Where I pumped today (well, yesterday)

I was in my company's office in Los Angeles this week for a team offsite. On Wednesday, I pumped in the "quiet room," as this office calls it. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture, but it was a pretty standard setup with a couple of chairs and a power outlet.

On Thursday, I went to pump late in the day and discovered that the quiet room was locked. Fortunately, my teammates had all left for the day, and the conference room that we used all week had no interior windows and a locking door. So I just locked the door and used that room to pump.

Probably the best view I've ever had while pumping :)

Where I pumped today

I'm up in Seattle this week, for the same semi-annual technical training conference that I attended back in July, shortly after my return to work. This time, though, Hubby is not attending, so I'm all alone up here -- he's back home with the kids.

Again, the conference kicked off with a Sunday session. Thankfully, this time, they opted to do it at one of my company's offices, rather than at Benaroya Hall. Since all of my company's offices have rooms for pumping, that meant I had a dedicated spot to pump, rather than having to pump in the bathroom.

The setup in this office was similar to the one in most of the other offices I've visited up here, with three cubicles and a curtain for privacy.

Much better than a bathroom! And unlike back in July, when Noob was still exclusively breastfed (no solids) and I had to pump three times during the day to get enough milk for him, I only had to make use of this spot once. I love pumping for a nursing toddler. So easy.

Where I pumped today

My team here in Seattle moved to a new office building, so I've spent the last few days wandering around feeling like the new kid in school. It also gave me the chance to check out a new pump room.

It's interesting seeing the contrasts between different pump rooms, even within my company. Since I work in a male-dominated field, many of the pump rooms seem to be very lightly used. One sign of the light use? The receptionists at those offices have to look up the pump room location when I ask.

But my team's new office houses my company's sales and support arms, which tend to have more women. So when I asked the receptionist where the pump room is, she didn't have to look it up... she pulled out a stack of cards that had the pump room numbers and combination written on it, and told me, "Use the one on the fifth floor. It's nicer than the one on the second floor."

She was right! It's pretty darn nice...

I love the comfy couch (in the bottom right corner of this picture), and the artwork on the wall :) It also has a mini fridge for storing milk.

Oh, and if you're curious about what three days' worth of breastmilk looks like...

That's probably around 60 oz worth, all in freezer bags. The cooler bag is the little one that came with my Medela Pump in Style Advanced. For my flight home tonight, I'll put some of this milk in another cooler bag, so that I can fit ice packs in there to keep the milk cold.

Where I pumped today

My company has two office buildings in Dallas. I already chronicled the pump room in one building in a previous post. Yesterday and today, I had a meeting in the other building. Yay, a new pumping location to check out!

The pump room in this building is normally locked, and you have to go to the security office to get them to unlock it. Kind of a pain. Funny, the security officer had to enter like fifty zillion codes to get at the key. Hello? It's a key to a pump room, not to starting nuclear war.

The room is small and bare bones, but comfortable:

After I pump, I typically put my cooler bag and my pump parts (inside an opaque bag) in one of the office fridges. Last night, my meeting wrapped up after hours, and when I went to get my pumping stuff out of the fridge, I found that the area where the fridge was in was locked. Whoops! I had to call a security guard to get it unlocked so I could retrieve my milk!

Where I pumped this week, last week, and the week before!

No more travel since our return from Seattle, but I've still had to pump on a number of occasions...

This week: In the bathroom at the auto dealership while getting some work done on my car. Fun, fun, fun, as bathroom pumping always is. Still, worth it to avoid having to entertain Noob at the auto dealership for nearly three hours.

Last week: In the pump room of one of our Dallas office buildings...

 

Very basic, just a sofa/padded bench, a table, and a clock. It's directly off a women's bathroom, so there is convenient access to a sink for washing pump parts. There are also lockers in the bathroom, perfect for leaving my pump between sessions... which I realized after I left my pump in the pump room itself after my first session one day, and it disappeared! Imagine my shock when I returned for my next session and couldn't find my pump anywhere. I finally asked the receptionist if anyone had dropped off a black shoulder bag that had been left in the bathroom, and she said, "Yes! The cleaning people turned it in." What the heck? Whatever. After that, I used the lockers.

