I am a breast pump aficionado

You might call me a breast pump aficionado.

I have two good Medela Pump in Style pumps -- a shoulder bag one that I got used on eBay and a back pack one that a friend gave me after she was finished with it.

I have another manual pump that I bought for emergencies and used for traveling after I stopped regular pumping but was still breastfeeding.

And I have another double electric pump that's ok, but it's no Medela PIS. I tried it once, but it just wasn't effective enough.

And then I once had a Whisperwear pump, but I sold it. Just not up to snuff for exclusive pumping, which is what I was doing when I bought it. I felt like I had to use the Medela to finish after I used the Whisperwear in order to get really empty.

Yeah, and so I have owned some breast pumps.

I haven't used any them since July 2008.

But they used to be a fixture in my life. They traveled with me everywhere. They were my ever-present companion. They became a badge of pride.

I gradually became more brazen about using them in public. I went from hiding away at home to pumping in an airport lounge, in my seat in an airplane, and in my seat on a packed Amtrak train from Philadelphia to New York (when I was so full I felt like the milk was gonna come out of my eyes). I pumped in my boss's office. I pumped in my boss's boss's office. And I asked the president of my division of the company I work for, whom I'd never met before, where I could go to use my pump. 

So this month is the end of an era. I'm giving one of my really good pumps to a friend and former colleague whose baby is due in February. I will be shipping the pump to her this month. And it feels good to know it will be going to a good home.

Comments

[Antropologa]

Ugh, pumps.