I checked the product spotlight spreadsheet and would like to suggest adding (or maybe you dont think it belongs) freezer meal plans. I haven't done a massive prep for freezer meals before, but would love to start working on a list of meals I plan to make, and not just for dinner.
Selfishly started because I have one..... a possibly dumb one.
STMs, or anyone who has ideas, how does pumping at work actually work?
We have a private lactation room with a couch, mini fridge, sink, the whole set up. But.... the whole thing seems foreign to me. Do women who pump at work get half undressed in there, hold the pump to their breasts for 15-20 minutes, clean up, stick their milk in the fridge then go about their day? Do you wear a pumping bra to work? Nursing clothes? Do you bring a ton of supplies back and forth to work each day? Is this really something one can successfully do several times a day?
I have minimal experience with pumping with DD. I only did it for a couple months while on leave and not very regularly. I don't think I ever got a good system down. I don't know what I will do this time but the idea of dragging all this stuff to work and pumping at work seems so overwhelming to me.
@runsomewhere I have no answers for you but just wanted to let you know I also have no idea how to even approach pumping at work. I have asked about a billion questions in the product spotlight this week though lol.
@runsomewhere i didn’t wear nursing clothes all the time, but i had a private room with a fridge so i didn’t mind over lifting my shirt. I pumped 3x at work (every 3-4) hrs and took ab 15 mins. Legally work had to give me the time. I would put the time on my calendar so no one would schedule meetings. I traveled with a manual pump because i shared the room with 2/3 other moms. I didn’t want to leave my equipment there. Hand pump was light to carry around. I would occasionally leave extra bags there for all of us to use and we had some communal wipes too. We would check in with each other so we would take each other’s time if our schedules changed. Overall it worked just fine for us.
@wildtot thank you, that's a good idea about marking yourself as busy on the calendar so people don't schedule you for a meeting.
I have a Medela Pump In Style Advanced, it plugs in. When I pumped I'd be stuck near an outlet holding it in place. Sometimes things would leak and make a mess, then there was the cleanup of the whole thing between each use. Like I said, I never perfected nursing or pumping with DD and I'm thinking about putting in more effort this time, I just can't wrap my mind around getting in, pumping and cleaning the pump in 15-20 minutes. Maybe I'll look in to a manual pump.
@flockofmoosen3 we did that with DD and plan to do it again this time. We waited too dang long to prep though! I ended up just sitting on a stool panting while manning the recipes, pointing and yelling at DH and his best friend. Our fridge just died, so I'd say probably this weekend or next we'll get prep out of the way. I can't find the exact one I did that had the shopping list combined and like 30 recipes...there are a million options if you pinterest or google. Some of these blogs say they last 3 months in the freezer - but we were still eating them WAY longer than 3 months after delivery and they tasted great.
I plan on putting a sign on my classroom door and hoping for the best. We don't have a private room, and people are in and out of here constantly, so I'm hoping they will honor the sign; if not, their fault!
ok sorry per usual i start a reply at work, get distracted and don't see other things I want to reply to until after I push the button @runsomewhere and @moguippy I pumped at work for 6ish months with DD. I wore nursing bras with a shirt that easily lifted or a nursing cami with a cardigan sweater for easy access. We don't have a communal room, but I do have a lockable office with window shades so I would just pump in my office every X hours. My boss offered to let me use his mini-fridge, but I just used the medela 4 bottle bag and special ice pack. I did bring the pump-in-style tote back and forth with me along with my work bag every day which was A LOT to carry. Since I qualify for another pump with insurance with this baby, I plan to get a second pump and leave one at work and one at home, and just bring the horns and mini-cooler back and forth. Agreed the scheduling time on the calendar is a good plan and will do that this time (just as much as a reminder to pump as for no interruption). Since I was sitting at my desk I used to just hold the horns in place with one hand and respond to emails and interoffice IM with the other. I plan on pumping more this time, so I'm going to try one of those pumping bras that are hands free - the collectors that go IN your bra discreetly sound amazing but I've heard mixed reviews on efficiency and ability to actually empty the breast especially for women who already have some trouble.
