Make the Breastpump NOT Suck Hackathon

This coming weekend a group of AWESOME MIT folks are convening a "Make the Breastpump NOT Suck" Hackathon. How FREAKING cool is that!

I was one of the lucky ones whose milk came in and was able to nurse without any issues. It was easy. Little fox nursed like a champ for 18 months (until I cut him off, but didn't really cut him off so he still nurses on occasion, but that's a story for a different blog post), and I pumped milk at work every 2 hours for 9 months. Breastfeeding was a commitment, but it worked for our family.

But when I saw this hackathon was looking for ideas and feedback I JUMPED at the chance to share a few suggestions!

Again I was a lucky one who had a private office to pump in whenever I needed to, and a uber supportive boss who essentially made it part of my job to inquire about pumping rooms at every off-site location I visited (which happened at-least daily.) I was able to schedule meetings around my pump schedule and store my milk in the office fridge (which apparently is a problem for too many moms.)

This is one of those issues that I KNOW would be different if WOMEN were in positions of power to make things different. Most men will ever understand what its like to accidentally spill 3 ounces of milk that you spent 30 minutes extracting from your body with a noisy machine while visualizing being at home cuddling with a baby that you had to leave with a stranger. The size and noise of the pump was hideous and I drug that thing with me EVERYWHERE. The horror of being engorged at work and realizing that you forgot your flanges in the washer at home. There are so many things about pumping that SUCKED, in addition to the reality that a breastpump is nothing like a suckling baby.

What would you love to see in a breastpump? Submit your idea at http://breastpump.media.mit.edu/idea.php
and join the discussion at https://www.facebook.com/groups/hackthebreastpump/