I love breastfeeding. I am one of the lucky ones who it came easy to. Both my kids were born knowing what to do and it required little work or learning curve on my part. I love the intimacy I feel with my kids while they eat. I love that the way my daughter looks up at me all doe eyed and peaceful while she nibbles away. I love being able to give her what she needs without having to heat up a bottle.
As a working mom however she gets a lot of her meals from the bottle. And here again I'm lucky. Both kids happily switch between bottle and breast without nipple confusion or frustration. The frustration comes from me. While breastfeeding is a relaxing and calming activity for me, pumping is a pain in my ass. I am always slightly annoyed when someone else wants to feed her when I'm around because while they get to enjoy my daughters baby blues, I have to relegate myself to another room and pump. While breastfeeding is more acceptable in public then ever before breast pumping is not. At the office I need to stop what I'm doing every three hours and relegate myself to a designated spot where for 15 minutes I pump. If I'm late in pumping I am greeted with breast pain and leakage. Nothing is as professional as to look down and realizing your shirt is soaked with breast milk. The only upside is it doesn't stain.
There is no way around it I know. As long as women re-join the work force while their babies are still, well babies, pumping is a way of life. But I don't have to like it.
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