Experiences in Breastpumping
Although a mother begins to prepare herself mentally for all that she will be going through post-partal, when she actually reaches the stage, there are hordes of quite interesting experiences that await her. Long used to briskly walking down the steps, a minibag or an executive briefcase in hand, she now finds herself straddled with attractive, albeit "slightly" heavy, carrybags that have the breastpump and all its sturdy components neatly concealed inside it - that brisk walk automatically slows down a wee bit!
For the first time mom, giving her child milk from her breasts is the best she could offer. This very thought is both unnerving and thrilling to her. The first few days are most crucial, when both the child and the mother are trying to understand each other; and exploring the best position and the best technique for the child to latch on to the breast is a major exercise. A few mothers discover that the child is experiencing difficulty in nursing - may be there is some jaw problem that only the doctor would be best able to diagnose; or the mother is not able to lactate at just the right time. In such cases, recourse to a suitable breastpump is the best option available.
The breastpump, otherwise, enters the scene when the mother returns to work. Here, distance
between the place of work and home, availability of a second person, may be an at-home spouse
or a caregiver, who can feed the child on time, all make a difference. For some mothers, it is
possible to arrange such that the spouse or the caregiver brings the baby to them during lunch
hour, so direct nursing can occur. A few others can drive down to the child's daycare center to
nurse their precious one. For others not so fortunate, expressing milk into sterilized bags, to be
carried home later, is the only option. In all these cases, mothers who love chatting with
colleagues during that precious hour miss their hobby very much!
Breastpumping in public is the biggest mental block that all mothers have to face. The problem is compounded if it is a double-pumping equipment. Mothers usually employ a lot of creativity in finding places where pumping can be done discreetly. Those who have their own cabins conjure a neat tag that is hung from the outer door-knob, and the whole office knows better than to knock, as long as the tag is there. A slight signal, of simply "knowing" that someone is watching, is enough for the body to react strongly, and the milk flow to stop. It takes a while to overcome this consciousness, and carry on regardless.
Searching for that electric-outlet is another challenging exercise that mothers indulge in, when the pump they are carrying is not manual - most of the time it is not - and the batteries are running low. Now, if the mother is required to travel outdoors, may be to attend some conference or a meeting with the clients or suppliers, the situation becomes tricky. In quite a few buildings, the bathrooms do not have electrical outlets. A creative mother then requests the people she is visiting to show a place on their premises, where her pumping work can be carried out in privacy. Ofcourse, if she encounters females there, they will understand; or if the organization has a lactation programme in place where a separate room is provided for breastfeeding mothers, she should count her lucky stars!
Gradually, the routine of pump, go to work, pump again, come back, nurse, sleep, pump again, tends to grow on the mother to such an extent, that life seems to be nothing, but pumping or nursing the child. You know you have had it upto your eyes, when images of nursing and pumping start running in the dreams! It is somewhere around that time, that the baby starts breastfeeding less often, and begins enjoying other foods.