So. Breastfeeding.
It has gone exactly how it went with my first two attempts: kind of sucky (pun intended).
These nipples of mine just weren’t made for it (they are kind of flat and as soon as my milk comes in they get stretched taut like the skin of an orange and the baby kind of looks at them like, “What the heck am I supposed to do with THAT?!”) and so I have busted out the heavy-duty, dual barrel breast pump that I bought when my first daughter rejected my breasts and have been hooking myself up to drain my heavy bosom every 3-4 hours.
I feel like a dairy cow, but a proud one. I am producing a lot of milk (between 30-40 oz some days) and the deep freeze is already filling up with stores for the future. Pumping is old hat to me now since I’ve had to do it with three babies and, truth be told, I really like some of the benefits that come with it: I get the satisfaction of knowing my baby is getting breastmilk but without the relentless responsibility of being the only person who can feed her. Anyone can sneak in a snuggle and give her a bottle and that affords me some beautiful breaks when I need them. I also don’t have to deal with a baby who wants to use my nipples as a pacifier and bat them around in her mouth all day long while trying to chase after my two older children. And that’s OK with me.
In some ways I am disappointed that I’ve never had a positive breastfeeding relationship with any of my girls. I never spent mornings cuddled in bed with a baby suckling at my teat and have always approached nursing with a bit of fear and trepidation. In my heart of hearts I know I could have forced myself and my kids to make breastfeeding work, but I just never had that “nurse or die” mentality and pumping seemed like a wonderful compromise that has worked well for us. With my eldest I pumped for seven months, my second for two months, and we’ll see how long I go with Brinley. Initially I set myself the realistic goal of lasting six weeks, just to give her a good start, but a big part of me would like to carry on through the flu season just to have her be as protected from illness as she can be since she’s too young for any flu vaccinations this winter. We’ll see though. I plan to pump as long as I can without it negatively affecting other areas of my life. Heck, it’s kind of nice having this voluptuous rack that finally gives me the hourglass figure I’ve always dreamed of, so perhaps I’ll pump until I’m 89 and save a fortune on breast augmentation surgery.
I feel like Joan!
Well, a lactating, sleep-deprived version of Joan who hooks her jugs up to a wheezing, mechanical breast pump every few hours. Sexay!
The only thing I need now is some custom-made stickers to paste on every bottle I own so as to reduce the number of scowls I get from strangers when they see me sticking a bottle in the mouth of a baby so tiny. Everyone assumes it’s formula I’m feeding her, which it’s not. (And even if it were, that’s OK!)
Here’s some sticker ideas I’ve come up with:
“Although it’s none of your business, I’m pleased to report this bottle is filled with breast milk!”
“Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged. PS: It’s breast milk, Haters!”
“Freshly Squeezed…From My Boobs!”
Oh, motherhood. No one said you were easy.
Very funny post:)
I was looking into getting the Ameda Purely Yours Breast Pump – http://www.breastpumpsdirect.com/Ameda_Purely_Yours_p/17070.htm that you have in the picture.
Do you recommend it? I have no experience with them at all.
Thanks!
Never in my life, did I ever feel like flipping the finger more, than when questioned whether I was breast feeding, esp. from men. Weird and gross.
I was always 1/2 expecting someone to reach out and squeeze me to check the way people took such interest.
I have much respect for anyone feeding their baby, bottle, boob or pumped. It is hard work. We had a wealthy acquaintance who hired a wet nurse for his wife because she didn’t want to breast feed. It’s a private matter to be shared at will, not upon nosey or weirdo curiosity.
For the record, baby 1 bf 2 weeks , bottle remainder, baby 2, bf exclusively 1.5 years. Neither situation was what I had planned for.
(end little rant here).
Hi, I’m a new reader and I wanted to de-lurk to say thanks for writing such a light-hearted post about what can be such a heavy subject! Breast-feed or die – love it!
How do you like your pump? Obviously it’s working pretty well for you. I didn’t pump a lot with Isabelle, once she was a few months old I borrowed a hand pump and try and always have a couple of bags in the freezer (I would be so proud of myself) I would pump after I fed her so I would have to combine like 4 bags to make enough for one feed and if I knew I wanted to go out for an evening I had to plan it a week in advance and squeeze myself dry after every feeding. This time round I don’t want all that stress like I’ve said so I will be way quicker to reach for the pump and reach for formula to supplement for the twins. The question is what pump to reach for? I’ve heard good stuff about medela and advent duo isis but if I splurge $400 then I’m going to have major guilt if I don’t make breast feeding work. Any reviews????
