Mom, the Firefighter

by Cindy Fagiano

I'm a working Mom. I have an unusual job for a woman. I've been a firefighter for almost 14 years now. I've been married for 11 years to Paul and have two children, Rocco who is 7, and Carissa who is 4 and still nursing today.

I had my job before I knew any of them, so when I go to work for 24 hours it's not a problem.

It was hard going back to work when each of my babies was 3 1/2 months old. It was a long time to be away from them and a lot of pumping. I used to come home with about a quart of expressed breastmilk to be served up on my next work day.

My husband has brought the children to the firehouse and I've nursed them. I've been walked in on while double pumping in a spare room (the guy couldn't look at me the rest of the day). The guys have joked about using my milk in the refrigerator for their coffee, and they've also been my biggest supporters.

My kids love hanging out with their Mom at the firehouse, and now that they are older, they get a kick out of telling their friends that their Mom is a firefighter!

I believe in child-led weaning, and even with my strange hours, my daughter has continued to nurse past her fourth birthday.

I urge all new moms to give breastfeeding a try. I've faced many challenges in my breastfeeding experience, but it was all worth it. I have two healthy, happy kids!