Pumping from Client's Office Building

angeltennis3 · June 2014

Hi ladies,

I've been thinking a lot about once LO is here and my hope to breastfeed her. I'm very fortunate to have about 6 months of maternity leave, so I do plan to breast feed during that time, if my body agrees. So, my first goal is to make it to 6 months breast feeding. I'd really like to make it a year, but I am concerned once I go back to work. If I worked from my own office, I feel this would be an achievable task, but I almost always work from my client's offices.

Is anyone else in this situation? I don't know why, but I am just incredibly nervous to bring up my needs for breastfeeding with a client, especially since most of my contacts are male. Does anyone have any tips or recommendations?

griffers · June 2014

First let me say how jealous I am of your 6 months. I get 6 weeks! That being said I don't think you should feel any shame about asking clients where you can pump. Act like it's no big deal because it's not and you deserve to be able to have a comfortable place to do it!

MrMrsandBaby · June 2014

I can only imagine how uncomfortable that must feel! Do you have regular clients or are they rotating? If they are regular, odds are they will know you had a baby, that will make it easier to ask. You may just want to mention it when scheduling your days, just ask if they have a mother's room available for you to use.

If they are usually new clients, well...same advice! You don't specifically have to say you are pumping, but I would ask when you schedule your visits. At least that way you know if you need to pump in the car or not! (hopefully not though)

megaroo64 · June 2014

In my experience, people were a lot more accommodating/understanding than I thought they would be. Actually, I think the males that I worked with were easier to deal with than some of the females. Most of them seemed to know a daughter/wife/sister etc who breastfed and were more than willing to point me to a place where I could pump.

It is awkward at first, but it becomes second nature really quickly.

AppleGrapeMSTK · June 2014

I pumped in my car at my last job because the only place they had available was the creepy crawl space under the stairs with no light.

If you really want to make it work, there is always a creative solution! I would start by just asking if they have an empty office you could borrow for 30 minutes a few times a day.

ss265 · June 2014

Is it the same client or are you going to different client offices? If it's the same client, is there a female admin assistant that you would feel comfortable asking? If not, then bite the bullet and just ask them! When I was pumping with DS1, I would frequently be in all day training sessions and would just let the instructor (male or female) know that I needed 30 minutes to pump.

I understand how you feel but bear in mind if they have children themselves, the question will likely not phase them at all. If it really bothers you, you can always pump during your commute or in your car. Pumping is always tough in the beginning but you will get used to it and eventually you will get used to pumping in all sorts of places.

angeltennis3 · June 2014

Great advice everyone!

I wish I knew what my schedule was going to be like when I return to work - right now I am on one client for the most part but it is all 100% out of town, so that of course will be changing once we have a LO to care for. I am hoping to primarily serve one client but will more than likely rotate around to some extent.

Asking the receptionist is a fantastic idea, though!

For those of you that say you pumped in the car...how? I mean aren't your breasts somewhat exposed? (I'm completely new at this and very ignorant!). Did you use a nursing cover of some sort?

JessAnnJ · June 2014

I have my own office but I did have situations where I needed to ask for space. When I went to a conference I contacted the conference organizers in advance and they arranged a space for me. I went to a sporting event that I had tickets to before becoming pregnant that was multiple hours long and again I contacted them in advance because 1) I needed to bring in a bag; and 2) I needed a space to pump. They told me where to go and I had no issues bringing my pump in. I was at another attorneys office once and I used the office of someone that wasn't in that day. You will not feel as uncomfortable as you think you will when the time comes. I would just let them know in advance and ask them if they have space. I don't think you need to go out of your way to ask a women or be secretive about it. I would just say that you are nursing or breastfeeding or whatever word you want to use your child and you need a place to pump and ask of they have any available space. Men in my experience have been just as helpful as women.

ETA - the car was always my backup plan but I tried to avoid it if possible.

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