If you are working, tell me your pumping set up.

[texmati]

My work is going through a major office space change, and my pumping room is gone *poof*.

I need to lobby for a new space as I work in an open cube.

Tell me all about your space, I need ideas!

xposted in working parents.

[akind1]

We have lactation rooms. small space (5x5 or 6) with a fridge and sink, magazines, cd player (why?), and outlets, and a recliner. not a home type one, but one you see in hospital rooms. the lights dim also, which is great for those who need it. I just need a room, a plug, and reading material. (not complaining, but just saying I could do with less if I had to)

I have been pumping for about 14 weeks now.

[LindsC]

I use our training room which is basically a small office. It has a recliner, desk, chair and small table. If the training room is in use, I use one of our filing rooms which we have set a chair and small table up in so that I can pump in there when needed. I just use our lunch room to rinse my pump parts and store my milk during the day.

[texmati]

are you able to lock the training room when you are using it? Or how do you let people know that you are in there?

they have given me a conference room but the doors in our office don't lock-- they are all badge access.

[JuniperMama]

I currently pump in my office and put a sign on the door that says "Mommy Duty - please come back in 30 minutes or email me." That's working really well so far. I haven't had anyone walk in on me.

I just bought a mini-fridge (Craigslist generally has lots of them) and keep the milk in there and bring it home at the end of the day.

With my first baby, I was in an open cube and just stretched a blanket across my doorway. Now I was sharing an office with all women so it wasn't that bad. I did mortify a couple of men who came into our space while I was pumping when they figured out what that machine noise was behind the blanket.

That said, if you have access to a conference room with a door, a sign should keep people from coming out.

Good luck!

[akind1]

most of our conference rooms, and indeed the lactation rooms, have "available" and "in use" signs. That said; our lactation rooms are in such heavy use that we reserve them through Outlook -

[texmati]

wow! I guess I just have to be more brazen about it. I work in an office with only 3 other women-- one is pregnant, and one has older children, the other childless.

but... I'm the only girl in my group of 50 or so. (People who work for my boss's boss.) In my old pumping space (storage area) I could just slip in, do my stuff, and go. No one needed to know I was doing anything besides going to the restroom or lab.

Now, the conference room is in the middle of the lobby. Most of my coworkers go beet red when they see me walk in or our. It's just uncomfortable having to explain or talk about it. I really, really, really don't want to put a sign on the door when I'm in there.

I just need to grow up. It's just a mental hangup, I guess.

[LindsC]

Yes, the training room has a lock on the door, but the filing room does not. There are only maybe 20 people in that side of the office and it is just general knowledge now that when the door is shut, someone is pumping in there.

[ErikaS57]

We have a health office. It has a sink, mini fridge, desk, couch, and a couple chairs. Also has a locking door, and no windows. Works great.

We're hiring a part-time nurse to work on our health programs soon... I suspect she'll have that office so I'm not sure what I'll do. I've got a coworker asking about that soon.

[donna-nb]

i share a small office space with doors that lock, so i usually have no problems. i think scoping out your building for ideas is good, but in the end, if you can't find a workable solution, approaching your HR department with info about some new laws requiring employers to offer space to breast-pump would be a good idea. see this article in the ny times-- i just posted it in another thread.

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2...pumps-at-work/

[lunarlady]

I'm a teacher, and with DD I had a heck of a time finding a spot to pump. I worked in a building with shared classrooms (never empty) and an open staff center (not even cubes.)

I ended up pumping in a small room off the teacher's lounge that was for making private calls. It was smaller than a walk in closet. Just big enough for a chair and a shelf. I pumped in there for months using the battery pack for my PIS. (I bought rechargable AA batteries.) I liked it because it was private. It didn't lock, but was so small that I could put my chair right behind the door so it wouldn't open if somebody tried to come in. I didn't want to hang a sign either. (Shy I guess.) Another woman pumped in the supply closet. She just put a sign that said "please knock." Most people knew what that meant. They did do a remodel after about 5 months, and I got them to put a power outlet and a network connection in there, which actually made it pretty useful as a mommy room. I could pump and e-mail at the same time.