@flockofmoosen3 I'd be interested in checking that out. Like pumping, freezer meal prepping is something I'm kind of uncertain about. So far my plan is doordash when I can't cook.
@WorkinWeezel Good luck, I hope people don't barge in on you.
@gingerbride26 Impressive multitasking. I would (and likely will) end up covered in breast milk.
@canucklehead123 I've heard of it and I have hear of people having success. No personal experience though, sorry, my birthing included the words "hurry up and get this over with" being said to my OB. True story.
Here's what I did for pumping at work. I have a back office space with a small fridge and only work with one other person so it's a bit different for me. I would still wear a nursing bra and nursing cami that clip down under my shirt. I would only expose my chest instead of completely undressing. Find a comfy spot, hook up the pump (one that is battery operated works the best) and then just pump for the scheduled time. Put the milk away, wipe the pump down but put the parts in a ziploc bag and in the fridge so I could reuse them in the afternoon (you don't need to wash after every pump if you put them in the fridge) and then head back to work. I made sure to stick to my scheduled pumping times too
@flockofmoosen3 added it to the spreadsheet. It is at the end now (June 5) but we can move it around if people think that's too late? Will most people have prep done by then? I have never done it either but would LOVE to, I just don't know how far before delivery would be a good idea to start.
flockofmoosen3
love that idea! I meal prep on a weekly basis and would love freezer meal ideas
for when it gets closer to delivery!
runsomewhere
I’m interested too. I have my own office
but theres a large window that anyone walking by can see in and you cant
exactly put up a shade or curtain. We
also don’t have any private rooms so I have no idea what I’m going to do.
I just came across a discussion about not being able to garden during pregnancy. What??! I have never heard this before, not from my doctor or on any forum. We spend a lot of time in the yard, playing, picking weeds, planting, doing what you'd do in your yard. Is this a serious concern or some sort of dated old wives tale?
@runsomewhere I think the main concern is the same concern of catching toxoplasmosis from changing cat litter boxes. It can be in soil from other animals besides cats. The only other concern I can think of using pesticides on plants, otherwise I have every plan to garden this summer (I'll just wear gloves..). My kids loved helping with the vegetable garden last year and I can't make DH do the upkeep on his own!
@SmashJam Last time I did meal prep about 2 months before my due date, but I think you can safely do it 3+ months before depending on the type of freezer you have and how you are storing the food (bags, pans with foil, etc.) We have a deep freeze which can store things for 9-12 months safely.
@runsomewhere it's kind of along the same reasons they tell you to wash produce. there can be germs/bacteria in the soil. I would say just wear gloves and wash your hands when you are done.
Does anyone have experience employing an in-home nanny? Since my husband and I have fairly flexible work schedules and I'm anticipating not wanting to leave the baby somewhere outside the home until they are older, I'm looking into it. However all of the tax responsibilities, etc seem daunting, especially if I may only have the nanny for 9-12 months until I'm comfortable sending to a daycare. Any thoughts around how difficult this is from a payment/tax perspective would be great!
@runsomewhere I heard the same thing @zg49 mentioned, to watch out for animal poops in the veggie beds, but the nurse only mentioned CAT poop from feral animals, and she just said wear gloves. I don't think there is a concern with other animal poop, at least when I had my hobby farm no one was concerned about the myriad of feces I was in contact with on a regular basis.
@ckmb_knottie I do not have personal experience as I am a daycare mom, just wanted to say good for you for being smart and doing this the right way. I know many families who have nannies and most pay under the table without any consideration for taxes, insurance or licenses. It can be a nightmare for a family if something happens and there is a dispute regarding a nanny's employment status, income, what happens if the nanny gets injured on the job, etc.
