Conclusion: I never want to do that again.
While some people may have NO problem pumping, I do. Now, in familiar places, I have absolutely no problem pumping, in fact, I think I've gotten pretty good at it. Now the whole trip, in general, went well. I didn't get stuck anywhere and my flights were actually running early. The only thing that put this trip in the "never want to do that again" category was the pumping. Now, I'm sure y'all are saying I just got myself worked up and caused myself to stress out.
*Ding ding ding ding*
"What do they win, Johnny?"
Yes. I stress. Yes, I cause myself to stress. No, not on purpose. Let's re-cap on my 36 hour trip.
Morning of...I attempted to time my last nursing with Izyk right before I left so I wouldn't have to pump until I got to the Detroit airport. I just realized that I lied a couple of sentences ago when I said all of my flights were on time. My departing flight was an hour delayed (which was a good thing because I was running late...go figure). I checked my baggage in (yes, I had baggage for a 36 hour trip. This bag was mainly for my cooler...which was for the milk that I had pumped) and the dude said that my flight was delayed. Oh goody. Surprisingly enough, I got my own row! So now you may be thinking "Perfect! I can pump in peace...sort of." Believe it or not, Detroit is in the EASTERN time zone. I hadn't realized this until the captain told us to turn off all electrical devices. I lost my opportunity. I was angry with myself. Next opportunity would be while we were on the ground (we were suppose to stay on the same plane but we know how STATIC flight plans are. They aren't). I had to change planes. Found my next gate, tried to get into the family restroom at the airport but it was LOCKED.
*grumble grumble*
I ended up pumping...on a 29 minute, FULL PASSENGER flight into Erie, PA. Now that means I had about 10 minutes...TEN WHOLE MINUTES...to set myself up and pump as much and as fast as I could. And everyone knows how easy it is to pump when you are under a time constraint and 160 curious onlooking eyes. *ahem*
Okay, okay...they weren't ALL staring at me but it sure felt like it. Only the lady next me was trying her darnedest to ignore whatever contraption I was hooking myself up to.
We landed in Erie...the SMALLEST airport EVER. Six terminals all bunched together in a room. Seriously small. When we landed, the pilot had the throw the engines in reverse because he almost missed the right turn to the terminals.
Fast forward an hour, check in at the hotel. I sat down and relieved the pressure for a good 25 minutes. Morning came...it took me 45 minutes to pump. Ouch. I had to rush out of there to make it to my meeting. Luckily, they had a room set aside for my pumping pleasure. Hooray! Some solitude. So I pumped whenever I could and as often as I could because I could feel myself stressing out and filling up. On our way to the airport, I realized that my ice pack in my pump bag had thawed. I was worried that all my ice packs were going to thaw but everything actually made it home. I had planned on pumping at the Detroit airport, which I did, in a family restroom. Did...not...happen. I mean, I tried but, dear me, I couldn't get anything out. Why? Well, it didn't help that every 5 minutes someone was trying to get in the locked door. It was maybe 30 degrees in that bathroom...I thought it was going to start snowing. So I ended up at home with several clogged ducts and an extremely sore chest that lasted a couple of days.
So that was the trip in a nutshell. I survived, as did the rest of my family. Izyk apparently ate fine while I was gone and I think he made up for some when i got home. The next night he woke up in the middle of the night to eat and then was nursing every two hours the next day. Either a growth spurt or he was making up for lost milk. I'm just really glad it's over with and hope that I won't have to do that again especially with a 3 month old at home.
1 comment:
You did great! I would have had trouble pumping on the flight too. I'm a tad bit shy for that sort of thing, but you have to. I'm glad it's over for you now. :)
Post a Comment