My first reaction when I saw actor Rachel McAdams in her recent Girls Girls Girls magazine photoshoot wearing Versace, dripping in Bulgari diamonds, sitting like a boss, while pumping breastmilk was “wow”! My second reaction was her image couldn’t have been more different from my own experiences of pumping breastmilk. Of course, McAdams is a celebrity and was doing a photoshoot for a magazine, but all I could think of was little old me sitting with two industrial strength pumps attached to my breasts in the middle of the night, feeling very much like a cow.

There is a sound that electric breast pumps make that, once you’ve used them for any length of time, you won’t forget. It’s kind of like a whirring along with a sucking noise. The sound mimicking the echoes of your sleep-deprived soul, or perhaps it is the sound of having your essence sucked out. Regardless, it’s not a particularly nice noise. And even though it’s been a couple of years since I pumped breastmilk, I can close my eyes and I’m there, right in the midst of that sleep-deprived, frazzled haze that fogs your mind in those first few weeks with a newborn.

I started my breast pumping journey with my first child. She refused to latch on properly and I had great trouble breastfeeding her. But I was determined to feed her myself so I called on the breastfeeding cavalry (wouldn’t it be cool though if there really was such a cavalry)? My first port of call was the nurse in the postnatal ward of the hospital where I gave birth, who tried unhelpfully to get my baby to breastfeed. My daughter wouldn’t latch so the nurse grabbed my breasts and got me to manoeuvre my body in a weird angle to allow her to do so. We were unsuccessful. She then told me to hand express enough to fill a syringe – I was also unsuccessful at that. What made me feel much worse was how derisive my nurse was about the amount I was expressing.

I hired out a hospital grade breastpump and it was like having two high-powered vacuums attached to your nipples, and boy were they effective

As an aside, that is an impressive amount of milk McAdams has expressed in her photoshoot. In case you were in any doubt she wasn’t successful in all aspects of her life.

My next port of call was faithful Google. I found a fantastic breastfeeding resource online, a lactation consultant and local breastfeeding groups, all who I turned to for help. But ultimately, my daughter wasn’t so keen on breastfeeding. So I researched pumps. Here is my tip – if you want real bang for your pump then go hospital grade. I hired out a hospital grade breastpump and it was like having two high-powered vacuums attached to your nipples, and boy were they effective. I sat back and let that pump go to work, extracting so much milk I had enough to freeze some. I could probably have given McAdams a run for her money when it came to the amount I was pumping.

The only downside for going hospital grade is that the pump is a bit too effective and your body starts producing way more milk than your baby needs. After returning my hired pump I expressed with a variety of electric pumps but by then my daughter was mixed feeding along with formula. Regardless, I persisted in this pumping/feeding journey for a whole year before I thought of giving myself a break!

My children showed me it could be a difficult journey, like it was with my first, and an actual enjoyable experience like it was by the time I was breastfeeding my third.

When it came to my subsequent two children, I was hesitant about pumping. Even though I did do it initially with both of them, it ended up being too much of a hassle, especially as I had other kids around. Thankfully, both my second and third were champion breastfeeders and I didn’t have to worry about pumping.

Now that I am done with childbearing, with my youngest turning three in a few months, I can safely say my breastfeeding days are behind me. But the journey of breastfeeding, whether you’re pumping or not, never leaves you. My children showed me it could be a difficult journey, like it was with my first, and an actual enjoyable experience like it was by the time I was breastfeeding my third. But no matter how it goes, it’s a particularly unique experience shared by many mothers and their babies – what with 90 per cent of mothers in Australia initiating exclusive breastfeeding.

And yes, while McAdams may look a bit extra in her outfit and make-up, which possibly as a celebrity is her norm, she is showing us that no matter who you are, at the end of the day you’re still a mother trying to feed her child. Whether it’s pumping, or formula, or latching your baby to your breast, a fed baby is a happy one. Though I’m not going to lie, having a cluster of Bulgari diamonds around your neck while feeding your child, would probably make the whole experience a lot better.