@runsomewhere I would highly recommend a pumping bra which will hold the flanges for you! (I put it on only to pump and would I clip my nursing bra to wear it) Also medela makes wipes to clean your pump parts if you don’t have access to a sink or want to clean them quickly on the go. It’s totally possible to keep up pumping while you work. I drank lots of water, found oatmeal and Gatorade to help with supply and would massage during pumping to get the most output. Pumping bra: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00TQ2YF18/ref=mp_s_a_1_5_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1521492256&sr=8-5&keywords=pump+bra+simple+wishes&dpPl=1&dpID=41AmFzjYUnL&ref=plSrchi have this bra but without the tie in the back, it was a must have
my question: how did you work to stay calm during birth? Like especially during a c section. My blood pressure was so high with my first birth because I was so nervous! Breathing helped but I’m scared I’ll have a c section and heard your arms get strapped down and now I’m worried. Maybe silly but I’d love to have a positive birth experience again.
@runsomewhere it's kind of along the same reasons they tell you to wash produce. there can be germs/bacteria in the soil. I would say just wear gloves and wash your hands when you are done.
As i eat my store bought unwashed apple... i rarely wash my fruits (but always do for DS)
@runsomewhere not a lot of experience in the pumping department but I hear thedairyfairy makes a great pumping bra.
@ckmb_knottie we are going with a nanny but won't need her until January so we are not going to start our research until the fall. We will need her part time and I am also not familiar at all with all the tax stuff. While it's tempting to hire someone under the table I'd rather not risk it. My husband has a discount through work to use a service called SitterCity so I'm going to look into that as it may mean that they take care of all that logistics.
@ckmb_knottie We looked into the nanny option, but like you wanted to make sure the logistics were handled properly. There are several services in our area that help manage it, but when we added the taxes, etc to the nanny's rate, it just was cost prohibitive for us. Thankfully we did find a daycare we're really happy about and are able to stack the leave between me and DH and then my mom helping out some that we won't need to use the daycare until probably December.
@crabcake18 I labored for 36 hours before it was decided that I needed a c section (never progressed passed 5cm). I was VERY anxious about surgery - I'm a vet tech and administer anesthesia during surgeries so I had a pretty good idea of what my surgery would look like. It helped that the OB on call was laid back with a sense of humor. I was also very honest with him about my anxiety and concerns. For me, it helped to ask a LOT of questions.
I did ask for Xanax but they wouldn't allow it bc it could lower fetal HR. I was extremely shaky (very common after that long of labor, the meds I had, and anxiety). I didn't have my arms tied down and it was never an issue, even though I was completely aware of what they were doing and when. I even had issues with the epidural mid-surgery but the hospital staff is experienced and handled it quickly. And honestly, it all happened so fast that the anxiety and surgery were over before I knew it.
I'd suggest talking to your OB now about your fears and concerns so you can come up with a plan for what could be, even if you don't end up with a c section.
@flockofmoosen3 you seriously beat me to the punch. Haha yesterday I was like okay tomorrow is meal plan Monday and new weekly questions.. one of those threads I'm gonna ask lol
@runsomewhere not a dumb question at all! Pumping gave me so much anxiety prior to DDs birth. Breastfeeding didn’t stress me out at all but the logistics of pumping did.
Heres what I did: I’m very lucky to have a private office and a very supportive boss. So I just shut my door 3 times per day and pumped while continuing to work. Everyday I brought to work: my Medela PISA, a handsfree pumping bra, three sets of bottles, three sets of shields, one set of valves/connections/membranes. At my office I had stored: painters tape to label bottles, receiving blanket, Lysol wipes (for spills), ziplock bags, and a spare set of membranes. Since I had a private office, I splurged and bought a mini fridge so that I could store bottles in my office instead of having to take them to the communal fridge. One trick is that you can reuse pump parts between sessions without washing them as long as they are refrigerated. At each session I would use a new set of shields and then I reused the same set of connections/valves/membranes each time, refrigerating in between. You can use the same shields too but personally I didn’t want to use cold ones.
