Simple Wishes Fulfilled

Let's face it: pumping probably doesn't top any mom's Fun Stuff To Do Today list. And pumping used to be doubly un-fun when Laurel was a baby because our efforts with the bottle were so unsuccessful (our fault -- we started introducing the bottle way too late) and I had to sit there and watch the minutes tick by (no doubt thinking about how the milk would probably go to waste) while I held the gear in place. Well, no more. Thanks to the Simple Wishes bustier (which I picked up at Isis Parenting on the recommendation of my friends Cindy and Liz), pumping has turned from single focused chore to multitasking opportunity.
The Simple Wishes bustier features two openings to easily slide in your pump attachments; the attachments are held snug via adjustable Velcro in the back (particularly handy for accommodating the freakish size fluctuation that comes with the early weeks of nursing) and a zipper down the front. I've written columns, checked e-mail, edited manuscripts, tweaked design projects, and flipped the pages of InStyle while pumping. My pumping sessions zip by in a flash (I got even faster with the whole operation once I realized I could simply put the bustier on over my regular nursing bras -- flaps open of course), and I finish feeling extra accomplished for having gotten a few things done while banking milk. I truly can't believe I lived without this bustier when I pumped the first time around, especially since I had to pump a lot more back then (since I was away from Laurel more, working at the lab/hospital).

And oh yes...we didn't make the same mistake this time and started introducing the bottle at three weeks (instead of, um, three months). So not only is pumping easier thanks to the bustier, but Jon and Laurel (and other relatives and our babysitter) are having fun feeding Violet and my schedule isn't constrained around three-hour feeding windows. Talk about simple wishes fulfilled.