Over Thanksgiving, I was blessed with mastitis. For added fun, my children had the flu at the same time and we were traveling. Such fun.
Here's how it all went down. I think, in my sleep-deprived state, when my little monster was waking up to eat, I was mistakenly not alternating sides. So I woke up on Thanksgiving morning with a rather tender and hot left gazonga. Happy holidays to me.
I did a little Google-based research, and tried some heat and massage. It just got worse. The obvious choice would be to just pump, but we were at my parents', and so my $300 pump was 3 hours away. My parents live in the middle of nowhere (no, really), so running to the store was out. You're lucky if their grocery has fruit that isn't moldy, so an affordable hand pump was clearly out of the question.
In desperation, I called my high school bestie. She just had a baby, and I was hoping she had a pump. She did, and being the saint that she is, let me use it. Now that's friendship.
While that helped, I knew I was going to need something for the rest of the time I was at my parents'. Hello Target on Black Friday. There, amongst the crazies, was a $16 hand pump. Phew. So, for the next two days, I hand-pumped on the unaffected side while Little Dude ate on the infected side. 25 ounces later, and I have a lovely little date-night stash. Also? I happened to catch the Sunbean trying to use the pump. Pretty much made my weekend.
But the real point of this post is to give all of you working-and-pumping-moms a big ol' high-five.
Here's the thing. I love nursing my babies. It is such a sweet and wonderful thing. This experience is pretty much the extent of my complications, so it's been an easy road for me. I really can't say enough good about it (though I'll certainly try).
But. I do not like pumping. What a freaking pain in the neck! There are parts to wash and rinse, then you've gotta pour the milk into a bag, and label it and freeze it, and two hours later....you're back and it again. I have a hospital-grade double electric pump, so I know it's a bit easier with that kind, but still. Pumping just isn't fun.
So if you're a working mom who hauls that breast pump into work every day, 10 points to you. That's love.
