“Whoever said 'there's no crying over spilled milk' has never been a breastfeeding mother.”
Bundle is a breastfeeding accessory that reflects and extends the tenderness of the nursing relationship between mother and baby. Bundle is a cozy for a mother’s breast pump. Tucking away the pump and its tubing and flanges, bundle wraps tight around the body like a hug, occluding the clinical and dehumanizing mechanism of the pump. Offering discretion, hands-free comfort, and easy access to adjusting pump placement, it’s designed to look and feel more like a nursing baby. Unwrap bundle, and it becomes a swaddle for baby.
Made of soft material, Bundle picks up baby’s scent, allowing olfactory cues present in the breast pumping experience like they do in nursing. Bundle has ears: two tiny, plush speakers listen when baby is swaddled and can record her cooing or crying, which can later be played back as a pumping primer.
Through scent, sound, and touch, bundle transmits the sensory data that’s central to the nursing experience, and absent in the pumping experience. Our hope is that Bundle makes breastfeeding a gentler experience for mothers, and offers a humanist solution to the logistical and emotional challenges of breastfeeding.
In collaboration with Savannah Niles, Cory Schmitz, Ermal Dreshaj. 2014
As part of the Breastpump Hackathon "Make the breastpump not suck" @ M.I.T. Media Lab