WARNING - TOO MUCH INFORMATION AHEAD
I had dinner Saturday night with my good friend Melanie. Before we had kids she and I worked for different brands of the same retail mogul. What I didn't know is that she didn't resign until her second son was born. That means working in a very demanding business, with travel, for two years.
I breastfed each of my boys for a year. I enjoyed the intimacy with my babies and the satisfaction of providing them sustenance. I left them for no longer than 3 hours at a time (at least when they were infants) because that was how frequently they needed to nurse. However, at least with my first baby, the first six months of breastfeeding were filled with excruciating pain for me. He latched on properly from the get-go, but I was plagued by yeast. I basically had thrush on my nipples and in my glands for about six months. When we first began a nursing session, I would actually have to do Lamaze breathing or cry for the first few seconds because the pain was so bad. I had one particular embarrassing moment when I had to ask the young male pharmacy assistant where the Lotrimin was located. He asked "For what?"
Then one day I found an article buried deep within the internet that said one Diflucan a day would solve the problem. Diflucan is the pill that is used for vaginal yeast infections. My insurance company only covered one pill per month. I needed one per day. I actually went to battle with my insurance company, using the article as evidence. I won.
Back to Melanie. First of all, I give her credit for trying to work and take care of her baby. It's a huge balancing act. Well, Melanie also breastfed her baby. A lot of woman who nurse at work have horror stories about trying to pump in the restroom (yuck), or hiding in their office. Many women have to give up breastfeeding altogether because there is no option to pump in their particular job. Mel obviously worked in an office, and used a double pump. In our company it was protocol to allow women to pump in the first aid room. As she describes it, she would have to schlep her Medela bag to the front desk, get the entry code, and walk back. She said quite frequently the code didn't work and so she'd have to do the whole thing all over again. Then they decided it would be more efficient for the security guy to escort her. She tells of one time when she was double pumping when the security guy, who had forgotten she was there, came in and tore back the curtain. I would have resigned on the spot.
This is not even the extent of Melanie's commitment. Before she had her baby, she had traveled as far as Asia for work. The first request for travel after her baby was born was to New York. Not far, but far enough when you are breastfeeding a baby. The solution ...drum roll please... was that she would pump and FedEx her breastmilk home overnight. At least the company paid for it.
I had dinner Saturday night with my good friend Melanie. Before we had kids she and I worked for different brands of the same retail mogul. What I didn't know is that she didn't resign until her second son was born. That means working in a very demanding business, with travel, for two years.
I breastfed each of my boys for a year. I enjoyed the intimacy with my babies and the satisfaction of providing them sustenance. I left them for no longer than 3 hours at a time (at least when they were infants) because that was how frequently they needed to nurse. However, at least with my first baby, the first six months of breastfeeding were filled with excruciating pain for me. He latched on properly from the get-go, but I was plagued by yeast. I basically had thrush on my nipples and in my glands for about six months. When we first began a nursing session, I would actually have to do Lamaze breathing or cry for the first few seconds because the pain was so bad. I had one particular embarrassing moment when I had to ask the young male pharmacy assistant where the Lotrimin was located. He asked "For what?"
Then one day I found an article buried deep within the internet that said one Diflucan a day would solve the problem. Diflucan is the pill that is used for vaginal yeast infections. My insurance company only covered one pill per month. I needed one per day. I actually went to battle with my insurance company, using the article as evidence. I won.
Back to Melanie. First of all, I give her credit for trying to work and take care of her baby. It's a huge balancing act. Well, Melanie also breastfed her baby. A lot of woman who nurse at work have horror stories about trying to pump in the restroom (yuck), or hiding in their office. Many women have to give up breastfeeding altogether because there is no option to pump in their particular job. Mel obviously worked in an office, and used a double pump. In our company it was protocol to allow women to pump in the first aid room. As she describes it, she would have to schlep her Medela bag to the front desk, get the entry code, and walk back. She said quite frequently the code didn't work and so she'd have to do the whole thing all over again. Then they decided it would be more efficient for the security guy to escort her. She tells of one time when she was double pumping when the security guy, who had forgotten she was there, came in and tore back the curtain. I would have resigned on the spot.
This is not even the extent of Melanie's commitment. Before she had her baby, she had traveled as far as Asia for work. The first request for travel after her baby was born was to New York. Not far, but far enough when you are breastfeeding a baby. The solution ...drum roll please... was that she would pump and FedEx her breastmilk home overnight. At least the company paid for it.
5 comments:
I had thrust with E and it was horrible - and then mastitites twice. Horrible. I hear you there.
When I went back to work after L - I would pump 2 times and sometimes I would need to pump a third time. I had alot of milk. I was always trying to hide and I would always be interrupted - my colleagues would come find me because they just had to have an answer to some silly question.
I traveled some - but never that far and I just pumped and dumped which was always soooo sad - to invest the time and then run it down the drain :(
Wow! LOL. That is commitment to breastfeeding for sure... It would make it so much easier if she just stayed home with the little one though. Mommy's love and care is even more important than breastfeeding.
I tried to breast feed my first son and it was one of the most awful experiences of my life. He didn't latch on and he had such bad colic that he was always too busy screaming to learn. My milk came in and my breasts were so swollen and my nipples were flat. Then I got an infection. I tried using a pump for awhile but it was just such a bad experience altogether that I ended up not properly bonding with my first son. I had a lot of feelings of resentment which I felt so ashamed of. I took it all personal - I felt like he was rejecting me.
With my 2nd son I absolutely refused to even attempt breastfeeding because of what happened.
Anyway - I think breast feeding is best for a baby, but because of my experiences, I don't judge anyone who doesn't.
Tee - I don't judge either. "Bonding" has nothing to do with breastfeeding.
I did pretty well breastfeeding Tess but the initial months were a nightmare. I got mastitis when she was two weeks old and was so psyched to nurse that I was completely against supplementing with formula so I nursed her for ten days with only one working boob (I had to pump the other side and toss out the results, the doctors ran tests on my milk and said that side was no good until the infection cleared). After that I developed scabs that bled each and every time she latched on and I would cry every time she nursed. But still, things got better before long and I ended up nursing her until just before her second birthday. I am hoping with my next baby things will be a lot easier from the get-go.
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