The Working Mom's Guide to Breastfeeding

I surprisingly had a hard time finding useful information on Pumping at work. I went in half optimistic, half terrified. Some how, some way I made it an entire year- as a full time working mother- breast feeding. There were absolutely some bumps along the way; I definitely wished that I would "dry up" more than a handful of times- but I never did. And my sweet little girl is still gaining all of the benefits of being breastfed. (**Around 9 months I had to start supplementing- I'll discuss later.)

The Commute
I live in LA- before getting back to work I lived a whopping 0.8 miles away from work. My commute was usually a 3 minute bike ride. If I left my house after 7:45 the parking situation got hairy and I usually didn't make it into my classroom until around 7:55 *gasp* an entire 10 minutes from the time I left home.

That charmed life came to a screeching halt when we realized a dog, a baby, 2 adults and 900 square feet didn't mesh well. So we moved about 35 miles away next door to my parents. We had a lot more space for our growing family and free babysitting! ...And my 3 minute commute became a beast of a drive. LA traffic increased my commute from what should have been a nice traffic free 30 minutes to about an hour and a half. What's a nursing mom to do in such a situation? Pump. Of course.

Maximize your time by pumping in the car.
Yup. I fully endorse pumping and driving. I got an entire pumping session out of the way while sitting in the hellish traffic of the 405 freeway.

Find a comfortable place to pump.
For me that happened to be my classroom. I set up a nice corner in a place that I could easily hide in the event of an unannounced intruder. My next door neighbor teacher and every adult in the school knew this is where I pumped. In the event of a rainy day schedule, I invaded my principals office because the only other available space was the nurses bathroom and- no thanks. If you don't have a boss that is supportive, demand it. In most states its the law.