feedback for "Parental Advisory: Pumping Protocol"

1. I have been successfully pumping at work/nursing at home for the past 11 months. My office is inside a highschool so privacy is limited and I have to be discreet. One thing I would recommend is buying a nursing cover to use while you pump. I bought one of those "Bebe Au Lait" things for this purpose...It stays in my pump bag and that way wherever I end up (car, boss' office, spare classroom, my desk) I can pump without my whole boob (which is the size of Guam) being exposed to anyone. Inevitably, someone will walk in on you.

   posted by : MomofBeans on 7/23/2008 at 7:34 AM Flag For Abuse

2. A woman in my office put a sign on her door that said, "Please do not disturb. Available by phone or email." It took me months to realize that was when she was pumping, but it was a strong enough cue not to interrupt her.

   posted by : Dwtintx on 7/23/2008 at 7:48 AM Flag For Abuse

3. I had to have a series of meetings with HR to get permission to pump in my office, rather than in the "pump room. In the end, I hung a curtain, papered the door, and put a sign up. I went for "privacy please." No one ever walked right in, because a papered door and curtain over the window was a huge sign that something private was really going on. Toward the end, my close female colleagues began to feel it was ok to come in, and even would PURPOSELY come in to "hide" from our boss. I think if you're not OK with that (and I really found it irritating) I would NEVER let anyone in while in progress. I was able to cover myself, but it still felt like an invasion of my privacy. good luck and good for you for pumping. It's a lot of hard work!

   posted by : DWTinCO on 7/23/2008 at 12:41 PM Flag For Abuse

4. We luckily have several pumping rooms where I work, and even with the door locked (i thought it was, but it wasn't) I've had someone walk in. I think its worse for the walker in, you at least know you look like a milking machine.
   
   I can NOT believe DWTinCO that they used your office as a hide out, that's just tacky.
   
   Good luck pumping, hopefully you will get to travel and deal with airport security with your pump and milk. I was embarrassed the first few times, but then I decided it was just really funny to see how the men in Boston and NY dealt with it. (Screaming, running for female coworkers...)Since I traveled every week I got to see lots of boys running for their "mommy's" when I came through.

   posted by : heysway on 7/23/2008 at 1:43 PM Flag For Abuse

5. I pump three times a day in one of our conference rooms -- we don't have a "pumping room" so HR had a lock installed on the conference room door -- and I hang a sign that says "Private -- Do Not Enter". Since it was announced at the department head meeting that I would be using the room at prearranged times for the foreseeable future, everyone knows and virtually no one bats an eye. Now, I have had two instances where someone (women, no less) tried to bump me from the room because they had "more important reasons to use the room" but my boss put a quick stop to that. I'm very lucky that my boss (a man with children) is very supportive.

   posted by : MilkMaid on 7/23/2008 at 8:18 PM Flag For Abuse

6. At least you have an office! Try this feat in cubicle land with a mostly male staff of Architects. I shared my pumping time with the laser cutter room. Ahhhh nothing refreshing like freshly charred balsa wood and milk in the morning!
   
   I didn't stand up for my self or have the adequate private space to do so and ended up paying the price. My son has been on formula since he was 6 months, because I couln't keep up or some one had to build a model for the latest building prototype.
   
   Do whatever it takes is what I say. No one will be able to understand unless they have been through it before, so I wouldn't even bother trying to make everyone comfortable - just make it clear that this is something you need and it needs to be done privately and get HR on your side.

   posted by : esterlulady on 7/23/2008 at 9:32 PM Flag For Abuse

7. Ditto. I WISH I were lucky enough to have my own office. I had to pump in the computer server room with no lock. I just put a sign saying "Do Not Enter" and never had a problem with someone walking in on me.
   
   Check out some other ideas for pumping at work here: http://workingmoms.about.com/od/todaysworkingmoms/a/pumpingtips.htm
   
   I have heard of one mom who pumped under a big shawl at work, in the middle of a cube farm! But maybe that's just a working moms urban legend...

   posted by : Kakki on 7/24/2008 at 2:42 PM Flag For Abuse

8. You've received some excellent advice already. I would just add that you will need to consider whether you want to tell everyone. You seem to have a small, rather intimate office. If more than one person knows, it is quite likely that everyone will know soon enough. You will have to decide if you want to be the one to tell them. Often, people "accept" nursing easier than we think they would. I hesitated at my workplace, but once I told the people who needed to know, I was struck by the support I received.

   posted by : Eliana on 7/28/2008 at 9:37 AM Flag For Abuse

9. I teach high school, so my environment was, obviously, child-friendly but also totally open door. I escaped to a kitchen area and simply told colleagues that I was taking a "baby break." People who got it, got it, and people who didn't got to ask others once I'd left and never asked again :). Worked well!

   posted by : Baltimore Mama on 7/29/2008 at 2:34 PM Flag For Abuse