Adventures in Pumping
Mariah Boone
Corpus Christi, TX USA
From: NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 15 No. 2, March - April 1998, p. 55
We provide articles
from our publications from previous years for reference for our Leaders and
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change over time.
Although I love my work with
wayward teens, I dearly wish that I had the means to stay at home with
my baby daughter, Mimosa, until she is in school. Since that is not
possible for us, I pump milk for her at work, go to nurse her at the
childcare provider's home during my lunch hour, and embrace as best
as I can the challenge of making sure she is fed my milk exclusively
until she is ready for solids. This is not easy, but I want to give
Mimosa the best start that I possibly can.
I have never been shy about
breastfeeding in public, but pumping milk is something altogether different.
It is harder to do it discreetly, especially double- pumping. I have
fixed up my office so I can have a little privacy. The arrangement has
sufficed so far. However, I have to attend a lot of meetings during
my job. This past month, I have needed to use some creativity in finding
places to pump.
One day, I was in a building
with bathrooms that did not have electrical outlets. I went looking
for another place and saw a man leaving his office. I asked him if I
could use his office for a few minutes if he didn't need it and mumbled
something about getting milk as I looked for an electrical outlet. He
said it was okay for me to use his office and helped me find the outlet.
I thought he understood what I was doing until I started pulling out
my pump and he asked me what it was for. I told him that it was for
pumping milk, and he got very embarrassed, promising to knock before
entering as he hurried out. Two days later, at a meeting where a large
group had to share a tiny, single-person bathroom during a short break,
I went looking for an alternative spot. I was pleased to learn that
this building had a room that was often used for pumping since the organization
employed another breastfeeding mother.
The following week, I was
at a two-day conference at a hotel where the bathroom had an outlet
and seemed convenient. The only problem was all the staring from the
other women in the bathroom. One woman who had been sitting next to
me at the conference came up and asked me what I was going to do when
she saw me getting out my pump. It seemed like she was merely curious.
One mother expressed understanding, and I got praise from a few women.
Most of the women asked me how old my baby was, with a dreamy expression
on their faces. When I said that she was five and a half months old,
that expression vanished from some of the women's faces and they hurried
on. I guess they thought such behavior was only good for tiny babies
of a few weeks of age.
I feel as if I am the city's
poster-mom for breastfeeding-while-working this month. It is hard to
overcome the urge to feel awkward and embarrassed at times, but I know
that what I am doing is right for me. After all, Mimosa got her milk,
and that's what matters.
Last updated 11/12/06 by jlm.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:29:41 UTC 2007.
