Expressing breast milk; it’s probably the least sexy thing I
do on a daily basis, but I do it, just like I brush my teeth and do the dishes
at night. It used to be in the category of things that just need to happen. And
there are only few things as awkward as undressing halfway in an office at
work, and walking around the university with your own bodily fluids in a jar on
a daily basis. But now that BlueEyes is almost 9 months, and I think I can go
from pumping twice to pumping once during my work day, I have come to realize
how much I like it.
It gives me the perfect excuse to sit in a quiet room for 15
minutes and relax. I don’t bring papers to read because when I relax I’ll pump
milk much faster. It gives me the
opportunity to gather my thoughts, plan my experiments, think about my day, or
just sit and fall asleep (okay that only almost happened once). And the release of endorphins
when I’m pumping makes me feel even more peaceful.
Of course when I don’t need to pump milk anymore I could try
and have those two small breaks in my day when I can sit and relax, but I just
know that when I don’t need to do, I probably won’t do it. Normally I’m running
around all day doing experiments and what not and the need to pump milk just
makes me sit down, which I would otherwise probably not do.
It’s funny how I’ve come to love something that I used to
dislike so much.
Earlier this year I realized that I envied smokers because they had a reason to go sit outside for 5 minutes every once in a while. I actually tried to do this (without a cigarette), but I felt strange just sitting there. It's so hard to just sit and relax without a reason.
ReplyDeleteI commend your attitude. I pumped far more than 2x per day and I HATED IT (see the whole getting half naked in your office). I did it for one full academic year for each kid and I swear it is one of the great achievements of my life (all that cleaning of parts and schlepping around)
ReplyDeleteThanks! And yes what I hate about it is the cleaning of parts and bottles and not to mention dragging my pump back and forth to work!
DeleteI really enjoyed my comedy central break. Problem: I'd leak whenever I heard Stephen Colbert's voice, whether pumping or not.
ReplyDelete