Hauling a breast pump and its many parts – some itty-bitty in size, but enormous in importance – to work day-in and day-out for months can be a pain. Add in your hefty nursing-mom lunch bag and snacks – gotta account for those extra 500 calories you burn while nursing! – and you start feeling like a pack mule. So why do we choose to continue pumping?
Pumping is Worth the Effort
Friends and family may wonder why you bother pumping at work. Why spend your breaks pumping? We already agreed it’s not necessarily fun, right? Why risk potentially uncomfortable work situations? Why set yourself apart from your non-lactating co-workers? Isn’t it just easier to give formula?
If you could put it into words, you might tell your loved ones: It’s not easy, and it’s not fun, but it’s worth it. You could tell them you feel good knowing that your baby gets a little piece of you when you’re away. You might remind them of how much you struggled with breastfeeding in the beginning. Now that it’s finally getting easier, you might say that you are not going to give it up just like that. You might tell them that pumping at work is the only way to maintain your milk supply so that you CAN continue to nurse your baby at home.
The Sweetest Part of My Day
Or, you might just smile and think about the sweetest part of your day – that first nursing when you get home. Your baby wiggles with excitement when she sees you. If she could jump out of the caregiver’s arms and into yours, she would. You settle down to nurse, and you are rewarded with intense feelings of love for this little being. All of the day’s struggles turn to dust and blow away, and all seems right with the world.
This was what I experienced when I returned to work. It’s what kept me pumping day in and day out for 9 months.
What’s your motivation to continue pumping at work?
