next weigh-in is next week).   Perhaps I fear that my supply will go away completely, not even able to supply on demand in the evenings or weekends?

Have you phased out of pumping but continued to nurse?

And, more on pumping:
Mama Pump-A-Lot 1
Mama Pump-A-Lot 2
Nursing Working Mama's Conundrum 
Breastfeeding At Work: do you know your rights?
Stress & Pump Do Not Mix

Right now, I am under a lot of stress.  A lot.  I am normally under a good deal of stress, but I am currently under so much more.  Work, kids, partner's work, house, diapers, etc.  You know how it is.

I finally found some time to pump the other day at the office.  I hooked up, and .... nothing.  Dribble here, dribble there.  Minutes felt like hours.  The time passed.  I thought I felt let down, but there was no surge in volume.  I kept imagining let down, but I just could not get flowing.  In a panic, I called my husband.  "Why don't you just take a break?"  WHAT?  A break?  I don't have time for a break!  sigh.

Pumping breastmilk as a working mama is not easy.  Pumping is even harder when the stress kicks in and depletes your milk production stamina.  Please: can you share your tips and tricks for calming down, finding a nice calm mental place so you can make some milk for babe?  Do you gaze at a photo of babe?  Do you close your eyes and think of her?  Or, just close your eyes and visualize a tranquil beach and hear the sound of a whooshing ocean?

One of my least favorite things about returning to work post maternity leave is pumping.  With regularity, every three hours despite being in my office or out and about I have to hook myself up and pump.  I close the door, draw the blinds, and turn off the lights hoping that it would prevent disruptions from coworkers. Short of putting a sign on the door stating that I am pumping, I hope every time that disruptions are minimal.  Inevitably someone knocks.  Uh, "I'll be right out in a few minutes," I would say.  I'm the kind that's a bit private about pumping at work and feel like I shouldn't draw attention to what is happening behind closed doors but I am wondering if I need to.  Should I put a sign on my door?  What should it say?  What have you done and is it effective?

Working Mother Media is running a contest where we get to interactively design our ideal pumping room.  Cool idea if it weren't so commercial and didn't involve interior design.   But it did get me thinking...what does the ideal pumping room look like?  What's essential, nice, luxurious?  I have happily passed my pump along to the next mama, but from what I recall, some essential features are:

• Locking door for privacy.
• Comfortable seat.
• Refrigerator to store the milk.
• Sink to wash the 5 million parts.
• Knowledge that it would be available when needed.

What else, mamas?  Let's create a list that employers could use to create the best possible space for pumping.  Like we did for family-freindly restaurants and best places to work from 'home.'  Anyone have the ideal pumping space at work?  Tell us about it, and, better yet, post a picture of it!

PS - For some info on breastfeeding at work policies in Oregon (and ways to improve it), head over to Activistas.

Previously in this series ... Mama Pump-A-Lot, Part 1 and Nursing Working Mama's Conundrum.

Thanks for the email, Christina. We'd love to hear other urbanMamas thoughts:

I've had this complicated love/hate relationship with my breast pump for four months now. We go back further than that, the pump and I, but it was four months ago that I went back to work, my boy enrolled in daycare and I started to lug my PumpnStyle through the streets of downtown Portland, to work and back home again. Started hauling it upstairs to this dusty, cold supply room where I slap on those chilly horns and get to work. Despite the unpleasantness, it's a way to provide for my son that as a working mama makes me feel just a bit better about everything. Every so often I become convinced that the pump is giving up the ghost, that it's just not doing its job the way it should. Then I'll have a good pumping day and come home with full bottles of milk that I show to my husband who says "good day behind the horns, eh?" But I still fantasize about the day I will leave the pump at home, that I won't have to do my time among the forgotten detrius of my company's files.

But I have questions that keep me pumping: If I stop, will I still have the breastmilk to feed my son at lunch, in the evening, in the morning, on the weekends? And what will I do with the pump when I'm done? I bought it used and heard from an LC that they're only designed to last for about a year. My e-mail to Medela about whether they take them back for refurbishment went unanswered. I hate to think about just throwing the thing away - not after our long and sordid relationship. How about it, Mamas? Anyone with advice on breaking up with your breast pump? Any recycling ideas? Anyone else just want to rant about their pumping escapades?

What's a nursing mama to do when she has issues with let down?  Rebecca writes:

I started work on a part time basis when my daughter was about 5 months old. As a result, I never really needed to pump very often. As time has gone by, and now my daughter is almost 9 months, I seem to have lost my ability to get a let down with the pump..I struggle to get even 1 oz....and leave my breast full. My daughter always gets satisfied and she is a happy babym so I know that she is getting plenty.

Along those lines, for those 2 days she is in daycare...she gets no milk and is not so happy about formula. I simply feed her before I leave and as soon as I get there.

Anyone with similar lack of let down?