I wore a nursing bra and usually a flowy type shirt that I could just hike up. I just made sure they were forgiving fabrics that wouldn’t wrinkle. Honestly the handsfree pumping bra was critical for me. I can’t imagine being successful without it. Then I’d toss the receiving blanket over me while pumping just in case someone walked in. When disconnecting everything I’d lay it over my lap to prevent spills.
Definitely block off time on your calendar for pumping and hold people to it. Especially in the early weeks, consistently is really important for keeping up your supply and also preventing leaking.
Thats probably way more detailed than you wanted but like I said I definitely had a lot of anxiety about this before my first and I wanted details.
Selfishly started because I have one..... a possibly dumb one.
STMs, or anyone who has ideas, how does pumping at work actually work?
We have a private lactation room with a couch, mini fridge, sink, the whole set up. But.... the whole thing seems foreign to me. Do women who pump at work get half undressed in there, hold the pump to their breasts for 15-20 minutes, clean up, stick their milk in the fridge then go about their day? Do you wear a pumping bra to work? Nursing clothes? Do you bring a ton of supplies back and forth to work each day? Is this really something one can successfully do several times a day?
I have minimal experience with pumping with DD. I only did it for a couple months while on leave and not very regularly. I don't think I ever got a good system down. I don't know what I will do this time but the idea of dragging all this stuff to work and pumping at work seems so overwhelming to me.
@runsomewhere Just popping in and didn't read the other responses yet but I touched on this earlier in today's product spotlight about nursing gear. I did it for a year, 2-3 times a day during work and twice in the car (long commute). It is HARD to get adjusted to at first, but doable if you really want to (but totally fine if you don't want to, I get that). I didn't have a lactation room, so at first I used the file room, then later I stopped giving a fuck and started doing it at my desk. It is totally not necessary to get naked to pump once you get the hang of it. What I did was I'd wear a nursing bra as my regular bra under my clothes, and I'd usually have a cami under my shirt, same as if I were nursing. To pump I'd just pull my shirt up, cami down, clip the bra down (but not take it off) and put the pumping bra over it. I'd go on my phone while pumping, and later I'd just pump at my desk while working. For desk pumping I used freemies, which go inside your bra under your shirt so no one can see anything. I'd quickly step into the filing room (our only private space) to get them in place, pump, then go back in to take them out in private. The whole thing took me maybe 20-25 mins per session. I had an awesome pump bag that fit my pump, all parts, bottles, bags etc and that doubled as my regular work bag and even fit my lunch. I dragged that thing to hearings and pumped during breaks too. Also to meetings and continuing legal education classes (lawyer). I was definitely overwhelmed and it felt really hard when I first started, but it became routine after a while. Hope that helps.
@runsomewhere I also pumped at work. They offered a private room but I didn't want to walk that far so I found a storage room where I could lay out my stuff, plug into the wall, and pump while standing which is more comfortable for me anyway. I also bagged my used bottles and pumping stuff in a Ziploc and stuffed it in the fridge between pumps. For a nursing bra, I bought a cheap bra that fit and cut slits (not holes) at the nipple and fit the flange thing through it then attached it to the bottle. Worked super well.
I also recommend getting a manual pump. I have a cubicle with a sliding door with my coworker and we are in an office suite and I found discreetly manually pumping to be very effective and super easy to do at my desk. It isn't silent, but no one could see me doing it.
