5 Ways To Make Pumping At The Office More Manageable
To celebrate Breastfeeding Awareness month, we’re giving away all of the gear and goods you need to be a champion at pumping at the office. Click here to enter to win $1,500 in prizes!
Nobody is going to tell you that pumping breastmilk and working make for a fun combo – or if they do, they’re a damn liar. But working moms are smart, resourceful people, with hacks left and right to make life a bit more livable. Here are five top tips on making your work environment just a little more conducive to attaching a robot baby to a private area of your body three times a day.
1. Educate your co-workers.
No matter how awkward this sounds, it’s better than not doing it. Rip the Band-Aid off and tell those you work closely with that you will be pumping milk for your baby a few times a day (don’t say “expressing” – no one knows what that means), and you’d appreciate their support. You don’t need to spend the next several months answering constant “where are you going?” or “what’s in the bag?” questions.
2. Hack a space into a permanent lactation room.
If your workplace won’t or can’t give you a lactation room, you might be able to get crafty. Forgotten storage closet? Office in your building that doesn’t belong to your employer? You can hang a tension rod and curtain inside an unlockable closet door and Robin Hood a chair to live in there, and have your own private lactation suite.
3. Invest in extra gear.
From extra breastmilk storage bags to a luxury second pump (one for home, one for office), it turns out money CAN buy happiness. Or at least less-stressful pumping. Buy the stuff that helps you get the job done.
4. Buy a single hand pump.
Some days get really, really busy. Some days you forget your double electric pump, or some essential part of it. A hand pump lets you duck into a bathroom or empty office and get some relief, and some milk, for a few minutes at a time.
5. Have a drink.
No, seriously. Experts say that one alcoholic drink while breastfeeding is not a big deal. So go: go to that work happy hour and feel like a human being for five seconds. And don’t pump and dump! That’s only necessary if you are pumping while you actually feel drunk. Otherwise, just wait until you feel sober again and your breastmilk will be safe for your baby.
