What an interesting time to be a new mother! Apparently, due to some recent articles in the Atlantic and the New Yorker, as well as the NYT piece I wrote about the other day, breastmilk v. formula is the hot topic of debate right now. Last night, I saw this article on Christianity Today's website, once again discussing the merit or malice of the breast pump. Drawing on Jill Lepore's New Yorker article that apparently sparked this debate anew, the CT piece discussed an interesting angle they referred to as "the human milk gap." This is the idea that the pump "lets employers off the hook" by enabling breastfeeding even when women return to work, rather than allowing longer, paid maternity leave like many European nations do.
I'm not going to get into the whole issue again--except to say that if I had been the woman mentioned in the article who had two days worth of milk poured in the garbage by an airport security official, I think I would have physically attacked the guy! Anyway, if you're interested in the topic, it's another good article to read. Yesterday being my first day back at work, it really struck a chord. I pumped twice at the office, and it all went fine.
To update on that, it's definitely quite an adjustment and I feel very sad being away from Kate for so long. I felt more upset last night after my measly two waking hours with her than I did during the day at the office. I feel like I should be with her more. I feel like I'm slacking off in my role as her mother. Hopefully today will involve fewer tears!
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