Comments on: Pumping, nursing, babies, and time

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Mon, 09 May 2022 17:55:09 +0000

In reply to Amy.

@Amy – thank you for bringing up the formula shortage. This situation is crazy — and dire — and needs a lot more attention than it is getting. So yes, there are some folks with young babies who will need to keep pumping for the next few months when they might have preferred not to.

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 09 May 2022 17:24:38 +0000

While I appreciate the gist of this article, I disagree that pumping is 100% optional. Many babies have issues with formula and families are currently having a lot of difficulty finding a choice of formula at local stores. Formula is also very expensive so that must also be factored in. Maybe in a different time and place, but if I dropped pumping all together, then I would have a very hard time meeting the nutritional needs of my baby.
Since the Elvie pump was mentioned, I wanted to say that I did try the Elvie Stride this time around after using Medela, Spectra, and Ameda with my other three children. My goodness, what a total waste… they sent me a defective pump and would not replace it. Please don’t waste your money like I did!

By: Katherine

Katherine — Mon, 02 May 2022 03:09:04 +0000

I also pumped for both babies after returning to work after my 3-month maternity leave. I pumped until they were each a year old, but I vaguely feel like I dropped from 3x/day to 1x by the end. I’m an attorney, so I got a lock installed on my office, put a “do not disturb” sign on my door and blocked myself out from outlook for meetings. I used the medela, but got a hands-free pumping bra, so I could type while working. Like others, I also put everything in a mini-fridge in my office (including pump parts), so I didn’t have to wash things at the office. I left the pump at my office except for weekends when I pumped to go on runs/dates (alas, too rarely!), etc. I also bought lots of extra bottles, so I could pump directly into clean bottles even if the daycare lost one/we forgot to clean them, etc. Good luck! If it is personally important to you, I hope you can make it work! If not, I hope you can find some peace in bucking societal expectations!

I love the advice above to let go of your own productivity pressures and compare yourself to a mediocre make! So true!

By: Nadine Dodge

Nadine Dodge — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 08:47:56 +0000

I pumped at work for several months, and having the freemie in bra pump definitely helped. If you combine that with a headset that has a microphone near your mouth (think call centre type) no one will know you are pumping while on a call or zoom meeting. The biggest pain of it all was cleaning – so many pieces and none of it is dishwasher safe!

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 18:47:00 +0000

In reply to Caitlin.

@Caitlin – thanks for these comments. I agree that if someone is having a rough go of it, telling them “just give the baby a bottle!” can seem insensitive. Our assumption was that pumping was very important to the listener, and hence that’s one of the reasons we didn’t say to let it go. And yes, don’t compare yourself to your ideal, compare yourself to a mediocre male colleague. You might feel better!

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 18:43:44 +0000

In reply to Meg. @Meg- yep, no need to spend all that time washing!

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 18:42:34 +0000

In reply to Milly. @Milly- Sarah and I have had Emily Oster on the podcast twice! But yes, the pressure winds up far higher than is probably justified.

By: Milly

Milly — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 16:32:58 +0000

These conversations are always so interesting. I didn’t breastfed because…. I didn’t want to. Gasp. I know. You don’t have to. You can stop today. You can stop tomorrow. You can stop in two years. If people in your lives are pressuring you, it’s time to tell them to buzz off.

My formula fed child is now 8 years old. There are no markers on his classmates re who was breastfed, formula fed, pump fed, mixed fed, whatever. It just ain’t that deep. If you do your own research, you may also find the evidence that breast milk is the gold standard has flaws. I am not only referring to Emily Oster (because I know people have their own opinions about her!).

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 00:56:42 +0000

With my first I breastfed and pumped exclusively. She never had a drop of formula. But I hated pumping. After reading Emily Oster on the true benefits of breast milk (not as much as we’ve been led to believe!) when I went back to work with my second, also at seven months, I gave myself the gift of not pumping. It has been amazing! I still enjoy breastfeeding, and am lucky to be in walking distance of daycare so I have been nursing at lunch. But the baby still gets some formula. It’s been very freeing to let that go!

By: Meg

Meg — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 23:37:47 +0000

I used to have an external pump and would wash all the pump parts each time. A mom told me to take those parts and throw them
In a ziploc bag in the fridge and then take home to wash once a week. Game changer!