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April 2014 Moms
DisorientdAsIAm
member
Can I Come Out of Lurking?
DisorientdAsIAm
member
So I'll admit that I've lurked here for months-- I've never been much of a forum poster, but you know, you ladies seem pretty awesome so I thought I'd take a shot and say "hi."
Hi. 
I am "Mom" to a little boy born on April 15 and also a girl born in November, 2010. I may not post a whole lot but if I have something to say that I think might be constructive, I'll contribute. And I'll do my best to avoid drama since I'm not a fan of it, though I do have an issue with anxiety/worrying sometimes, so I apologize in advance for that.
Here are a thought and a vent to get me started...
1. This has been said before but it might be nice for one more person to note it... I know how easy it is to get wrapped up in what our babies "should" or even "could" be doing-- I'm pretty big on rules and with my daughter, I was so afraid we'd screw her up, lol. (FTR, we didn't. At least, not yet.) But I think that when it comes down to it, everyone needs to do what's best for her baby, her family, and herself. Trust yourself, your instincts, and any advice that feels right (e.g., from your pedi). It will all work out. Usually.
2. My employer is pretty fantastic in general and its lactation program is no exception. BUT... The fridge in the Mother's Room is probably only a little bigger than a microwave. Right now we seem to have a record number of pumping moms, which is great but not so much when one feels the need to put her entire cooler bag (like the one that comes with the Medela PISA) in the fridge and another keeps her flanges and such attached to bottles in there. I want to tear my hair out every time I go to store my bottles since I have to try to keep them from touching someone else's stuff. I'm currently debating whether I should say something about a bigger fridge to the administrative assistant but I don't want to seem difficult... If I were ballsy I'd leave an anonymous note about courtesy. But I'm not.
My $0.02 for now. Nice to meet you all!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Can I Come Out of Lurking?
Thanks for the reminder about what we "should" be doing. Im sure we were all raised in diifferent ways, reaching milestones differently, but here we are as priductive members of society and spawning the next generation. I guess we turned out all right
Age: 35 TTC since 2005, MFI & DOR
IVF #1 Sep '11 - canceled poor response
IVF #2 Nov '11 8R/8M/4F 3dt x2 - chemical
IVF #3 April '12 11R/6M/4F 3dt x2 - m/c
FET #1 Aug 2012 3dt x2 - BFN
**new RE**
IVF #4 Jan '13 BFN 11R/6M/6F 5dt x2 - BFN
IVF #5 July '13 16R/10M/10F 5dt x2 + 1 frostie
9dp5dt Beta 1 = 344!! 16dp5dt. Beta 2 = 4822 7wk u/s= 2 heartbeats!
Twin girls! 3/6/14
...??
Aaanyway, welcome OP. Storing the flanges in the fridge is actually a brilliant way to use one set of parts for multiple sessions without having to wash them in between. That's exactly what I did for my brief stint as a FT working/pumping mom with my first kiddo. I wouldn't begrudge someone the shelf space to do that, but I definitely would ask for a bigger fridge. Worst case scenario, find a bigger unit on craigslist and ask each nursing mom to pitch in $10-15 toward splitting the cost. I can't imagine you're the only one feeling the squeeze!
Thanks for the warm welcome and suggestions about the fridge! Thinking about it... Will probably ask about a bigger one when I'm back in the office on Monday.
I've definitely seen the recs about storing flanges, etc., in the fridge and have even considered doing it myself, but of course I haven't with the limited space. In fact, I have two sets of parts and probably spend about five minutes cleaning one of them after my first session just so I can use it again later (no one else I've heard in the room seems to do this so either they have a multitude of parts or they aren't very sanitary?). Oh well.
On the plus side, last night my DH randomly/graciously/surprisingly offered to start washing everything for me at the end of each day. He's pretty terrific.
:x
ETA: Lovey smiley didn't cooperate the first time.
Baby Girl Born: April 2014
If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, I will answer you:
It may be a mini fridge but I'm jealous, we have no fridge in our pumping room.
@Serenla, we don't have a fridge or a table in our pumping room. I plan to request a table when I go back on Monday since my Hygeia pump is separate from a bag and has manual adjustments. The room also has the most uncomfortable plastic chair! We do have a dedicated sink and storage that I appreciate, but I have to use the employee kitchen fridge to store bottles, which I'm not thrilled about given the lack of space and how often they are opened
BFP #1 11/19/12 EDD: 7/25/13 Natural MC on 12/31/12 at 10w4d
BFP#2 3/1/13 EDD: 11/5/13 Missed MC 4/9/13 at 10w D&C 4/11/13
Baby #2 diagnosed with Trisomy 16. Diagnosed Hetero MTHFR.
BFP#3 8/5/13 EDD: 4/13/14 Team Green Turned Team Blue! Our rainbow baby, Griffin R arrived via c-section (breech since 20w) on 4/11/14.
.
~~Everyone Always Welcome~~
Welcome! I give kudos to your DH for washing the pump parts too! I bought several extra sets my first time around because I got so irritated with washing and sanitizing them every night.
Yes, Tax Day baby! I actually work for a financial services company so sadly, this is what I associate his birthday with!
I'm pretty grateful. He said he wants to give me that time to spend with the kids, and he likes that it gives him a little bit of time to himself (though he gets time to himself every night after the rest of us go to bed, but that's another story for another time, lol).
It's unfortunate that some moms don't have fridges in their pumping rooms.
Luckily, my employer had just added the mini-fridge when I went back to work after having my daughter. I can't imagine having to store BM in a public fridge for the reasons mentioned above. I really do appreciate our lactation program (they even provide hospital-grade pumps for us to use) which is part of the reason I'm a little nervous about bringing up the fridge concern.