I love long weekends.
It's a much welcomed respite considering "leave is a privilege and not a right" but if it really is, then you can probably start asking why the general rule allows us 3.5 days off for every month of work. (and to whom it may concern-- what are you doing here and why are you even reading this?).
This long weekend is all the more welcome considering that this is after two grueling weeks of being trampled over at work for multiple reasons: problematic personnel, frustrating administrative arrangements and ad hoc stuff that has pretty much defined my work (and husband's).
Today is also my son's half birthday, hehe. And a replacement public holiday in conjunction with the Prophet's birthday (PBUH).
Being a working pumping mom, I tend to struggle with finding a safe, comfortable space to pump. Which reminds me... I should share this story.
My first one was for a week-long workshop on GO and FR which was in October. Despite the fact that there were two other nursing moms there, I was the only pumping mother. When I arrived, I approached the lady in charge of registration of participation to see if there is an available room for me to use to pump.
You know what I got?
God knows how I should describe the look I got from this lady and her colleague. Like it was a tall order to accommodate or something. Like there were no breastfeeding mothers who existed in civil service perhaps? Admittedly there were days I arrived and re-entered the workshop after pumping about 10 minutes into the session. It was hard to say the least, and my supply did take a hit.
This week, work involved me working with uniformed personnel and other agencies. I was not too keen on the situation (oh, to the officers who looked at me like they've got some nasty sh*t about me, F you) but I just went ahead to ask the training center's commandant (his family and I go way back in my DC days hehe) to ask for the same thing. Alhamdulillah I managed to use the prayer space with no issues whatsoever, and he even asked me if his designated officer has accommodated my request. God bless kind souls like his.
Oh and this I must share: God bless my course facilitator this week also-- a British Royal Navy officer who has served 40 years!-- for having given us a 30-minute break during the day, which was enough for me to pump. I have this strong conviction that generally officers from the west are perfectly fine and don't go giving weird shitty looks about breastfeeding mothers, and this time I was not disappointed. I went candid about being a pumping mom and thanked him for the break time, and you know what he said?
"Whenever you need it, let me know."
You can bet I was all smiles and filled with gratitude people like this exist.
***
I live in a country where breastfeeding is encouraged but garners very little support. The #normalizebreastfeeding movement here isn't about being able to bare your skin to nurse (hello Muslim concept of modesty)-- it's about getting mothers and everyone else to feel absolutely no qualms about breastfeeding in public, because it is by its virtue a natural, innate act of survival. Months ago, you would only find me bringing EBMs and a feeding bottle to feed my baby, but he has since learned to distinguish bottle and direct feeding that he will gladly turn down bottle whenever I'm around.
What is a mama to do when she is out?
Let her baby starve? Feed in the public toilet (euw?!)? Stay in the car to feed? Drive another 10-15 minutes to find a mother's room in another neighborhood?
No. You take out that damn nursing cover/cape and feed baby underneath whenever he/she demands it and wherever you may be. Recently when I was out for a family dinner, a prominent mother figure in my family asked me where my baby's feeding bottle, to which I responded flatly, "I don't bring one with me anymore". A prominent father figure also seemed uncomfortable with me taking my cape out and nurse, but was I entirely bothered?
Nein.
There are days at work where the self-imposed 3-hour limit between pumping gets extended because meetings and discussions drag on and work needs to be done before someone goes ballistic towards you for being tardy. But despite all that, Alhamdulillah, it's six months postpartum and all systems still indicate "Go"-- I am still pumping at my desk, with my stripey 360-degree coverage cape and I am trying to justify a Milk Snob nursing cover... because it has a bear.
The obsession is NOT ridiculous, guys.
To be honest, a mother's room is sorely needed EVERYWHERE. There is already some piawaian to establish one in all agencies, but when someone starts harping about how there are bigger problems than a mother's room, sometimes all you can do is say "Oh well" and bury your head underneath the cape...
And pump on.
