This hectic time of year reminds me of my awkward moments in breast pumping. The most awkward was answering the front door to our mailman Kevin (who has three kids my sons' ages). He held out the holiday packages very gingerly, never lost eye contact, and rushed away from the porch before I could yell "Happy Holidays" or "Don't forget your cookies in the mailbox". I closed my door and looked down - my shirt was unbuttoned, nursing bra was undone on both sides because I had been nursing and pumping at the same time: I had flashed my poor mailman because I put the pump and baby down to run to answer the door. Poor Kevin. I made a normal moment for me a very awkward moment for him.
Here are some other awkward moments in breast pumping:
- Showing up to an important customer meeting without pumping before arriving. I never seem to leave enough time to get in another session before the meetings begin, and this frequently causes distractions. I'm distracted because I'm uncomfortable, and my customers are distracted because I'm fidgeting and re-adjusting my shirt as it gets tighter through the meeting.
- Having house guests sleeping in your usual pumping spots - you try to sneak in a pumping session while in the living room when the guests are in the shower but somehow it's interrupted by another house guest or a different family member.
- Being investigated by a nosey niece while visiting your in-laws. We were in New England for Thanksgiving one year and my sister's 5 year old marched into their guest room to look for me (and inquire what the "whoosh" noises were). She had been around breastfeeding moms before but she hadn't seen a breast pump doing its job - so she had many questions for both myself and my sister after that.
Have you had any awkward moments in breast pumping?
