In honor of 2008’s World Breastfeeding Week, we have interviewed a variety of moms that have gone the extra mile of pumping for their children. This is Kristel’s story.

Kristel’s daughter was born via C-Section and supplemented for about a month before her daughter weaned herself off of formula altogether. Her daughter is now over a year old and Kristel is still pumping to provide her with breastmilk while she works.

What made you decide to pump?

I was going back to work so I was establishing a supply of frozen milk for then.

What breast pump(s) did you use?

I used a manual pump at first, the Avent ISIS. Then I went to an electric Ameda Purely Yours. I also used one of the Medela hospital grade pumps a handful of times.

If you used more than one pump, what caused you to switch from pump to pump?

Well the manual pump was very slow going, so it was not practical for going back to work with. I used the hospital grade while waiting for my Ameda Purely Yours to arrive, and once I used it for a clogged duct.

If you used more than one pump, which pump was the most convenient, and why?

Actually the manual pump is more convenient AND it’s quiet. Unfortunately it was just not practical for a work setting since it takes a longer time to pump.

If you were to have a conversation with a mom today that was about to pump what advice would you have for her?

I would say invest in another kit (bottles/flanges/valves/etc.) it really is helpful so you’re not washing the same part over and over again. If your not going back to work I’d say you should just use a manual pump. It works great and much cheaper.

If you combined pumping and breastfeeding, did you have any problems? If so, how did you cope with them?

With my daughter it took a while to find a bottle that she’d like and she went for a period of time where she refused to use bottles at all which made it hard for me since I had to work. She didn’t like the bottles that were most shaped like a breast, but she like the Avent bottles. Luckily we didn’t have any problems with nipple confusion.

What issues did you run into with pumping? How did you overcome them?

My biggest issue with pumping was finding time and a place to pump at work. Now that I don’t work full-time my biggest hurdle is waking up in the morning to pump and getting a good let down. My daughter is a little over a year old and so my breasts are hard to fill at this point.

Overcoming the issue of time and place at work, I just MADE time and pumped in a bathroom a lot. I actually had people banging on the door! You’d think if I overcame that situation I should be able to get a good let down at home with no issue! Unfortunately I’m still working on that problem and I just try not to worry about how much I get with each pumping session.

How would you describe your support system, and how did they help or discourage you from achieving your goals?

Well my support system was and is a team of one: my husband. My family doesn’t understand it and my mother doesn’t approve of any type of nursing in public so it’s hard to be out with her. Our pediatrician thinks it’s great I breastfeed and have chose to let my daughter self wean. Co-workers kinda got annoyed with the breaks and such but that, and having privacy were the only work-related issues.

I think my husband is the only one that helped me reach my goals. He always supported me and gave me gentle nudges to press on. He was especially crucial in the beginning and has supported my decision to continue breastfeeding.

I will never allow any one to discourage me… Maybe because I’ve been doing it for awhile now.  The only thing I wish I had more of is outside support like other moms seem to have. We have an active local chapter of the La Leche League, but it’s not my cup of tea. We also have a Hospital group but they don’t allow siblings to be there and their meetings are during the day so the people going to those meetings are mostly new breastfeeders attending for help in the beginning.

What was your original intention for feeding your child?

My original goal was to breastfeed through my maternity leave. I actually never knew you could pump! As you can tell, plans have drastically changed.

How did pumping influence your goals?

The pump has helped me expand my original goals and to reach new ones. I had no idea you could work out of the home and still exclusively breastfeed or even breastfeed at all once you went back to work, so pumping saved my breastfeeding relationship.

What was the most difficult thing about pumping?

I found the most difficult is cleaning the parts and setting them up before each session.

If you were to change one thing about breast pumps, what would you change?

I would change noise level. I had to share my bedroom with my daughter for 6 months it would have been nice to just pump in bed or my rocker. I would also make it so that there were fewer parts, or that they were cheaper. If one part has a problem they can make for a big problem and it’s not always easy to get replacements quickly if one breaks or stops working.

What was the most unusual situation that you ended up pumping in?

I pumped in my bosses office my first day back and his daughter walked in his office sat down and started talking to me. I was so surprised and freaked out I barked at her and asked if she could please give me privacy!

How did you store your milk?

At home I stored my milk in the fridge in bags. When I worked full time I used the bottles I pumped in and had cooler packs to keep it cool until I got home.

What ‘extras’ did you find helpful to your pumping experience?

A nursing bra and those Medela wipes for between pumping. Wiping down the equiptment was easier than washing it immediately after each and every pumping.

What was your pumping routine? Did you have any tricks to help the milk come down?

I tried to close my eyes relax think about my daughter and block out all the other outside noise.

Did you ever battle with low supply? How did you overcome it?

Luckily no, I never really had low supply. I would sometimes think I was about to have low supply issues and I’d eat oatmeal and pump before bed and again in the morning before my daughter nursed, and so we did fine.

Did you ever supplement? How would you describe the experience?

I supplemented in the begining my milk was taking it’s time coming in my daughter was losing a lot of weight. I was tired and sick from my C-section so for maybe a month she got one feeding per day of formula and then she weaned herself off of it and has never looked back.