I now understand why some women choose to stop breastfeeding when their baby is just 3 months old. One word - pumping.
Today was my first day back to work. I received a very warm welcome, and was surprised by how happy I was to see my colleagues and work with patients again. I biked to work for the first time, carrying two panniers and my breastpump strapped on top of my bike rack. Only in Portland. It was very difficult for me to leave for work today, but as Alex predicted, I was fine once I was on my way. I haven't had much time to think about how much I miss my baby, or even to worry about whether or not she misses me or how she's doing (you know, what her diapers look like, how many ounces of milk she's consumed, whether or not she's smiled and cooed yet). I managed to go about business-as-usual for most of the first part of the day.
And then it came time to pump. Probably, past time for pumping. I was aware enough to stop myself from groping my boobs like I usually do when they get engorged, as I was in an exam room with a patient after all. It took me a little bit of anxious mania and about 10 minutes to settle into a spot in another clinic room to express. I was nervous about how this interrupted my work flow, and how inconvenient it might be for my supervisors. However, I'm hoping this pumping thing might not be as laborious as I fear. Today I managed to pump more than 5 oz of milk from my left breast in under 10 minutes. Not too shabby. I'm hoping I can get away with pumping just twice per day, rather than the three times I had anticipated. Maybe next time I'll pump to the beat of Black Eyed Peas. "Pump it! Louder! Pump it! Louder!" because that wouldn't draw any unwanted attention at all.
18 years of Henry
1 week ago
Besides the actual act of child birth, I think pumping scares me the second most....ugh.
ReplyDeleteI won't sugarcoat it, it sucks. Sure, it's our legal right to take breaks to pump, but no matter how you add it up, it interrupts your work day, and thus interrupts work flow and productivity, which ultimately makes me a less productive employee. The many machine parts are cumbersome to put together, wash, etc when you're trying to be quick on the job. So I can see why the general statistics show breastfeeding drops off around 3 months. That said, the end goal is a convincing enough pursuit to keep me motivated, at least. Get a good pump and plan your day accordingly. I'm sure I'll continue to complain about being Ole Bess. And if you don't hear a word form me about it? Means it's not so bad after all :)
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