Day 26 & 27: ( Okay, now I’m cheating a little.. but its getting harder to keep up as baby stays awake longer and I am more active).
As a somewhat frequent traveler for work, I have perfected the art of minimalist packing ( carry-on only of course) and have only once had to Amazon Prime underwear to my hotel. You have to love modern day inventions. Packing for a work trip while pumping requires several additional items and careful wardrobe consideration:
Pump: For the breastfeeding mom, critical to keep up supply. Bag also doubled as my ‘purse’ where I threw in my wallet, chargers, notebook, and kindle. See minimalist traveler statement above. Although the pump is a medical device and doesn’t count as a carry-on, because I had a C-section I wanted to minimize items I had to physically carry.
Bottles, storage bags, cooler: To bring back milk. Careful calculation of how many bottles and bags to bring is important.
Easy access clothes for pumping: After a fashion show with an audience of one baby, I chose two dresses- one with buttons on top and one was made of a stretchy material. Blazer and sweaters for layering in case I got milk on my clothes and needed to cover it up.
Copies of TSA pump and breastmilk guidelines: Just in case. Type A and consummate worrier here.
Nipple Pads: Cannot spring a leak while having business conversations.
Hair straightener: Because after five weeks mostly in yoga pants or no pants at all, you want to look good for your work debut!
It took me a lot longer to pack than I care to admit because this mom was out of practice! I was so focused on making sure I didn’t forget any of the above that I completely forgot a jacket for STL in October- guess I’m not such a great planner after all!
Positive Thought of the Day: My amazing family who will help watch the baby so I can attend my work meeting.