Musings from the Mother's Room

Today ended my first week back at work. Overall I would say it has been a success. I already have some work assignments that I am pretty excited about and Thea has been doing well with daycare. Both days she refused her first bottle, but stubbornness gave way to hunger and she took her other bottles with no problems. It just isn't the same as getting it straight from the tap!

My workplace is a pretty mother friendly environment, not only am I able to work this part time schedule while my baby is young, but they also provide a private room to be used for pumping. The mother's room is off of one of the women's restrooms in my building. The room has a comfy chair, a little table, a small refrigerator and a massage table. Don't ask my why there is a massage table, I really don't get that.

Twice a day I grab my portable pump, Bessie(I am thinking we spend enough time together that she deserves a name), and head on up to the dairy barn.

I have been listening to The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People while I pump. It is kind of strange to lactate to Steven Covey, but I am getting used to it. I was thinking about this the other day and wondering if I was programing myself to have milk let down when I hear discussion of emotional bank accounts and paradigm shift. I hope not. Funny how The 7 Habits continues to remind me the strategies I just learned about dealing with children in 1-2-3 Magic.

Today when I arrived in the room there were two trashy tabloid magazines. It was almost serendipitous, given that I had forgotten to bring my iPod. A sure sign that God wanted me to read up on the latest with Jon and Kate + 8, so I did just that.

I am curious about the other women that use the Mother's room. When I was pumping for Leila for 10 straight months I had an idea of who the other mom's were. Sometimes I would have to wait outside the room for my turn. One unfortunate time I walked in on a woman during her pump session. Awkward!

Back then, aside from the faces of women who worked on other contracts and I had no interaction with, I knew them only by their pumps. Along with me and my Medela there was also an Ameda Purely Yours and another Medela, a few years old so I assumed that mom was not on her first babe.

2 years later I am back in the pumping room and I have yet to see another pump, but I was greeted during my first trip to the Mother's room by two photographs stuck to the fridge. Two pictures of baby boys. I brought a picture in to work with me today of my baby girl to post next to the little boys but I forgot on both trips to bring it to the room.

I remember back in 2006 when I sat in the mother's room on my first day back from work crying while I pumped because I missed my baby girl so badly, looking down at the older Medela pump lined up along the wall and wondering how that Mom was able to put herself through this twice. I wonder if some new mom will see my pump sitting on the massage table and have the same thought about me. Maybe I should leave a note on Bessie "It gets easier, and it is so worth it."