As I mentioned last week, I have now begun my 20 hrs. a week at home/20 hrs. a week working in my transition to part-time InterVarsity Staff.
So far, so good with all the myriad of snafu’s you can imagine.
Last week, when I had an all day meeting in Grand Rapids I remembered to bring the breast pump ~ hurrah!
Unfortunately, I forgot to bring enough bottles to pump the milk into, and kept having to wash them over & over again. I also forgot once and skipped a session. Not good for milk production.
Today, I had an all day meeting in Battle Creek at a Panera. This time I remember the pump, but forgot several things: enough bottles to pump into, the carrying case for pumped milk, the freezer packs & something to clean them with for multiple pumping sessions.
Also, I sent Rhys to daycare with nothing but the clothes on his back. ay ay ay. It is scatterbrain city over here.
Once I expressed the milk the first time I realized the issue. The water in the woman’s bathroom was ice cold and I was using hand soap to clean it all on nasty, unsanitized sink surfaces. Then, there was no paper towels so I had to use toilet paper to dry it all –yuck.
Fortunately, it is butt cold here in MI, so the expressed milk did fine in the car.
Funny thing is, I fed Rhys at 1am this morning. As I turned over and expected to fall dreamily back to sleep I remembered one terrible fact:
I left the freaking breast milk in my Mama Medala case, (without the carrying case or frozen packs) in our office –for the last 8 hours! All that work for nothing. All of that unrefridgerated breast milk, gone to waste. Arrrghghgh.
It’s been over 3 years since I’ve had to think about all this when I was working full-time while my 1st born, Ransom was nursing.
I am, however, committed to making this work. When Ran was little I pumped in airports, in McDonalds bathrooms, all over campus, in the car in the winter, on floors of conference centers –where ever I could get the job done. I also breastfed Ransom in all of those places and dragged him cross country with me on IV trips. It was glorious.
I must pump now if I want to do the same with Rhys. In fact, he’s going to be joining me for a conference in Atlanta in early March.
Of all of the things about having a very young infant, breastfeeding is what I love the most. (parent directed breastfeeding might I add). I cherish that time and if I have to pump to make it keep working, by golly that is what I’m going to do.
Eventually, I’ll remember to bring everything “Mama Madela” requires of me. 🙂