Strange and Crazy Pumping Stories

by Breastfeeding.com's Message Board Moms

2girls2luv

I work in a hospital as a breastfeeding educator so I get to use the pumping room when I need to. Today the nursery was wall to wall babies and my usual pumping room was being used by a bottle feeding mom who wanted a private place to hold her baby. Well, I had to go to the room where they do hearing screens on the newborns. I set up my pump and started pumping, then came the knock. It was a volunteer who need to do a hearing screen and would not take no for an answer so I let her in and covered up as much as I could. It was just weird and I was like..."So...how is the weather?". She did hold a conversation with me but I was so uncomfortable that I don't even remember what we talked about .

nicurn

When I was working as a lactation consultant, I was able to use the pump room on our unit which is composed of three "stations" separated by curtains.

Frequently, I'd be in there pumping and my pager would go off. Mothers of patients would hear the pager and begin asking me questions and for advise.

Nothing like trying to be a professional while pumping!

momoffaith

Pumping in the car is my strangest place although I'm getting good at driving, pumping and participation in conference calls on my cell phone simultaneously.

Last week someone did walk in on me nursing in a dressing room. The store was busy "big Mother's Day sale" and I felt bad but my daughter was hungry. I was trying on clothes, I thought the door was locked. I think it made the commission workers upset that I was taking so long in the dressing room but hey they got their money from me.

chylothorax

I was walked in on in my personal office once, with the door locked. Some random sergeant with a key came along and just opened it up without even knocking.

I've pumped standing in front of the mirrored sinks in a multi-stall bathroom, at a conference, in dress blues, because I didn't have a battery pack and that's where the outlet was.

I've pumped in a storage hut for injured mannequins used for military training. It was during a readiness exercise, freezing cold (I could see my breath). I pulled the curtain around me and an unfortunate plastic mannequin with a fake head injury. That was probably the weirdest place I've pumped.

An airplane bathroom was also a fun place to pump. Some deranged mile-high club. I perched on the edge of an automatic flushing toilet in an airport, not fun.

I've pumped in the car lots of times, though only a few times (and only recently )while driving. I try to avoid that.

When ds1 was a baby, I was a medical resident. Frequently I was the senior resident on call for the medical intensive care unit and could not leave the unit to pump, so I would go into a vacant pod and sit on an empty patient bed and pump with the curtain pulled around me. Someone would come by more times than I care to admit and ask what was going on in there

michaelsmommy

I had just come back from maternity leave and I shared an office with another woman. She formula fed her children. I thought she was at a meeting. I was pumping along all of a sudden she came in, I covered up quickly but she was quite embarrassed. I got my own office shortly after that.

Mamacita

I have a sign on my door but our very nice reserved Spanish speaking only maintenance guy walked in on me once. The next day there was a lock installed on my door, I think it was to prevent him future embarrassment!

I have pumped in an airport restroom stall and every time a new person would walk by they would say what is that noise?

I have pumped in my car driving between meetings.

I would have to say the strangest experience was watching the airport screener dismantle my pump, contents and hold my horns up looking at them somewhat perplexed as I stood next to on of my very embarrassed male co-workers. My boobs weren't even exposed and for some reason I was more embarrassed by that than the maintenance guy walking in on me.

I also have the knock on the door problem but my coworkers don't want to come in they just want to ask me questions. Sometimes I think can't it wait 15 minutes? Other times I feel good that they are comfortable enough with what I am doing that they feel that they can knock and chat with me.

kdoll

I was pumping in a conference room on a high floor, with floor-to-ceiling windows, when all of a sudden a window-washer came swinging down. Luckily, he came feet first, so I had time to turn around and detach (and , luckily, I was just about finished), but man did my heart start beating hard!

arismom

On the train sitting in a regular seat with my coat draped over me. Thankfully no one has turned me in as a terrorist! I'm hoping it's because they just haven't noticed? Or maybe it's because they are use to me...

Jody84

I am forced to pump in a bathroom stall at my work!

All the moms formula feed so I get no support and they don't provide me with a private room.

Armed with plenty of hand sanitizer and trying not to touch ANYTHING I get it done everyday! It's a very large restroom that is (thankfully) cleaned every 2 hours. I have to use batteries because there is no outlet and everyone is constantly asking "what the heck is that Noise" lol. I wonder if they will ever figure it out.

I carry my milk in a lunch bag and put it in the fridge...I know it's not a great place but it gets the job done! My daughter has never had to have formula or cows milk! Oh and I've pumped several times in the car, thank goodness for tint!

CaptHeather

I pumped in a cubicle for the entire time I pumped because I couldn't count on getting a free office, and I began to love logging onto the breastfeeding.com message boards to look at babies as pumping motivation. I have a tension rod and curtain panels that I hung up across the entrance for privacy.

I'd gone around and warned all the tall people not to look over the partition wall when they heard the pump going. Apparently, I had discounted human curiosity. I'd been pumping for nearly 6 months, to put into context that this was not a new thing. Well, apparently my commander (as I am military) decided he just had to know what was going on when I had my curtain up. He brought over a chair, stood up on it and looked over. By this point, I had no shame left, so I pointed out the pump to him as the source of the noise and pointed out that it was attached to my chest so I could get milk out for my baby.

He was mortified, I was amused. I sent out an email to the office telling them I was not responsible for their discomfort if they disturbed me while I was pumping.

Oddly enough, I had a sign with Clipart of a bresatfeeding mom with the works "Preparing Baby Food" and people still didn't get it. Next time I may make a sign stating - I am pumping my naked breasts to extract milk in order to feed my baby at daycare - enter at your own risk!"