Home Family Art Homemade Frugal Living Travel

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

The business trip and the lactating mom

Warning - this is a girly posting but if you show up PapaTV, feel free to read on but I'm just saying - you've been warned!

Today was my first business trip since getting back to work. Everyone received fair warning that I required 15 minutes every 3-4 hour. The day went as follows:

night before buy dry ice
4:30am - wake up, get ready for trip
5:50am - breast pump while eating breakfast, pack cooler and breast pumping equipment
6:15am - meet co-workers at office and take off for Orlando
9:00am - stop at turnpike bathroom to breast pump, choose hand-i-cap bathroom, basically have to stand while holding equipment for 10 minutes. It's really quite an ordeal.

12:00pm - 1:30
We were supposed to break for lunch and go to restaurant but mid-meeting realize we have much more to discuss so meetings are extended into a working lunch. Left equipment in car so after quick huddle with fellow gal co-worker, decide to get equipment and pump while everyone takes off to order lunch in deli. Get back with equipment and everyone in the room seems to know what I'm up to. One of the clients who is a young mom, adopts me and drags me off to find a private room. I'm saved from another bathroom! Mom's rock!

1:30 - 3pm
More meetings

3pm - leave for next location of meetings
5pm - group decides to go to Panera Bread with my pushy guidance of "hey guys you will be more comfortable there and can get soup and latte's while I do my business."
5:15 - drag cafe chair into bathroom, no one saw me do it, get comfortable and read book while breast pumping. I'm all about diverting my mind and cannot stand to do nothing for 15 minutes.

6:00 - leave restaurant and go to downtown Disney to pick up reference samples.
7:30 - leave for home.
11:00 - get home, immediately pump breasts, baby was not interested as her agenda was to sleep.

Note to anyone interested in trying out this experience - expect no privacy from male co-workers and boss for discussion of this activity, expect many lactation jokes but by end of day you will have worn them down through sheer repetitiveness.

4 comments:

crazywildberry said...

Went out with some friends for a girl's day in Pgh in the fall of 2006. I had a three month old but was in dire-straights for a day out with my girlfrineds. So, I planned a day for us at the Frick Musuem. I called it Frick'n Girl's Day Out. LOL! Took breast pump and stopped to pump every 3 hours. At one point there was a PBS (or some other network) there recording a documentary on restaurants that use local farm produce to cook with. As I walked out of said restaurant, with camera crew outside door, I exclaimed loudly to my dear friends about how full I was on the left side. They were sure that the TV crew was recording as I said it. I haven't lived it down since. I tried playing it off that I was full from lunch but, quite frankly, the servings there left much to be desired to this nursing mom's high intake abilities. So, that was the laugh for that day, no, that year. So, men are not the only ones who will rib you about nursing.

Also went on a retreat with my girlfrineds from church in March 2007. I left every three hours to pump. I also was adamant about saving it, I think of my milk as liquid gold. I was teased that everytime the speaker got deep, I had to rush out of the room. eyeroll. LOL! All in the name of feeding my babies.

Grit said...

i am in awe, sb!

R. Molder said...

CWB - great story!

Aww shucks Grit, you made me blush.

crazywildberry said...

Hey, did I mention how proud of you I am that you are giving it all this effort? It take a lot of patience and determination to be this dedicated, and I am beaming for you. Well done! :D