Adventures in Pumping and other Short Stories

Well, it seems my life of late can be summed up through my escapades in pumping. Let's start from the beginning, shall we.

It all began with stockpiling about 32 oz. of milk in the freezer to cover my first day away from the baby. That 32 oz. took weeks to accumulate.

So, it's off to work I go. I can not tell you how many times I have forgotten my pump tubing at home or in the pump room. I'm surprised I can remember minute patient details, but when it comes to collecting up all my gear my brain goes on vacation. I swear I will have to wean this child because I can't afford to keep buying new tubing, not because either one of us wants to quit.

Then one day, a couple of weeks ago, I stole a break only to find the pumping room completely full. I'm thrilled we have so many breastfeeding moms on the unit. Damn. This sends me into Plan B. I'll rush one floor up to the pump room accessible to anyone not in the NICU. It's a little crammed and too upholstered for my taste (IMPO, everything in a pump room should be able to be wiped down. Fabric chairs with milk splattered stains are just gross). But, at least it has a sink and some pumps. Come to find out it is closed until further notice. Double damn. I follow the signs that lead me to some makeshift pump rooms. These are a couple of empty offices with no locks on the doors. I do find a sign to tape to the door indicating the room is 'in use' and hope no one walks in. While this Plan C is roomier than Plan B, there are no wipes to clean off the equipment, let alone a sink to rinse things off. Double gross. My breasts are just relieved to be relieved.

A week or so later, my husband calls me at work to inform me of a loud banging sound in the walls. Turns out a pipe near the water plant has burst and our whole community is without water. Thank goodness it back on when I get home to shower on day 1. I wash bottles in the sink and organize myself for the next day. When I get home on day 2, I find out that we should be boiling our water until further notice. Really? So, now I have to wash bottles in nasty water at home and again in fresh water when I get to work. Thank goodness that only lasted about 4 days.

Then I run into an old classmate and have a little discussion about 'breast is best'. I am totally fine with formula. I fed my first child formula because she failed to thrive and she's no worse for the wear. But, breast milk is free and I like it, so that's what we're doing for this little lady. I bring this up because he was under the impression that pumping was no big deal. Do it at the beginning of the day and your good to go, right? It's no fault of is own. He doesn't have kids or breasts. But for the record, it is no small effort every 3 hours for 15 minutes.

Then, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but yet another blizzard. We were even lucky enough to lose power for 12 hours or so. While no power is making me colder, it is making my super stash of frozen breast milk warmer. After a couple of hours of now power, I packed up my supply and stuck it in the snow. No way was I letting all of that hard work go to waste.

Needless to say, the weather and finicky utilities have made my days "off" very busy. I look forward to warm days that don't require tacking 10 extra minutes to my commute or for getting my kids out the door in their endless layers. I look forward to my breaks at work being time that I actually get to catch up with coworkers or grab a snack instead of extracting a meal for my baby. I look forward to the day that all of the housework is caught up and I can actually spend uniterrupted hours reading or resting. One day.