@ckmb_knottie as for hiring a nanny-- I did this with DD as officially as I could. There are a lot of things to coordinate but the federal IRS and state tax Dept have a lot of literature and good customer service to call to answer all your questions. They want you to do it right, so they will explain everything as many times as you need. For us, we paid for one day a week and our nanny didn't make enough each week for us to contribute anything to state and federal unemployment or workers comp. The only taxes we both equally contributed to (my portion being on top of her paid wage) was Medicare and social security at like 7.5% each. If you have to pay unemployment and WC that is also on top of her wages. There are charts to help you determine if you need to pay it and how much (look for household employer info). You need to register as an employer, you need to register her as your employee using a W-9. Nannies dont require paid breaks like other employees. You get a Federal Employer ID and you have to submit quarterly reports on her wages and the taxes you're taking out, and then a final end of year form. I would track in a spreadsheet each paycheck we paid her by personal check less HER contribution to Medicare and SS taxes, and calculate the taxes owed by me and saved this for easy reporting on the quarterly form. For a one year period we paid about $500 in taxes on top of her salary. For the Nanny's taxes, you can give her the option of taking the taxes out each paycheck or letting her be responsible for paying it all at the end of the year. By the end of January you just need to submit a W-2 online and send one to her for her own taxes.
It was a lot to learn and it is a process but I called the IRS and state tax Dept many times to get clarification on stuff.
@ckmb_knottie one benefit to paying a nanny properly is that you can get tax breaks for it or get reimbursement if you contribute to a daycare spending account now which decreases your taxable income by that amount, usually a limit of $5000 per year. Look into which option makes more sense for you, the tax credit or the non-taxable income.
@flockofmoosen3 and others wondering why you can't treat a nanny as a contractor and just send her a 1099? You would have to pay her enough to pay out her own taxes at the end of the year I guess, right, and let her know that was the case, but is that easier? I don't know much about how taxes work but thought of this because I just looked into that Belay company someone on here mentioned and you work as a contractor for them so you pay your own taxes at the end of the year, as I understand it.
flockofmoosen3
love that idea! I meal prep on a weekly basis and would love freezer meal ideas
for when it gets closer to delivery!
runsomewhere
I’m interested too. I have my own office
but theres a large window that anyone walking by can see in and you cant
exactly put up a shade or curtain. We
also don’t have any private rooms so I have no idea what I’m going to do.
@runsomewhere are you in the US? If so, look into your rights. By law employers are required to provide a private space to pump that’s not a bathroom. On my last BMB, one of the women was in a similar situation and got approval to put temporary contact type paper over the window until she was finished pumping at one year. The kind that lets light in but obstructs the view and can be easily removed. Maybe see if they’d be open to that? Honestly, I think a big part of the reason I was successful was the fact that I could pump in my office without having to lug the pump and a laptop/work to another location. If at all possible, I’d try to find a way to pump in your office.
@flockofmoosen3 thank you! Tons of good info. I'm impressed you figured that all out yourself-I would/will likely use care.com and I believe they are pretty good about walking you through all of it. Now that you mention it, I should look into an FSA though.
RE: pumping in your office. I don't have my own office (and I know a lot of people don't). I have a cubicle with short walls and the opening faces a busy corridor. Pumping at my desk isn't an option (especially because my office is 80% men and anyone who walks by can see exactly what you are doing). I will be lugging my pump and laptop upstairs to a different floor to a "new Mother's room" that I will be sharing with one other lady who is due this May (and anyone else that feels like they want to make a phone call in private, etc., there has been someone in there that isn't the 1 lady who is currently pumping and we can't figure out who thinks they can use that room as their personal private room). It isn't ideal, but I'm determined to make it work. The lady who is pumping right now seems to be able to handle it well. From what I can tell she leaves her pump in there and just lugs her laptop up every pumping session.
@moguippy it actually sounds really nice to have a mother's room! You should be able to coordinate with the other pumping mom no problem (as long as she is willing to work with you), the pump really isn't all that heavy (tip: Spectra is much lighter than Medela), and I would totally complain to HR or someone about people using it who are not pumping. That's not cool. I don't have a laptop at work and I was sick of sitting in a crowded filing room on the floor, so I started pumping at my desk. I do have my own office but it's not private, one of the walls is glass. I think your set up with the mother's room and having a laptop sounds great. I know it probably feels overwhelming to think about now, but once you're back at work and you're thinking about your baby at home who needs your milk, it might just feel different and not as scary. Sure it will be tough at first, but you'll adjust to it and it will become second nature.