I also had a rare in-person encounter with another pumping mother :) She was finishing up her session one morning, just as I was coming in for mine. Always nice to know there are more of us out there.

The week before: I was in the other Dallas office building, teaching a training session. Teaching is often tricky because breaks are short and infrequently, and if you're the teacher, you can't exactly slide in late from a pumping session. Thankfully, for this particular training, there were two 2-hour sessions each day with a long lunch break in between. So I could easily pump before the first session and pump during lunch. After the second session, I could either pump again or go home (about 5 minutes away) to nurse Noob. It worked out very well.

Another thing that worked out well was that there was a small conference room directly across the hallway from the room where I was teaching...

It had completely frosted windows and a locking door, so it was perfect for pumping. Less time spent walking to the pump room = more time to pump! I did discover the hard way that the locking door did not unlock when you opened it. So I locked myself out the first time I used it. Whoops. Fortunately, security got it opened again pretty quickly, and I was careful not to make that mistake again!

Ahhhh, pumping. Always an adventure.

Where I Pumped Today returns with a vengeance!

Longtime readers may recall that when I was pumping for Littles, I did a series called "where I pumped today," documenting all the weird and wonderful places that I ended up pumping.

Pumping for Noob is much easier, because most days, I don't have to pump at all! Since we have family watching him at home right now, and I mostly work from home, I'm able to nurse him directly most of the time. It's so much easier than pumping!

Of course, on my business trip to Seattle two weeks ago, I wasn't able to do this, so I did end up pumping most days. To make things even more fun, my meetings during my trip were spread across various locations around the city. I logged a lot of miles with my pump, and pumped in a lot of different places!

On Sunday, I had a meeting in Benaroya Hall, which is normally the home of the Seattle Symphony. Despite the large number of attendees, I was not surprised when I inquired about a pumping room and was told that, well, there were always the less-frequently-used bathrooms on the second floor...

I pumped in bathrooms pretty often with Littles, but never took pictures of them because, well, no one likes to see pictures of bathrooms. But no more sugar-coating. This is the life of a working/pumping mom.

For my first session, I set up in a stall. This is my pretty typical bathroom pumping setup -- I hang the pump from a purse hook, and try not to let my pump parts touch anything. It's really uncomfortable because there is nowhere to sit, so I have to pump while standing. Also, stalls usually don't have power outlets, so I have to use the battery pack for my pump. The suction isn't as strong, so it takes longer to finish pumping.

For my second and third sessions, I got bold and decided to pump out in the main part of the bathroom. This way, I could use a power outlet. Thankfully, no one walked in while I was pumping. There was no way to avoid putting my pump bag on the floor, so I just dealt with it. Ick.

As is always the case with a long day of meetings, just finding the time to pump is a challenge, but I did pretty well this day.

Alright, if you're still with me... no more bathroom pictures. Promise.

On Monday and Tuesday, I worked out of the office building that houses the offices of my Seattle-based co-workers. It has its own pump room, which is typical of the pump rooms in my company's Seattle offices. There are two cubicles with curtains. Each cubicle has a chair and a desk. There is also a small refrigerator for pumped milk and pump parts, and shelves for storing pumps. This room does not appear to be used very much; I never saw another woman's pump or milk.

 

On Wednesday morning, I had a meeting at one of our offices downtown. The pump room in this office was very similar, although it also had a small sink for washing pump parts. I also saw another pump in there -- always nice to know there are other pumping moms out there! Unfortunately, I didn't have time to snap a picture of this one.

On Wednesday afternoon, I had to go to the convention center for another meeting. As I explained in my post about this trip, my company was running a big convention this week (which was part of the reason why I was there in the first place). So I asked about a pump room at the convention information desk, and was happy to find out that one was available! It was a small room, perhaps serving as a storage closet under normal circumstances? But it was furnished with comfortable couches and a table for my pump. Very nice, and much appreciated!

