Pumping away, away from home

I was a little nervous about the logistics of pumping while in Seattle, but it all went pretty smoothly.

I left 31 oz of milk for Littles on Sunday night, a mix of refrigerated and frozen milk.

I nursed Littles at around 6pm, just before leaving for the airport. She got one more bottle that evening before bedtime, and I pumped when I got to my hotel.

Staying in a Residence Inn made things a lot easier, since I had a full-size fridge and freezer to keep my milk and ice packs cold overnight.

On Monday, I woke up at around 8 AM and did a long pump, about 60 mins. I hoped to do another pump before my meeting at 11 AM, but I was running late and had to skip it.

I did get a short 10-minute pump break shortly after lunch, at around 1:15, so I got to check out the pump room in our Seattle office:



It's a nice setup, with two "cubicles" and a curtain, so that two moms can pump simultaneously with some privacy. There is also a small fridge, which came in handy for keeping my milk cool while I was in my meetings. No freezer, though -- I put my ice packs in the freezer in the main kitchen.

After my 1:15 pump break, which only lasted about 10 mins, I got another short pump break at 2:15 and then a longer (30 min) pump break at 3:30. My meeting ended at about 4:15, and since I was in no real rush to get to the airport, I pumped for about 20 mins until I was pretty empty. Then I pulled my ice packs out of the freezer, packed up my milk, and hit the road.

This is probably the only time you'll ever hear me say this, but thank goodness for the TSA's stupid liquids ban! I got to the front of the security line at the airport, and TSA asked me to pull out all my milk. That's when I discovered that I'd left one of my coolers of milk in the rental car! If it weren't for the liquids ban, I might not have noticed until I got home. Fortunately, I was able to run back to Avis and have them search my car for the bag, which quickly turned up. Whew!

My flight was delayed for over an hour, so I had plenty of time, even with the rental car incident. I ate dinner and then pumped for the last time at about 9:00. I pumped in the handicapped stall in the bathroom. I didn't chronicle that location for my "where I pumped today" series. Sorry.

(I've since gotten a tip that the family restrooms at most airports have a power outlet and more privacy, since they're a separate room, rather than just a stall where everyone can hear the whoomp-whoomp of your pump. I'll probably return to Seattle in a few weeks, so I'll check it out!)

With the delay, I ended up getting home shortly before 2 AM. Littles ate all 31 oz that I left, and I brought home right around 30 oz, so that worked out well. The milk in my Medela bag with a Medela ice pack was still cold when I put it in my fridge, 10 hours after I'd left the office! My Playtex Fridge-to-Go bag didn't work out quite as well -- it was no longer cold at all when I got home, but that milk was from my last two pump sessions of the day, so I figured the milk was still fine, having spent less than 10 hours at room temperature.