I also pumped exclusively for my first (in fact, that’s how I found your kickyboots blog 4 years ago – I was searching for someone in the same boat!), mainly due to the same problems you mentioned earlier. I’ve been there, and completely understand. In fact, we actually bought a deep freezer specifically for the excess milk that I pumped – that’s how much I had!
My 2nd is now 9 weeks, and I gave breastfeeding another go – and it has worked for us! So now that my 2nd is successfully breastfeeding, I see the differences between exclusive pumping and nursing. When I pumped, I drained both breasts completely, every 3/4 hours – sometimes I could stretch to 5 hours, but I would be engorged. Now that I nurse, I realize that pumping exclusively messes up the law of supply and demand for your boobs.
Rarely does my baby drain both breasts with each feeding – but that’s what I was doing when pumping – and creating so much extra milk that it was ridiculous! When your daughter feeds, take note of how much she actually drinks – and only pump that amount. This way, you can train your breasts to only produce what she needs (which would mimic her nursing), and your boobs can adjust to that. Of course, please do what you feel best – I just wanted to share my experience from both sides!
Your girls are adorable!
LOVE the sticker ideas! Haha! Got your “thank you” card today. You are welcome! Haha! Good luck with all things boobie!
Hey Amanda,
I was curious about your adventures in breastfeeding were going. Breast milk is great stuff and good for you for doing double duty. Pumping and….then bottling! So, are we going to get to hear a hilarious review on a hands free double pump bra combo?
Since you have pumped and bottled your other 2 babies, you will be an old pro at this game and a true expert.
I’m sort of curious…did you ever try a nipple shield? I remember you talking about your ‘pancake’ nipples in the past and was curious if you ever had any help from a BF educator or tried any tricks before moving on to pumping.
Keep it up mama!
I think I died laughing at your sticker ideas!! 🙂
See, now if I wrote the sticker it would say something like…”Because you and I both know your nosy, you can rest assured that it’s only 1/4 tsp of Dimetapp and 1/4 gram of crack. She’ll sleep well for a few hours and be fine in no time. Thanks for your care and concern”
Hahaahahah!! You are the best.
That is all. 🙂
I just packed up my breast pump after 4 months of pumping for twins. I had a very successful bf experience with my first. However, twins, not so much. So pumping it was.
I’m SO glad to be done. I feel like running over my pump with my truck just to hear it wheeze its last breath. So good for you for pumping!
I breast-fed for a whole year. My silly little man refused a bottle. Although I enjoyed our snuggles, it sure wasn’t glamourous. Being the only one who could feed him did suck (literally). Hope you make those stickers. I’d love to have a few for my #2 because I’d love to try pumping and hopefully having a baby eat with someone else every now and then.
Long time lurker…I vote for the 3rd choice for stickers! Do what makes sense for your family and good luck!
I was in the exact same boat with my first. he didn’t latch, i wanted to breastfeed, so my mighty medela double breast pump was my BFF. this time i’m thinking of ordering one of these – http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Wishes-Hands-Free-Breastpump-XS/dp/B00295MQLU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1284683544&sr=8-1
a breast pump bra so my hands will be free!!! we will see how it goes with #2, but i’m not getting my hopes up, i think it was my boobs and not my son taht was the problem.
just be careful with the pumping. you don’t want to be doing it so often your boobs think “twins!”. just get it in her as much as you can. your job is to keep her alive no matter what. i am a die hard bf’er but you need to do what you need to do to keep her safe and healthy.
keep the frozen milk for when you are trying her with cereals and stuff. i used that instead of water….mmmm…extra creamy!
I’m sorry nursing doesn’t work for you, but I am also proud of you for pumping! My first could not nurse so I pumped for 9 months, although I didn’t see the positives that you do. I felt like a cow that might as well not have been near her at all, I could’ve fedex’d my milk to her. In fact, she didn’t like me to feed her at all, so it was mostly her dad’s job. My resentment towards that really affected my early bond. However, now that I’ve had 3 kids, and had wonderful long breastfeeding relationships with the other 2, I think i’d be more relaxed about it if it happens with the next babe.
Way to go!
I’ve never had a problem with formula-feeding mothers, probably never will. I’m a firm believer in the whole do what’s right for YOUR family thing. But if you’re dedicated enough to pump just so your daughter gets the good stuff? GOOD FOR YOU!!!
Good luck. 🙂
I like the first or second ones. Or you could just put a picture of a nice rack? LOL Don’t Judge…this is from my Jugs?