Thanks everyone for sharing tips on pumping at work. Too lazy to tag everyone. I've had some anxiety about the logistics, but I also haven't done my research yet completely either.
Like @moguippy I am in a cube with short walls on a busy corridor. No way can I pump at my desk. We just moved into a new building and to my knowledge I am the only one currently pregnant and we have no nursing mom's so I will be the first that has had to deal (we share a space with a sister company so I have no idea if anyone else is expecting, but I haven't heard). The sister company has a nurse on site and I've been told I could use one of her rooms to pump (we have literally NO other private space). I haven't talked to her yet or even gone back to see the space, but I'm a little nervous about the logistics since I believe she regularly uses all her space and I have a feeling it was volunteered without anyone talking to her... I was planning to talk to her about a month before my due date.
Me: 31 DH: 34 Married: April 2016 TTC December 2016 BFP 2/28/17 // CP 3/1/17 MFI Diagnosis: Aug 2017 BFP 11/1/17 // DS born 6/18 TTC January 2019 BFP 3/21/19 // D&C (MMC) 5/8/19
@mrsmiller8588 definitely check into your state's law about pumping, many states require your employer to provide a private space *NOT a bathroom* to pump in, so they will have to come up with something for you to make it work. It's just good to go into things knowing your rights. I totally understand the lack of space issue, I work in NYC where space is very limited and my office suite is all glass walls and open spaces. But, if the laws in your state require it, it is up to them to figure something out for you.
@zande2016 There is a woman successfully pumping now so it gives me the hope of knowing it is totally possible. I plan on leaving my pump in there bc I don't think the other lady I will be coordinating with will have a problem with that. I'm sure she'll leave her crap in there too. The "New mother's room" is a room off of a woman's bathroom on a floor with not a lot of people so it isn't used a TON, but the door is left open when not in use, so people sometimes duck in there to make a personal call or something. (I've totally done it, but that was when there were no pumping ladies at the time). I wouldn't do it now that I know someone uses the room. The problem is we don't know who is in there so we can't report them to HR. We are lucky with our pumping room, it has a small table with a chair near the outlet and a small countertop with a sink. And no windows and a lock on the door lol.
Re: Weekly Questions 3/19 - 3/25
STMs, or anyone who has ideas, how does pumping at work actually work?
We have a private lactation room with a couch, mini fridge, sink, the whole set up. But.... the whole thing seems foreign to me. Do women who pump at work get half undressed in there, hold the pump to their breasts for 15-20 minutes, clean up, stick their milk in the fridge then go about their day? Do you wear a pumping bra to work? Nursing clothes? Do you bring a ton of supplies back and forth to work each day? Is this really something one can successfully do several times a day?
I have minimal experience with pumping with DD. I only did it for a couple months while on leave and not very regularly. I don't think I ever got a good system down. I don't know what I will do this time but the idea of dragging all this stuff to work and pumping at work seems so overwhelming to me.
ab 15 mins. Legally work had to give me the time. I would put the time on my calendar so no one would schedule meetings. I traveled with a manual pump because i shared the room with 2/3 other moms. I didn’t want to leave my equipment there. Hand pump was light to carry around. I would occasionally leave extra bags there for all of us to use and we had some communal wipes too. We would check in with each other so we would take each other’s time if our schedules changed. Overall it worked just fine for us.
I have a Medela Pump In Style Advanced, it plugs in. When I pumped I'd be stuck near an outlet holding it in place. Sometimes things would leak and make a mess, then there was the cleanup of the whole thing between each use. Like I said, I never perfected nursing or pumping with DD and I'm thinking about putting in more effort this time, I just can't wrap my mind around getting in, pumping and cleaning the pump in 15-20 minutes. Maybe I'll look in to a manual pump.