[cubbbyaf]

I wasn't so lucky with pumping at work, I had no place to pump exept the bathroom, which was very small and only had one stall, and there are 8-9 other women who work there. I had to sit on the toilet to pump, and often had to stop mid pump to let someone go. Or at the least be interrupted by people asking how much longer I would be. Or even just chat for a few before they left. Not something that I was comfortable with. It was very hard to keep pumping for as long as I did. (I went for just over six months) Sometimes I just gave up the session with only getting a few drops. But on average I would be able to get 4-6 oz but that would ususally take me half an hour or more while double pumping. I usually pumped twice a day at work.
-For pumping I had to put the pump bag on the floor in front of me when I sat on the toilet and place a magizne on top and read while I pumped.
-I'm so glad I don't pump any more, I hated every minute of it. I wish I had a private place to do it. I just kept reminding my self I was doing it for my baby, ( I liked that Medela used to have little quotes on the sides of the bottle like "Breastmilk is Best" and stuff to keep me motivated- to bad they have those new bottles that don't have that anymore)

[Inspired007]

I actually set up in the bathroom. I pump in a shower stall by the lockers, not near the toilets so it’s not actually that bad. We have a nursing room, but it’s just an office and there’s no running water so it’s a more convenient set up where I am. I’ve been pumping here since I started back work in jan. and I pumped here with my first daughter for a year almost.

I sit on one chair and place my pump on another chair and drape the shower curtain over the pump chair to hide me. I use an extension cord to reach the outlet over the sink. It works for me!

[feminist~mama]

Our staff lounge will be my pumping room. We've got a bathroom, a fridge, and a TV. Oh, and lockers as well. There's a nice cushy couch too, but not a table. The door doesn't lock beyond needing a code to get in, but we do have a "Mom pumping" sign that some people use.

[rhiOrion]

ooh, interesting thread. a coworker and i are both out on maternity leave, and have talked to our boss about using one our extra offices as a lactation room. it'll just be an office - desk, desk chair, etc. but i think we'll bring in a lamp, at least. it's better than pumping in our offices- she has students in and out all day, and my office is also our filing room plus has lots of big windows. and we'll be the only ones with keys (other than the master key).

is there anything else we should plan to bring ourselves? i think a mini fridge is out of the question, my boss will just tell us to use the main fridges that the students/faculty/staff all use. it weirds me out a bit, but i can't think of anything wrong with it per se.

[MEcatlady17]

I have only been back to work for two weeks (part time). I am getting the hang of the pumping thing. I am lucky to have a private office right now. No lock on the door. I close the door and hang my 'busy' sign, but it is a small office of women so my sign says "Busy: Pumping...moo..." Everyone who walks by laughs and I am able to take the time I need. I decided I didn't want to wash my pump parts at work since it is a shared kitchen/sink space. Right now I single pump since I only nurse one side per feeding. I am able to use one flange per feeding and pump twice a work day. I put the 'dirty' flange in a ziplock to bring home to wash. I have 4 ziplocs I use and wash and hang dry (since it takes more than the one night to dry them) to rotate...if that makes any sense. That way I am not using a new bag and throwing away 2 a day...
If I were double pumping I would buy an extra set of flanges so I could continue carrying home and washing/drying overnight. I store the milk in the cooler bag with ice packs that came with my ameda purely yours. Since I have just been pumping like this for 2 weeks I am pumping 3-4oz per breast which is all my baby needs for now. I am trying to stay hydrated so I can pump faster and also learn my pump and what settings work best for me. I have had oversupply so I know I am capable of pumping lots, I just don't want to be pumping 30 minutes. Right now I try to pump within 15, but I had a day where it took me at least 20 to get the 4oz...which is weird because I have manually pumped 2oz in 4 minutes at home before going back to work.

Usually while pumping I am online, checking messages, returning emails typing one handed, paperwork, etc. This way it doesn't have to be counted as my break.

Now the tricky part I haven't practiced yet, I also work out of the office traveling. I will eventually need to pump while away from my office and I am not sure if it will be easier to drive to an extension office if available and have to ask for a space...or pull over in a private spot and pump in the car....I am trying to figure out how to schedule my appointments to allow pumping time at the right intervals.