Breastfeeding Resources

As I’ve settled into work more over the past few weeks, the biggest mental impediments to pumping three times a day are not wanting to stop working and being tired. To try to counteract both, I’ve tried to make it a time to look forward to and streamlined the process.

Sometimes I think my life is run around food. Someone mentions an intriguing snack I haven’t thought about in a while, and suddenly I need a yellow cupcake. Or beef stroganoff. Or watermelon. And when hunger strikes, I can’t ignore it, so I’m forever planning ahead with snacks and dinner timing. So naturally, a way to look forward to pumping is to have a fabulous snack ahead of me. Luckily this coincides with increased calorie needs for nursing! So pumping break one is a piece of fruit or a muffin from the freezer, break two is lunch, and break three is often dessert. If I haven’t eaten it already. :)

I also save this time for checking and answering my personal email. I turn on music to “get away” a little bit. I’m currently attached to Pandora (http://www.pandora.com), which is an Internet radio station that you program, essentially. You tell it what artists/songs you like, and it plays those plus others that are musically similar. So it gives me more variety than my iPod, without me having to think about it. I might also surf some other breastfeeding sites (www.breastfeeding.com, www.kellymom.com, and others in the Links section of this site), or browse through old pictures of Aaron that are on Shutterfly. And once I’m settled in, I might return to working.

You’ll probably develop your own steps for streamlining the pumping process. I keep an area of my desk clear for the motor and bottles and things (not easy, I’m a piler!). I’m able to keep the pump and tubing plugged in, stowed under my desk between sessions, so that saves a bit. After I’m done, I pour one bottle’s milk into the other, so next time I pump I’m using empty bottles that don’t weigh anything. The full bottle goes in the back of the cooler pack so the ones to use next time are up front. To prep for next time, I steam clean the pump parts, which is sooo nice. The steam cleaner is a bag that you fill with your pump parts and a little water and then microwave for three minutes and everything’s clean and sanitized: no standing at the sink washing parts, hoping no one walks by and asks what those things are. Plus while it’s cooking, I’m back to work. Just remember to pick it up from the microwave again!

Do I do this all the time? Of course not. I started this session with a pop tart from the vending machine. I often don’t stop what I’m doing and keep working. But when I’m dragging, having things to look forward to helps.