A day in a life as an exclusively pumping mom

Jen is a boring business analyst by day, part-time college student by night, and a rockstar mommy ‘round the clock.

You can read more from Jen on her blog, Life With Levi, or find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Finding time to pump is challenging for anyone. As an exclusive pumping mom for my 77-month-oldson Levi, I’ve learned a few tricks to making it work.

What Does My Typical Day Look Like?

• 6am – Wake up and pump. If I’m lucky, Levi is still sleeping. If not, my awesome husband handles the morning stuff – getting Levi changed, fed, and ready for daycare so I have time to pump and get ready for work.
• 7:30am – Drop Levi off at daycare. I send bottles of expressed milk for him to have while I’m away.
• 8am – Get to work. Jump headfirst into spreadsheets and databases and reports.
• 10:30am-ish – Take my first pump break. More on this below.
• 2:30pm-ish – Take my next pump break.
• 5:15pm – Leave work to head to school. I put on my PumpEase and grab my pump so I can pump while driving to campus. It’s about a 20 minute drive from my office, which is the perfect amount of time.
• 10pm – Get out of class and head home. I try to pump in the car on the way home, because to be honest, after sitting in class for 4 hours, I’m tired and I want to crash as soon as I walk in the door. The last thing I want to do is take more time to pump once I’m home, so it’s easier for me to multitask and get it done during my commute.

What Makes It Work For Me?

-A very supportive husband. Jason has no problem entertaining Levi so I can take time to pump.

-Flexibility at work. I work through lunch and skip taking regular breaks so I can take two 30 minute pump breaks each day.

-A hands-free pumping support. I use mine all the time. It’s easy to put on, then I just pop my flanges in place and I can use my pumping time to be productive. At work, I use it so I can blog or do homework during my pump breaks. I also use it so I can pump while driving, especially on my way to class at night.

-My pump cave. At work, I have a private office (with a lock!) that I use for pumping. I have the key and I don’t have to share with anyone. I have a table, a mini fridge for storing milk, a microwave for sterilizing pump parts, and a big comfy chair. I also have a work pump – a pump that I mostly leave at the office so I don’t have to deal with hauling it back and forth every day. I do take it with me on nights I have school so I can pump while driving, but I’m able to leave it in the car and then bring it back to the office the next day. It was expensive to buy two pumps, but I think it’s been well worth it for the convenience.

Even though I have the pumping thing down to a science during the week, weekends are a different story. Jason works part time as a bouncer on Friday and Saturday nights, so I have Levi by myself on weekend mornings so he can sleep. And Levi doesn’t always wake up at the same time every day.

On weekends, I get up and pump in the middle of the night. Since I’m on my own in the morning with Levi, it’s tough to know when he’ll be settled enough so I can take a break to pump. Pumping in the middle of the night means I don’t HAVE to pump right away the next morning. It’s my way of buying myself a little extra time.

I’ve also started bringing my work pump home on the weekends so I can set it up in the living room. Using my PumpEase, I can pump while playing with Levi and keeping him entertained. Usually he’s in his jumperoo so he can’t crawl off on me (my pump cord only reaches so far!), but sometimes I’ll just play with him on the floor while pumping.

My routine isn’t perfect, but I’m working on it. My goal is to keep pumping until Levi is at least a year old, probably even longer.