I have so much to write, and so little time to write it. In an effort to continue breastfeeding as long as I can, I squeeze in pumping sessions between my diabetic rounds. So, in a typical day, I start at one school, pump, check diabetics at one school, pump, check diabetics at my middle school, pump, and return to my first school. This all takes from about 10:30-1:30, leaving me just a short time period in the morning and afternoon to get everything done at my school sites. (Then I race home to see my baby, hang with her until she goes to bed, then eat/shower/pack for the next day/sleep.) Needless to say, the days are passing by quickly, and I've been neglecting this blog.
Last week was the first full week of school. I could do without the administrative staff at my middle school, but all in all, I have a pretty decent assignment. A sampling of last week's activities:
1) Active lice in a middle school girl's hair. The poor thing was nearly in tears about it in my office, explaining that she got it from a cousin's house in a recent visit to Pakistan. We had a good little chat about it though, and she seemed cool and collected again as she left my office.
2) A hole the size of Texas in a 4th grader's molar. I wanted to strangle his mother for allowing it to develop, but I didn't. Instead, I asked the secretary to call home and tell his parents that the nurse will not be allowing him to come back to school until we have a note from a dentist certifying that he is being treated.
3) My daughter's first week of daycare...She did just fine, but boy, did it suck, to put it plainly, dropping her off that first morning. She's in a perfectly nice home daycare just two blocks away from us, but I still didn't want to leave her with, essentially, strangers.
More to come!
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Hi there. I'm a peds nurse and had my first daughter right around the time you had yours. One thing I have found to help with pumping while working is to pump in the morning before work (I nurse the baby, then pump), and then I also pump as the last thing I do before I go to bed (usually while I veg out and watch the news). Yes, it means I have to get up a bit earlier (though I try to have my husband get the baby dressed for the day while I pump, to save time. But by doing this I have extra milk reserves in the freezer, and I don't have to pump much during the work day. I know I have the legal right to pump at work- I just don't want to give my work that much control over whether my baby has enough to eat. When things go crazy at work it is easy to find yourself mid-meeting with boobs about to burst. I try to avoid that as much as possible. The other thing that helps is to make my own nursing bra by cutting slits in a sports bra (you can cover the holes during the work day w/ nursing pads). But the nursing sports bra lets me get work done while I pump, instead of having to hold the pumps on my body.
ReplyDeletePumping on the go can be hard, but it's worth it if you can make it work. The best advice I got was get the best electric pump you can afford (or your insurance will cover...). There are lots of websites with tips and tricks for pumping mom's and pumping in challenging conditions. Best of luck with it and enjoy your growing munchkin!
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