I Can Pump With a Little Help from My Friends

The other day, I had a string of meetings an appointments away from home. The last time this happened, I tried pumping in my car since I couldn’t think of another solution. This time, the particular part of town I visited was much too urban for car-pumping to feel comfortable. I couldn’t imagine pumping in my car parked on 5th Avenue, with four lanes of traffic and university students streaming past.

My husband suggested I park in a parking garage and pump in my car from the garage, which would have been a nice solution, but I felt thrifty and didn’t want to spend $15 to park in the garage!

So I started calling friends who worked in that part of town to see if they had offices or lactation rooms I might sneak into for a few minutes. I sent out a bunch of texts, and got such an amazing response.

Several different friends said they weren’t in the office that day, but made arrangements with administrative staff so I could gain access to unused offices if I stopped by.  I received overwhelming support in this hour of need.

In between my string of appointments, I popped into my friend R’s building (the closest to my next destination) and told the admin who I was.  She was excited to let me into R’s office. “This is the most unusual and interesting request I’ve ever had!” she said, “Not that pumping is unusual. Just the whole situation. I’m so glad to help!”

I had the luxury of a private, locked office with a great view of the city and an electrical outlet. I pumped, I gazed, I tidied up (making use of the wet wipes I keep in my pump bag!). And then I slipped out and went on my merry way. I felt so supported and, of course, my son loved having fresh milk the next time I was separated from him.

What solutions have you found when you’ve been separate from your nursling, without access to a workplace lactation room? Leave us a comment to share your story!