My first vent

[Monsterzmom]

Today I was at our local children's museum and overheard one of the employees talking with another visitor. I just caught the tail end of the conversation but I'm just disgusted by what I heard and had to vent to someone!

Lady 1: "of course, I'll do it when I'm home but now that I'm working it's just impossible."
Lady 2: says something I couldn't hear.
Lady 1: "yeah, when we first put her on formula she was all like this (she flails her arms around and screams). Her face broke out and she kept throwing it up. But she's doing much better with it now."
:

WHY IN THE WOLD WOULD YOU FEED YOUR CHILD SOMETHING THAT OBVIOUSLY DIDN"T AGREE WITH HER??? I mean at least she breastfed until she had to go back to work but OMG I can't believe someone would purposefully put their child through what they could obviously see was doing them harm! And, she works at a children's museum...how tough could it be to stop what you're doing every once in a while and pump???

I just don't get it. :

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

As one who has struggled with this, there are lots of barriers to pumping, no matter where you work. If she was an hourly worker (not management), she may be on the clock and only allowed retail breaks -- 10 minutes for each 4 hours, 30 min for lunch. It is just not possible to pump in 10 minutes, especially when you add set up time and moving to whatever location you are pumping in. Just because it is a children's establishment doesn't mean that the management supports working moms. There are few states that require an employer to accomodate a pumping schedule.

Or maybe the only daycare she could find didn't allow breastmilk. They do exist.

It sounds like she is planning on breastfeeding when she's home though, which is about the best that many working moms can do. Good for her for not entirely giving up.

That said, I agree that she should probably have found a different brand/type of formula.

[velcromom]

Originally Posted by Evan&Anna's_Mom

she should probably have found a different brand/type of formula.

Yeah, what the heck is up with seeing your baby suffer and thinking, wow that's too bad sweetie, hate to see ya barfing and breaking out, but you'll get used to it.??? There are lots of different formula choices out there...

Sigh. But like you said, good for her for understanding she can still nurse whenever she is at home with her babe.

[Satori]

Originally Posted by Evan&Anna's_Mom

As one who has struggled with this, there are lots of barriers to pumping, no matter where you work. If she was an hourly worker (not management), she may be on the clock and only allowed retail breaks -- 10 minutes for each 4 hours, 30 min for lunch. It is just not possible to pump in 10 minutes, especially when you add set up time and moving to whatever location you are pumping in. Just because it is a children's establishment doesn't mean that the management supports working moms. There are few states that require an employer to accomodate a pumping schedule.

Or maybe the only daycare she could find didn't allow breastmilk. They do exist.

It sounds like she is planning on breastfeeding when she's home though, which is about the best that many working moms can do. Good for her for not entirely giving up.

That said, I agree that she should probably have found a different brand/type of formula.

I pumped for 18 months and managed it, I’ve pumped in ice cold mammogram rooms, school offices, Dr’s offices and places I don’t even remember and finally found pumping in my car worked. I set everything up in the morning, covered the windows so during work I just ran out, pumped for 10-15 minutes, threw the cap on the bottles and threw the horns in a Ziploc to be washed at home. (I had several sets of horns) I was back at work before they missed me. It can work but you may have to get creative. Just depends on how acceptable you think formula is, for us it was not an option so I made pumping work.