For anyone who is interested in hearing about traveling away from a 6 month old and/or hearing about women's health PT, read on.
As part of my new job, I'm working in pelvic floor health. There are muscles in the pelvis that cannot be assessed properly from the outside. So there are some physical therapists that do internal work assessing and treating the muscles of the pelvic floor. My boss is such a therapist. She is going to have a baby in March and I will be covering her case load for a while. I'm excited because my boss is acting as my mentor and teaching me quite a bit about women's health, urinary incontinence, pelvic pain, etc.
There are 5 courses in the area of pelvic health: 2 are related to pregnancy and are in an obstetrics specialty; 3 courses are related to 'pelvic health'. I never thought I would be treating women vaginally and I certainly never thought I would be treating men rectally. However, I'm learning that physical therapists can make a huge difference to help people with their bladder and bowel function, pelvic pain, intercourse, etc. Things that really make a big impact on people's function and quality of life. I'm very comfortable talking about anything with people and I'm a good listener. I have the ability to make a difference to people, and that is very rewarding.
So the first course in pelvic health was in Greenville, SC on Jan 17, 18,19. I signed up for the course in November and then proceeded to panic about what to do with Ava. I looked into taking with with me and finding care for her there. I looked into having a family member come to watch her while I was on course. Finally we decided that Jason would stay home with Rachel and Ava. They could attend daycare during the days on Thurs and Fri, and Jason would have them the rest of the time.
The biggest concern I had was leaving enough milk for Ava. At 6 months, she drank about 5 times per day and averages about 5 oz each time, so I needed to leave about 100oz of milk. Thankfully she has taken well to solids and that helps ease things, but breast milk is still the major source of nutrients and calories for babies (unless they use formula).
Over the last two months, I have pumped at every chance to come up with this extra milk. I have fed Ava 5 times per day and then pumped every night and sometimes early in the morning to make the extra. While I'm at work, I often take two breaks to pump while Ava drinks 3 times at daycare, so each work day we lose about 5 oz. I wasn't sure I would be able to make enough milk, and this was causing me a great deal of anxiety and guilt. I knew that supplementing with formula was an option, and one that I would have to consider, but I wasn't thrilled about that option.
In the end I was able to leave Jason with 104 oz, and I felt so relieved. I knew Jason was totally capable of watching the two girls just fine, but I didn't want to have a hungry baby and a demanding 3 year old.
The day before I left (Wed) I had the day off with the girls and did my best to clean up, do laundry, and make some meals ahead of time so that things could go as smoothly as possibly. Again, Jason is completely capable of cleaning and cooking, but I wanted to make things as easy on him as possible. Watching both girls by yourself for a while is fine, but nonstop for days is tough. Jason would also have to get both kids to daycare before he started school Friday morning at 7:30am - not an easy task.
Thurs morning we got the kids to daycare and I drove to work. I saw 4 patients, pumped one last time, and picked up Jason. He organized a longer lunch to drop me off at the airport, and then went back to work.
I had not flown as a nursing mother before without my baby. I didn't leave Rachel overnight until she was weaned at 17 months old, and I weaned her because of the trip. I didn't really know how it worked to pump in an airport or carry milk through security. I had been so concerned about leaving enough milk that I hadn't really thought about having to pump while I was away. I had to continue to pump for my own comfort and in order to keep up my milk supply. Also, I had to bring enough milk home to get Ava through daycare Mon and Tues while I worked at the clinic again.
I have an electric pump that requires an electrical outlet (since I don't have a battery pack) and it takes me about 20 minutes to pump. I traveled with a little cooler bag to keep the milk and was hoping it would stay cold enough to travel home with me Sunday night.
I learned a lot about all of this kind of stuff and can tell you the following:
(1) if you are going to be traveling with a pump, ever, it's worth getting a battery pack or a small hand held option
(2) there are very few places in the three airports I tried that are private and have a working plug. I ended up plugging in wherever I could find a plug, and then using the pump under my cover, which was not within my comfort zone at all!
(3) if you put ice cubes from a fountain drink inside a cooler bag while traveling in order to keep your milk cold, your stuff will get wet.
Anyway, I made it to Greenville, picked up my rental car, and drove to my host house. I was staying with a couple from couch surfing - a very sweet and generous couple who are having their first baby in a few months. I was relieved to meet them and see that I had my own space where I could pump. I was able to use their freezer while I was there. I stayed with them for 3 nights and they were awesome.
At the course itself, I was surrounded by women. In fact, most of the time we were naked and practicing on each other. So after being so exposed, it shouldn't have seemed so strange to pump in front of others. But pumping, to me, is a very private activity. It's not exactly attractive. I would nurse my baby just about anywhere but I don't want anyone around when I pump. When I'm nursing Ava, I feel good and empowered and I get to enjoy Ava. When I'm hooked up to the pump, I feel like a cow and I can't wait for it to be over.
Anyway, at the course, I had to pump whenever we took a break. Each day was 8-10 hours of lecture and lab. The instructor would announce 'time for a break' and I would grab my bag and run into a storage room nearby. Another mom of a 4 month old would join me, and we would pump as fast as we could and then return to the course. There was a small kitchen where we could store the milk during the day. By Sunday, everyone had their luggage and the fridge and freezer were overflowing with milk from 3 nursing moms on the course.
Returning home, I had to go through the pumping at the airport scenario again. I took about 90 oz of milk with me, mostly frozen, through security in my carry on and it was fine.
I made it home by about midnight Sunday and then worked Mon and Tues before having Wed off. Jason did an awesome job with the girls and there was enough milk. Our cousin Jeannie came and watched Rachel and Ava for a couple hours on Sat so Jason could go run. Jason took the girls to the zoo Sunday afternoon while everyone else in Denver was watching the Broncos win.
All in all, the whole thing worked out better than I expected, with no serious problems. I passed my exams, received my first certificate, and learned a lot. I did well, the girls did well, Jason did well. The couch surfing experience was fantastic and fun and saved me a load of money. I'm thrilled to be done stressing about milk and having to pump extra all the time and store every drop I can.
I am supposed to go to the second pelvic health course at the end of February. If all goes well, though, I'll take Ava with me to that one and have Nana come down to help out.
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