Hands off

An awkward-looking contraption has changed my life. I breastfed my first two babies for a year each and am determined to do the same with Lena. That means breast-pumping two to three times a day, so that I can have the bottles ready for the nanny to take the next morning.

It's not as easy task. Every three or four hours, you must find a private place to collect your milk. Go much longer and you feel like you are going to burst and you inevitably start leaking. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon, I shut my office door with a sign prominently displayed warning visitors "Do Not Enter!" I close my shades and do my business. If I am training, I either score the one mother's room or stake out a spot in the private bathroom.

Pumping used to involve checking out of my day for 15 minutes or so, holding on to the bottles and watching the seconds tick by. Often if I was at my desk, I would try to wedge the bottles against the side of the desk so I could free up at least one hand for typing. It did not go well.

That is until I found this amazing contraption. The video is a little freaky and quite unrealistic, but I must say, I love this thing. It takes a bit of maneuvering, but once I get everything strapped into place, my hands are free, and I am pumping away.

I even typed part of this while pumping! And you didn't even know it!

It is a wonderful thing. I can kill two birds with one stone, and I end up pumping a lot longer. Plus, as you can see in the video, it is highly attractive.

--MM