Married: 6/27/2008
DS: 3/14/2010 Planned, PG first try
M/C 6/2012
DD: 4/22/2013 Planned, UnDx Infertility, PG on our own
BFP: 10/28/2016 Unplanned, HUGE SURPRISE!
M/C 12/12/2016
BFP: 10/27/2017 Unplanned, HUGE SURPRISE
EDD: 7/2/2018
@runsomewhere and @moguippy I pumped at work for 6ish months with DD. I wore nursing bras with a shirt that easily lifted or a nursing cami with a cardigan sweater for easy access. We don't have a communal room, but I do have a lockable office with window shades so I would just pump in my office every X hours. My boss offered to let me use his mini-fridge, but I just used the medela 4 bottle bag and special ice pack. I did bring the pump-in-style tote back and forth with me along with my work bag every day which was A LOT to carry. Since I qualify for another pump with insurance with this baby, I plan to get a second pump and leave one at work and one at home, and just bring the horns and mini-cooler back and forth. Agreed the scheduling time on the calendar is a good plan and will do that this time (just as much as a reminder to pump as for no interruption). Since I was sitting at my desk I used to just hold the horns in place with one hand and respond to emails and interoffice IM with the other. I plan on pumping more this time, so I'm going to try one of those pumping bras that are hands free - the collectors that go IN your bra discreetly sound amazing but I've heard mixed reviews on efficiency and ability to actually empty the breast especially for women who already have some trouble.
@WorkinWeezel Good luck, I hope people don't barge in on you.
@gingerbride26 Impressive multitasking. I would (and likely will) end up covered in breast milk.
@canucklehead123 I've heard of it and I have hear of people having success. No personal experience though, sorry, my birthing included the words "hurry up and get this over with" being said to my OB. True story.
flockofmoosen3 love that idea! I meal prep on a weekly basis and would love freezer meal ideas for when it gets closer to delivery!
runsomewhere I’m interested too. I have my own office but theres a large window that anyone walking by can see in and you cant exactly put up a shade or curtain. We also don’t have any private rooms so I have no idea what I’m going to do.
I just came across a discussion about not being able to garden during pregnancy. What??! I have never heard this before, not from my doctor or on any forum. We spend a lot of time in the yard, playing, picking weeds, planting, doing what you'd do in your yard. Is this a serious concern or some sort of dated old wives tale?
I always wear my gardening gloves, wash my hands and wash my produce before eating it, pregnant or not lol.
my question: how did you work to stay calm during birth? Like especially during a c section. My blood pressure was so high with my first birth because I was so nervous! Breathing helped but I’m scared I’ll have a c section and heard your arms get strapped down and now I’m worried. Maybe silly but I’d love to have a positive birth experience again.
@ckmb_knottie we are going with a nanny but won't need her until January so we are not going to start our research until the fall. We will need her part time and I am also not familiar at all with all the tax stuff. While it's tempting to hire someone under the table I'd rather not risk it.
My husband has a discount through work to use a service called SitterCity so I'm going to look into that as it may mean that they take care of all that logistics.
I did ask for Xanax but they wouldn't allow it bc it could lower fetal HR. I was extremely shaky (very common after that long of labor, the meds I had, and anxiety). I didn't have my arms tied down and it was never an issue, even though I was completely aware of what they were doing and when. I even had issues with the epidural mid-surgery but the hospital staff is experienced and handled it quickly. And honestly, it all happened so fast that the anxiety and surgery were over before I knew it.
I'd suggest talking to your OB now about your fears and concerns so you can come up with a plan for what could be, even if you don't end up with a c section.
