I made it

I travel a little lighter to work these days. That's because I can keep my breast pump at home! I am very happy and proud to report that I made it to the one-year benchmark of breastfeeding and am now weaning little Lena.

This has been an important goal for me, as I knew it was the best thing for Lena, and because I did it for both boys and didn't want to shortchange her in any way. That said, it was quite challenging to keep it going for the entire year. I had a tight schedule and often had to pump in handicapped bathrooms during 45-minute lunch breaks. But I made it. And I feel pretty good about that.

Lena on her first birthday in her fancy pink party dress.

--MM

Pumping queen

This has become a very breast-centric blog of late, but not exactly the titillating kind. Hee hee.

I am going on my worst work trip since little Lena was born, and I have been furiously preparing for it. I will only be gone two nights and two and a half days, so I figured I could get by leaving T and her nanny 10 bottles of milk. The problem was I had exactly zero in my stash, and Lena is a hungry thing who doesn't generally miss a meal. So I got to work squeezing in pumping sessions here and there till I had a nice little stash of frozen milk.

This week I was still a few short, so I had to up the ante. I set the alarm for 3:00 a.m. the last two nights, sleepily affixed the pumping parts, and filled two more bottles. Despite a little extra exhaustion this week, and the smoke that will probably soon be coming out of my Medela Pump-in-Style, I have reached my goal of ten. I am ridiculously proud of myself.

Granted it wouldn't hurt to give her a few bottles of formula, and I honestly don't fault others who do that. We all have to do what works for us, and working mothers don't need another source of guilt from other women. But for me, I feel satisfied and fulfilled if I am doing all I can to give me children the best chance. Some would say I should feed them all organic food, give up working, and home school them. That just wouldn't work for me. If I tried to fit into that mold, it would make all of us crazy. But for me, this is what works. It is a challenge and a sacrifice, but one if feel good about doing for my daughter. Her two older brothers got a full year of mother's milk, and Lena will too.

--MM

The breast chance at life

I recently learned the term lactivist. I love it! I am such a firm believer in breastfeeding and think it is one of the very best things you can do for your baby. That's why I found this article so fascinating.

--MM

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