Thursday was my worst day for pumping. I had a meeting starting at 9:30 AM in yet another office building, so I went over a little early and did a quick pump session. This building had pump rooms on three out of four floors, so the rooms just had a single cubicle, rather than the double-cubicle style of most of the other pump rooms in our offices. There was also a sink and a small refrigerator.

 

My meeting ran until about noon, and then I had to grab lunch with my co-workers and head over to a team outing. So I didn't get the chance to pump any more that day :( By the time the outing was over and I got back to the main office, it was nearly 5:30 PM and I was dying to pump! I pumped about 12 ounces in one sitting!

On Friday, thankfully, I was out of meetings and back in the main office, and able to pump regularly again. My supply took a definite hit from the limited pumping over the course of the week, but starting Saturday, I was able to nurse full-time again and now my supply seems to be right back where it needs to be.

I'll be in our Dallas office a lot over the next two weeks, so stay tuned for a few more installments in the "where I pumped today" series!

I'm still alive!

I know it's been a while, but yes, I'm still alive!

I made another trip up to Seattle last week. It was pure craziness, as a number of my friends and co-workers were there as well, so we had some late nights out on the town :) And I thought I didn't get much sleep at home with a 1-year-old who wakes up at 7 AM every day. Yeesh.

This was my longest trip yet, at six full days. I left early Sunday morning (there was a meeting on Sunday afternoon) and got home on the red-eye early Saturday morning. I had fun and got some good work done, but by the end of the week, I was so ready to come home. I missed Littles and Hubby terribly, and the week just dragged on and on.

As a result, I continued what is probably a bad habit: I buy Littles a gift on every trip I take. It helps ease the guilt I feel from leaving her. Sort of. At least this trip, I had the good sense to indulge at a thrift shop, where I picked up a baby University of Washington football jersey for all of $2.17. Last trip, I happened to walk past a super-expensive toy store just a few hours before my flight. Not. Good.

Nothing has changed with Littles' nursing situation since my last trip -- she still nurses morning and night -- so I had to pull out the pump again. I skipped my pumping session on Sunday night, and ended up pumping really late (ummm, 3 AM) on Monday night, so my supply seemed to take a bit of a hit, and Littles seems a little less interested in nursing now that I'm back home. I'm fine with that; I'm not rushing her into weaning fully, but whenever she's ready, I am too.

I'll have only two weeks at home before I have to head up there for another week :( It's OK, because I did have a long stretch at home (4 full weeks) between my last two trips, but ugh, I'm not really looking forward to it.

The one thing I'm happy about is that Hubby and Littles may come with me on the two trips after this next one! I have a meeting in Jackson, Wyoming, in mid-September, so we're all flying out a week early for vacation. Then, Hubby has to go to Seattle in late September, so if we're able to find backup care for Littles, I'll probably try to fly out that same week and we'll bring Littles with us. Cross your fingers that it all works out!

In conclusion, I'll leave you with another installment in my "Where I pumped today" series. This is the nursing room at Seattle-Tacoma airport. Yes, a nursing room! It's a quiet, private space with two rocking chairs and outlets for moms who need to pump. Far better than nursing in public or pumping in a bathroom. Every airport should have one of these! I pumped here on Friday night just before boarding my red-eye home:


Adjacent to the nursing room is a children's play area. Brilliant! A place for active toddlers to burn off some energy before boarding their flights. Hopefully Littles will get a chance to play here in a few weeks when she comes up with Hubby and me!

Where I pumped today

Today was my fifth WOMEN Unlimited session. The sessions meet at a local hotel, and the hotel has been wonderful about giving me a room for the day (for free) so that I can pump.



This is by far my favorite pump spot! I usually work on my laptop at the desk (on the left side in the picture above), but I can also relax in the easy chair and watch TV if I want. Obviously, there's a sink as well, so I can wash out my pump parts when I'm done. And all the rooms have a mini-fridge for keeping my milk cold.

