Pumping Working Mom

Breastfeeding for a working mom could be a bit distracting and time consuming. For me, I had to pump 3 times a day. Had to wake up extra early to pump once before going to work. Then once again at work and then another one before going in for bed. It takes about 30-45mins for a pumping session. At work, I usually pump after lunch, around 2.30pm and then solat. I would be like MIA for about an hour or so. Huhu. Around 3.30pm I pon muncul balek kat office. Buat-buat keje sket and then opppss..dah nak kene balek dah. That was my routine until Aqil was about 10months. Now I only pump like once (rarely twice) a day and the pumping sessions are like short..only 15mins or so.

Back then, I can get like 12oz of milk per pumping session, 3 times a day. That means around 36oz of milk per day. Aqil only needed 10-12oz of milk for nursery. You can imagine la I had excess. My freezer was full..all the storage bottles were used up. I had plenty of milk. But now, I really have to struggle to even get 10oz per day. And now since Aqil's a bit bigger he needs about 14oz at nursery. Haiihhh.

Since I sit at a cubicle and not have my own room, I had to go pump at a small room inside the kilang's clinic. It's a small room, meant for nursing mothers. Has a chair, power supply and a mini fridge to keep BM. Good thing its a mother-friendly-workplace. Usually I do a bit of reading while pumping...one time, I even had a gossip session with Nad in here while I pump. Hehe.

Fridge yang buruk tetapi banyak berjase :p

I mentioned in my previous post that I had the Medela Mini-E. For me it was an okay pump la except for the sound. It sounded like a motorboat or even a lawn mower. Man..that pump was noisy and I mean very very noisy. Before going back to work from my maternity leave, I decided to buy another pump. After a few surveys, I bought the Medela Swing. Wanted the Medela Freestyle but it costs far too much (RM1600+) for a breastpump. T_T  Let's see la..if ada rezeki beli for the next round plak..hehe.

My Medela Swing yang banyak berjasa~

So before going to work, I have to pack:

1. pump
2. extra bottles (around 4 or 5 4oz bottles)
3. marker and masking tape (to label the bottles)
4. power cord
5. chargeable batteries (just in case need to use it somewhere without power supply)
6. cooler bag

I put them all in my 'Pump Bag'. So I bawak my laptop bag and my Pump Bag. Dah tak bawak my handbag dah since I selalu kena tegur dengan pakcik-pakcik tanya why I bawak banyak sangat bag, nak balek kampung ke..lalala. Biar jela kan nak bawak berapa banyak bag pon. Diorang guys tak payah bawak bag pon if tak bawak laptop home. Senang je. Huhu.

I had all kinds of challenges while breastfeeding. But I keep on at it for the sake of the baby. Only NOW i know why syurga di bawah tapak kaki ibu. Its not like kita tak tahu how much our mothers have done for us..how much they sacrificed to take care of us..but you really wont know unless you have the first hand experience. Trust me. Thank you Mama for all that you've done~