It's a much welcomed respite considering "leave is a privilege and not a right" but if it really is, then you can probably start asking why the general rule allows us 3.5 days off for every month of work. (and to whom it may concern-- what are you doing here and why are you even reading this?).
This long weekend is all the more welcome considering that this is after two grueling weeks of being trampled over at work for multiple reasons: problematic personnel, frustrating administrative arrangements and ad hoc stuff that has pretty much defined my work (and husband's).
Today is also my son's half birthday, hehe. And a replacement public holiday in conjunction with the Prophet's birthday (PBUH).
Being a working pumping mom, I tend to struggle with finding a safe, comfortable space to pump. Which reminds me... I should share this story.
My first one was for a week-long workshop on GO and FR which was in October. Despite the fact that there were two other nursing moms there, I was the only pumping mother. When I arrived, I approached the lady in charge of registration of participation to see if there is an available room for me to use to pump.
You know what I got?
God knows how I should describe the look I got from this lady and her colleague. Like it was a tall order to accommodate or something. Like there were no breastfeeding mothers who existed in civil service perhaps? Admittedly there were days I arrived and re-entered the workshop after pumping about 10 minutes into the session. It was hard to say the least, and my supply did take a hit.
This week, work involved me working with uniformed personnel and other agencies. I was not too keen on the situation (oh, to the officers who looked at me like they've got some nasty sh*t about me, F you) but I just went ahead to ask the training center's commandant (his family and I go way back in my DC days hehe) to ask for the same thing. Alhamdulillah I managed to use the prayer space with no issues whatsoever, and he even asked me if his designated officer has accommodated my request. God bless kind souls like his.
Oh and this I must share: God bless my course facilitator this week also-- a British Royal Navy officer who has served 40 years!-- for having given us a 30-minute break during the day, which was enough for me to pump. I have this strong conviction that generally officers from the west are perfectly fine and don't go giving weird shitty looks about breastfeeding mothers, and this time I was not disappointed. I went candid about being a pumping mom and thanked him for the break time, and you know what he said?
"Whenever you need it, let me know."
You can bet I was all smiles and filled with gratitude people like this exist.
***
I live in a country where breastfeeding is encouraged but garners very little support. The #normalizebreastfeeding movement here isn't about being able to bare your skin to nurse (hello Muslim concept of modesty)-- it's about getting mothers and everyone else to feel absolutely no qualms about breastfeeding in public, because it is by its virtue a natural, innate act of survival. Months ago, you would only find me bringing EBMs and a feeding bottle to feed my baby, but he has since learned to distinguish bottle and direct feeding that he will gladly turn down bottle whenever I'm around.
What is a mama to do when she is out?
Let her baby starve? Feed in the public toilet (euw?!)? Stay in the car to feed? Drive another 10-15 minutes to find a mother's room in another neighborhood?
No. You take out that damn nursing cover/cape and feed baby underneath whenever he/she demands it and wherever you may be. Recently when I was out for a family dinner, a prominent mother figure in my family asked me where my baby's feeding bottle, to which I responded flatly, "I don't bring one with me anymore". A prominent father figure also seemed uncomfortable with me taking my cape out and nurse, but was I entirely bothered?
Nein.
There are days at work where the self-imposed 3-hour limit between pumping gets extended because meetings and discussions drag on and work needs to be done before someone goes ballistic towards you for being tardy. But despite all that, Alhamdulillah, it's six months postpartum and all systems still indicate "Go"-- I am still pumping at my desk, with my stripey 360-degree coverage cape and I am trying to justify a Milk Snob nursing cover... because it has a bear.
The obsession is NOT ridiculous, guys.
To be honest, a mother's room is sorely needed EVERYWHERE. There is already some piawaian to establish one in all agencies, but when someone starts harping about how there are bigger problems than a mother's room, sometimes all you can do is say "Oh well" and bury your head underneath the cape...
And pump on.
Comments
Post a Comment