There was one minor problem today: Someone walked into the room while I was pumping! Luckily, I screamed, "Someone is in here!" as soon as I heard the door open, and the bathroom door was positioned in front of the main door so he couldn't see me. He called out, "Sorry!" and left immediately. Close call!

Where I pumped today. Fourth in a series.

Yes, I pump while driving!

I only do this when I have a lengthy commute (at least 60 minutes) to a customer site or, like today, to my WOMEN Unlimited training program. It works out well, because if I can pump on the drive in, during lunch, and on the drive home, then that gives me enough pumping sessions for the day without having to take much time at all away from my work.

What I do is I put the pump on the passenger seat (you can see it on the left of the picture above) and get it all hooked up. I use an AC inverter for power -- it plugs into the cigarette lighter and provides a normal AC outlet to plug my pump into.

I then put my Hooter Hider on -- that's the white apron-like thing in the picture. It's designed for nursing in public, but it works well for pumping as well, because it has boning that helps the neck stand out so I can see what I'm doing.

Once I'm properly covered up, I get myself hooked up to the pump. As you might imagine, I have to use a hands-free kit. I usually use this hands-free pumping bra, which works very well. Today, though, I just used some hair bands. (I'll probably use the bra from now on -- the hair bands definitely didn't work as well.)

Then I'm off! All I have to do is pray that no cops decide to pull me over, because that would be hard to explain :)

As far as safety goes, I don't feel that the pump is really a distraction once I get it all set up (which I usually do while parked). But I prefer not to think about what would happen to the pump and my body if I got in an accident.

I'm glad that I have just a few more months of this craziness left.

Maybe now it's more clear why I get so excited about pump rooms with chairs, fridges, and no airbags :)

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.

Where I pumped today. Third in a series.

I've been onsite for most of this week at my "main" customer.

Finding the time and a place to pump during onsite customer visits is always a challenge -- I often end up not pumping at all during the workday, or pumping in the bathroom. My situation at this particular customer is better than anywhere else, because I come here so often that 1) I have located their pump room and 2) they've given me an official contractor's badge with full office access (very important, because the pump room is on a different, secured floor from where I usually work, and so it would be a huge pain if I had to ask someone to let me in each time).

The room is pretty cozy:


The sink is a nice touch -- I can rinse out my pump parts when I'm done, without having to walk them over to a bathroom. I like the comfy chair, although I do miss the table from my San Francisco office. That's a fridge under the counter, but I don't use it. The sign on the door says "This refrigerator is not for food," and I figure breastmilk is food for Littles, right? So that means it doesn't belong in there. Silly, I know!

Anyway, this sure beats pumping in a bathroom.

Where I pumped today (yesterday). Second in a series.

Yesterday, I was at my company's office in downtown San Francisco.

The pump room there is much more spartan than the one at the Silicon Valley office, but perfectly functional. There's a small table, which is great for working on my laptop while I pump, and a phone with a good speaker for when I need to take conference calls. (Yes, while pumping! Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.)



On the other side of the room, there is a mini fridge. Very handy. I usually stick my pump parts in the fridge rather than wash them out after every session (I do a thorough cleaning at night), so it's nice having a dedicated fridge for this stuff rather than putting my parts next to my co-worker's lunch.


That's all! Like I said, spartan but functional.

Where I pumped today. First in a series.

I thought it might be fun to do a little tour of the lovely places where I pump :)

I was at my company's office in Silicon Valley today. I rarely visit this office these days, so I had to seek out the pump room for the first time. I was a little surprised to discover there is just one pump room for the 1000-odd employees at this office. But I guess it's not used very often, as the receptionist who is in charge of the key to the room wasn't 100% sure where the key was, or where the room was.

Too bad it's not more used, as it's a wonderful spot!

Here's a picture looking into the room from the door:


Yes, that big black chair is a very comfortable recliner :)

Looking back towards the door, from the vicinity of the recliner:


A full-sized refrigerator with freezer is so handy -- rather than keeping the milk in my little cooler bag with an ice pack, I can stick the milk in the fridge and the ice pack in the freezer. That way, I know it'll all stay cold on the way home.

Two thumbs up to this spot!