Above and Beyond

This week, I have a series of posts about traveling while pumping and nursing. Today, to start off, I want to tell you about a hotel in Chicago that went above and beyond.

Recently, I had to attend a seminar for work. I live in Detroit and the conference was in Chicago. In order to get there on time, I had to get up at t3:30 a.m., get ready, drive to the airport, fly to Chicago, take the train into the city, attend the conference and then do the entire trip in reverse on the way back home.

Let’s complicate this further. I’m a nursing mother traveling without her baby.

So every few hours, I had to find a place to pump. During the early morning hours I conducted two very tedious balancing acts on the stalls in public bathrooms. I tried not to touch anything. I tried not to fall over. I tried not to dump the contents of the bag I was holding.

But I will do what I have to do for my child.

Our conference was being at the Hotel Allegro. After I ate lunch, I went up to the front desk and asked if there was somewhere besides yet another bathroom where I could pump. The girl at the front desk said “yes, I can put you in a room.” I figured she meant a small office that wasn’t being used or something. Imagine my surprise when she said “that’s room 411” and handed me a key card.

Here I was just visiting the hotel for a conference. I wasn’t a guest. And she was letting me use a room. I took the elevator up and I was so relieved. I was able to sit in a chair and relax while pumping. No balancing act. No toilets to navigate. A clean and safe environment. It was the time that day I breathed a sigh of relief. And also considered taking a nap on the inviting bed, but of course I didn’t.

I can’t tell you how nice that was. For a traveling, nursing mother, you have no idea how nice it was of those working at the desk. Not only did they just out me in a room, they asked about my child and how old she was. It was very sweet. While I wasn’t even staying at the hotel, I felt welcome.

My return to Detroit later that night included two more public restroom visits to pump due to delayed flights, but I just kept thinking that there are good people out there who are around to help us tired, weary, nursing, traveling moms.