Working and Nursing
Nina Cavalier
Saylorsburg PA USA
From: NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 17 No. 2, March - April 2000, p. 46
We provide articles
from our publications from previous years for reference for our Leaders and
members. Readers are cautioned to remember that research and medical information
change over time.
I went back to work three
days a week when my son Augustin was five-and-a-half months old, still
exclusively breastfed, and still nursing about every two hours. I was
really determined to find a way to make pumping work: I didn't want
my son to have formula just because I had to go back to work. Including
my commuting time, I am away from my son for 11 hours the days that
I work, which initially meant three pumping sessions. I work in a cubicle
office and have one hour for lunch. Getting approval for my part-time
schedule was difficult, and I didn't want to ask for more special arrangements
for pumping. While I have been at the same mid-size company for nine
years, I knew of no one else who pumped, or who had pumped there in
the past.
I found pumping quite difficult
at first. My LLL Leader, Sharon, and other members of my LLL Group have
been a tremendous help. Nursing Mother, Working Mother (available
from the LLLI Online Store) by Gale Pryor, which I borrowed from the
Group Library, gave me other hints.
I found that a good electric
pump with which I could pump both breasts at the same time was essential
to minimize pumping time. I rented a pump for a month before buying
my own. On Sharon's advice, I practiced pumping at home once a day for
a few weeks before returning to work. That really made the first few
pumping sessions at work much easier.
I didn't have access to a
private office. Instead, I used a ladies' room which had a small sitting
area at the entrance with a handy electrical outlet. Everyone walking
into the ladies' room could see me pumping, and often around lunch time
someone would be there trying to rest. I found that two-piece outfits,
with tops that drape over the pump flanges, kept me covered most of
the time except when putting the flanges on. I got over being embarrassed.
Some women who came in seemed embarrassed for me, and others asked what
I was doing, so I got to educate them a little. Two told me that they
had pumped years ago while working elsewhere. For a short time, I even
had a "pumping buddy." One day one of the Human Resources
Managers happened to walk by while I was pumping. She offered to have
a door put on the lounge area, and within a few weeks, it appeared.
Other women are often in the lounge resting, but at least everyone walking
into the bathroom no longer sees me pumping.
From the time I left my desk
until I returned, each pumping session required 25 minutes during the
first few months: 1 hour and 15 minutes total each day. (In each session,
it took 15 minutes to pump and 10 minutes to get to my pumping spot,
set up, clean up, and return.) I took my "lunch" break in
three pieces. After a few days of pumping, I could balance the bottles
on my knees, and hold the flanges in place with my left hand. I always
brought paperwork with me, and was able to use my right hand to make
notes. I would eat lunch at my desk while I worked. (That was easier
than trying to eat while pumping.) Hence, I never spent more than one
hour total not working.
Being "unreachable"
during working hours was a bit awkward sometimes, but manageable. I
let a few key secretaries and colleagues know that if they couldn't
find me, that I was probably pumping. I put my pumping sessions on my
calendar (labeled as "no meetings"), to try to avoid having
schedule conflicts at those times. As Augustin got older, I found it
easier to change my pumping times slightly on some days, as needed.
There was one occasion when
a meeting with a vice president kept getting pushed closer to my pumping
time. Finally, I had to pump. I had just started pumping, when his secretary
came and told me that I was wanted for the meeting, and she didn't know
what to tell him. I told her to just tell him the truth. I was worried
though, and rushed to finish. When I got to his office, she said "I
told him 'Nina can't come right now because she's pumping milk for her
little boy,' and he thought that was neat." We had the meeting,
and he never mentioned it.
Another time, I had to go
to a meeting at a local hotel and knew I would need to pump once while
I was there. I called the sales office at the hotel ahead of time and
explained my situation. I was told that I could use a private office
in the sales area. When I arrived at the sales office to pump, the office
door had a big window in it. My host quickly solved that by taping some
papers over the window, and I just kept my back to it.
My husband, Forrest, has
a home-based business and is with Augustin when I am at work. He has
been extremely supportive of nursing. He and Augustin have come to visit
me at work (a one-hour drive each way) about every six weeks. They even
came for an unscheduled visit when I called in a panic after realizing
that I left the pump flanges at home.
The months in which pumping
is necessary go very quickly. By the time Augustin was nine months old,
I had cut back to only two pumping sessions per day, and then when he
was 10 months old, to only one. That was a big relief, because it meant
pumping only during my "real" lunch break, with no need to
do paperwork while I pumped. I was also able to reduce the time spent
actually pumping to 10 minutes. He has never had formula.
Augustin is now almost 15
months old and still nurses one to two times during the day when I am
home. He hasn't wanted any of my milk when I am not home since he was
about 11 months old, but I still need one pumping session to prevent
engorgement and plugged ducts. So far, I have donated about 100 ounces
to a milk bank. (Augustin's and my thanks for being able to continue
breastfeeding despite my going back to work!) His already brief daytime
nursings have been getting to be more like "quick sips" lately,
so I think I will be able to stop pumping completely in about a month.
I will actually miss that connection to my son during the day.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:30:22 UTC 2007.