Heres what I did: I’m very lucky to have a private office and a very supportive boss. So I just shut my door 3 times per day and pumped while continuing to work. Everyday I brought to work: my Medela PISA, a handsfree pumping bra, three sets of bottles, three sets of shields, one set of valves/connections/membranes. At my office I had stored: painters tape to label bottles, receiving blanket, Lysol wipes (for spills), ziplock bags, and a spare set of membranes. Since I had a private office, I splurged and bought a mini fridge so that I could store bottles in my office instead of having to take them to the communal fridge. One trick is that you can reuse pump parts between sessions without washing them as long as they are refrigerated. At each session I would use a new set of shields and then I reused the same set of connections/valves/membranes each time, refrigerating in between. You can use the same shields too but personally I didn’t want to use cold ones.
I wore a nursing bra and usually a flowy type shirt that I could just hike up. I just made sure they were forgiving fabrics that wouldn’t wrinkle. Honestly the handsfree pumping bra was critical for me. I can’t imagine being successful without it. Then I’d toss the receiving blanket over me while pumping just in case someone walked in. When disconnecting everything I’d lay it over my lap to prevent spills.
Definitely block off time on your calendar for pumping and hold people to it. Especially in the early weeks, consistently is really important for keeping up your supply and also preventing leaking.
Thats probably way more detailed than you wanted
For a nursing bra, I bought a cheap bra that fit and cut slits (not holes) at the nipple and fit the flange thing through it then attached it to the bottle. Worked super well.
I also recommend getting a manual pump. I have a cubicle with a sliding door with my coworker and we are in an office suite and I found discreetly manually pumping to be very effective and super easy to do at my desk. It isn't silent, but no one could see me doing it.
@ckmb_knottie as for hiring a nanny-- I did this with DD as officially as I could. There are a lot of things to coordinate but the federal IRS and state tax Dept have a lot of literature and good customer service to call to answer all your questions. They want you to do it right, so they will explain everything as many times as you need. For us, we paid for one day a week and our nanny didn't make enough each week for us to contribute anything to state and federal unemployment or workers comp. The only taxes we both equally contributed to (my portion being on top of her paid wage) was Medicare and social security at like 7.5% each. If you have to pay unemployment and WC that is also on top of her wages. There are charts to help you determine if you need to pay it and how much (look for household employer info). You need to register as an employer, you need to register her as your employee using a W-9. Nannies dont require paid breaks like other employees. You get a Federal Employer ID and you have to submit quarterly reports on her wages and the taxes you're taking out, and then a final end of year form. I would track in a spreadsheet each paycheck we paid her by personal check less HER contribution to Medicare and SS taxes, and calculate the taxes owed by me and saved this for easy reporting on the quarterly form. For a one year period we paid about $500 in taxes on top of her salary. For the Nanny's taxes, you can give her the option of taking the taxes out each paycheck or letting her be responsible for paying it all at the end of the year. By the end of January you just need to submit a W-2 online and send one to her for her own taxes.
It was a lot to learn and it is a process but I called the IRS and state tax Dept many times to get clarification on stuff.
I've had some anxiety about the logistics, but I also haven't done my research yet completely either.
Like @moguippy I am in a cube with short walls on a busy corridor. No way can I pump at my desk. We just moved into a new building and to my knowledge I am the only one currently pregnant and we have no nursing mom's so I will be the first that has had to deal (we share a space with a sister company so I have no idea if anyone else is expecting, but I haven't heard). The sister company has a nurse on site and I've been told I could use one of her rooms to pump (we have literally NO other private space). I haven't talked to her yet or even gone back to see the space, but I'm a little nervous about the logistics since I believe she regularly uses all her space and I have a feeling it was volunteered without anyone talking to her... I was planning to talk to her about a month before my due date.
TTC December 2016
BFP 2/28/17 // CP 3/1/17
MFI Diagnosis: Aug 2017
BFP 11/1/17 // DS born 6/18
TTC January 2019
BFP 3/21/19 // D&C (MMC) 5/8/19