Pumping at CES
Adventures with my breastpump in Las Vegas
I’ve pumped in some pretty creative places.
My hand pump and I took an overnight hiking trip in the Sierra Nevada with my sister. I pumped in a tent. I pumped on a trail. I pumped behind a tree.
My hand pump and I traveled to Australia for work. I pumped twice on my 14 hour flight next to a sleeping aisle mate (or at least both men pretended to be sleeping out of courtesy).
On that trip, I pumped three times a day (my daughter was 9 months old and already starting to wean). Since I only had a crappy little mini fridge in my hotel room, I filled up freezer bags each evening, piled them into a take out container, and brought them down to the concierge to put into the hotel freezer.
“What is this?” The sweet 17 year old bellhop asked when tasked with making the delivery to the freezer.
“Breastmilk,” I replied without batting an eye.
For the journey home from Australia, I bought a big cooler bag, filled up five bags of ice, packed my frozen breastmilk in my checked bag and hoped for the best. I made it home with over 60 oz of slightly slushy milk to feed the kid for a couple of days.
Clearly, I’m not shy about pumping.
Pumping in the man’s world of the Consumer Electronics Show
My biggest challenge yet came last week:
CES, where you can try multiple types of virtual reality but the lactation room of the future has yet to materialize.
We had a booth for Bloom. This time I had to pump for a 3 month old. I won’t get into why new moms need to pump (Rachel Young already did a great post about this) but I will add that I did not want to risk killing my milk supply by messing with my pumping schedule.
I would have to pump every 3–4 hours each day.
Game on.
Day 0
7:00pm Bedtime
Preparation is key.
Electric pump with built-in cooler. Hand pump. Bottles. Pump accessories. Water free wipe things. Leaky boob pads. Freezer bags. Cooler brick. Dry ice.
Yes, dry ice. Frozen milk is the easiest way to transport plus I didn’t know what our freezer situation would be at our accommodation. Thankfully, TSA allows 5.5lbs of dry ice in checked bags.
Day 1
3:30am Feed
With a 6am flight, I want to time one last feeding as close as possible to avoid pumping before takeoff.
4:45 Baggage check
Serious baggage limitations on Spirit so I check my electric pump. I repeatedly asked airline attendant if my bag will be fine with the dry ice but I put my hand pump in my carry on just in case my bag mysteriously disappears.
7:15am Decision time
Flight descending into Vegas. Do I wait for my checked bag or use hand pump immediately? I decide to roll the dice and wait for my checked bag.
7:45am My bag made it.
Flight lands at 7:30. Bag at the carousel almost immediately. Our accommodation is only 15 minutes away, I’ll pump there.
8:15am Time to pump!
I furiously unpack and pump. Almost 5 hours since I fed baby and she would have eaten again around 6am. My sore boobs are not-so-subtle reminders that I already broke my rule of pumping every 3–4 hours.
Not off to a good start.
9:30am Booth set up
Looking at a long day stuck on the convention floor. I will have to pump at least three times on-site today.
11:30am Pump One
I find a bit of down time with the booth and frantically race around to find a spot to plug in my electric pump. No freaking outlets anywhere except for those in very public space, each with a small crowd hovering to charge their devices.
I find a secret entrance way to a secret empty ballroom. Score! I set up and start pumping. Except for the team of men coming in and out gathering up chairs, I have some “privacy”.
2:30pm Pump Two
My own private ballroom again (except for the occasional setup crew guy). This is going to be so easy!
5:45pm Pump Three
My ballroom has been discovered. I tuck myself in a corner, 20 feet from a team of guys on a conference call.
9:00pm “Home” at last
On the couch, looking at pictures of the wee ones, all alone. I have never been so relaxed pumping before.
Day 2
7:00am Pre-CES pump*
*Of course, this 7am pump is in addition to waking up in the middle of the night. Thanks a lot, boobs.
10:30am Pump One
Back on the floor and a lot of traffic hitting our little booth. I peel away, seek out the secret passageway to my secret ballroom and…. it’s blocked! There’s an event in my pumping space!
I frantically search for another room. I ask one of the few women with CES credentials. Blank stare.
Time to get creative. Or brave. Or both.
Luckily the nice folks over at the Freemie booth have hooked me up with their hands-free pumping cups. I get them in place, return to the booth, plug myself in and away I go. Nowhere to hide and all of a sudden our booth is swamped. I find myself pumping while working our booth at CES.
2:30pm Pump two
Ballroom still occupied. Another Freemie pump at the booth. At least this time I sit down… on the floor.
5:45pm Pump three
Our showroom is closing so I decide to wander the floors of The Venetian to find a tad more privacy. I stumble upon a “family” bathroom. Luckily there is an outlet. But I only have access to it if I sit on the floor next to a drippy soap dispenser. I have 20 glorious minutes to ponder the mystery of why a toilet seat would be left up in a bathroom with a urinal.
7:45pm Heading home
I arrive super early for my 10pm flight. I transfer my milk from the day to freezer bags and pop them on the dry ice. I pack my electric pump in my checked bag. I move my hand pump to my carry on.
8:50pm One last pump
I will get home after midnight so I need to pump one more time. I sit on a toilet in the bathroom stall and use my hand pump. I’m in there for over 20 minutes. I watch a show on my iPad.
Hard not to feel like I’m doing something dirty.
12:30am Home!
Milk goes in the freezer. Baby wakes up to eat.
Reflecting…
In the crazy technology showcase of CES, it became only more obvious how our world of innovation has left women behind.
For moms able to nurse, pediatricians recommend exclusive breastfeeding for at least 6 months. Twelve months is even better. Most working moms head back to the grind after 3–4 months (and that’s with a generous maternity policy).
The math doesn’t add up.
Providing the right tools and facilities makes pumping more convenient. Making pumping more convenient encourages working moms to stick with it. Encouraging working moms to stick with it allows them to breastfeed for longer.
To support working moms who choose to continue breastfeeding, we need to come up with better ways to pump. In addition to Freemie, other teams like MAMAVA and Cara Delzer at Moxxly are rethinking how we pump without sitting on a disgusting bathroom floor.
Along with better tools, what about the simple solution of normalcy? Until everyone is comfortable with public pumping (and I don’t see that happening anytime soon), is it too much to ask for a room without a urinal?
Please recommend and share to help get the message out and show support for working moms.
