(The review copy of The Milk Memos is mine, mine, mine, but I have one copy to give away. See below for details on how to win it.)
The Milk Memos started with this note, written through tears on a paper towel in the lactation room at IBM:
"I'm a new mom and this is my first day back at work. Is anyone else using this room?"
There were indeed other moms using the room, and the paper towel was soon replaced by a notebook, and the notebook turned into a chronicle of several women's journey through working/pumping motherhood. The lactation room, actually a cold, cinder block-walled janitor's closet, became a cross between a new mom's support group and a confessional.
Before I finished reading the introduction I knew that this is one of the very few books I would recommend to a new mother. By the last page I was actually teary-eyed and and wanted badly to hug the women who put together this wonderful book. I can say with certainty that no other breastfeeding book I've read has elicited that kind of reaction.
I connected so immediately with the mothers in this book because I too was once a working/pumping mom. After my maternity leave I returned to work at the Education Committee of the California State Senate. I ran my pump through the x-ray machine every morning at the State Capitol. (I found quickly that if you say, loudly, "it's a breastpump," you get moved through pretty quickly). My husband took a year's leave from teaching to stay home with our son.
The Milk Memos is half group diary and half manual for the working/pumping mom. The authors have clearly done their homework, and I found their advice sound and thorough. They cover breastfeeding and pumping, of course, but also child care, sleep, and other issues common to all working mothers.
I read this book with two hats on - one the working/pumping mother, and the other the lactation consultant who teaches classes on breastfeeding and working. At times I wanted to call up the moms to offer advice ("You don't need to sterilize your pump parts every day!" "No, adding rice cereal to a bottle doesn't help them sleep longer!"). But reading the journal entries in this book reminded me that women have a way of helping each other sort through these things, and sometimes it's much better when the "experts" just back off.
The Milk Memos also makes it clear that the kind of employment you have makes a huge difference in your ability to continue providing breastmilk to your baby. The professional level moms in the book have some flexibility in their schedules. The administrative staff have to dash between buildings to the lactation room and try to fit pumping into a 10 minute break while someone else covers the phones.
Any working/pumping mother will relate to these stories - and since pumping at work can be a pretty isolating experience, that connection is priceless. Stories of bottle strikes, supply problems, bad pumps - this book has got it all, told in graphic and often hilarious detail. Consider this journal entry:
You're not going to believe what happened to me this morning! I was in a team meeting because I'm the official note-taker. The meeting went on and on, and I kept hoping for a break, knowing I needed to pump. My boss whispered to me, "I think you're leaking." I was mortified. There were nine people in the room, and there were two wet circles on my shirt. One woman handed me some tissues. At first I thought that she wanted me to dab my shirt - as if that would help. Then she motioned to me that I should stuff them into my bra. Like I'm going to reach inside my shirt right there at the conference table! But I couldn't just get up and leave (God forbid - not with my boss)...All I wanted to do was pump, which totally made the leaking worse! By the time the meeting ended the small circles were big bull's eyes! Hope your day is going better than mine!
How can you not love these women? Buy the book.
I have copy of The Milk Memos to give away to a mom who is working/pumping now, or will be working/pumping soon. If that's you, send me an email with your name and your place of employment by 5:00 pm EST on Thursday, May 24th. I'll do a little drawing to pick a winner. U.S. addresses only, please.
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