Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Hanging up the Horns

After nearly eleven months, I am officially done pumping!  It is sooooo nice not to be tethered to that thing every 4 hours.  But at the same time, some of that mommy guilt creeps in.  Physically, I still could be pumping.  I was still producing more than what Claire was drinking in a day, but mentally, I needed a break.  I was ready for my body to feel like mine again.

Today, the pumps are getting packed up.  The parts are getting washed and cleared away so my counter doesn't look like this anymore.


And, I still have at least 4 months of milk in the freezer, so I more than made my goal of getting her through her first year on BM.  I'm very proud that I was able to hang in there pumping as long as I did.  It really was much harder than I thought it would be!

12 comments:

  1. Holy Smokes you are a better woman then me!! great job pumping for so long...and even greater for Claire! Happy Holidays..smiles

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  2. Don't feel guilty! You did wonderful! I know many women that would not have gone that long. I weaned Lucas a month ago and I felt a little guilt too but now I am happy to have my body back.

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  3. Momma you did a great job! Jax only made it to 8 months, and that was better than any of my other kids because my home care provided me with a nice pump. My milk always dried up by around 4 months.
    With Jax I pumped and put it in his tube. Than after 4 months on the ventilator, we knew he was done eating by mouth, and he had to be on a special diet, so I gave in and turned the pump back in. I'm just grateful that for 8 months he got his momma's milk!

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  4. Wow!! Great job! I lasted four months, lol. Thats really awesome you were able to do it for that long, you should be VERY proud :)

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  5. No guilt! No guilt! Girl, you have outlasted 99% of the population so hats off to you. You have done your motherly duty.

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  6. I pumped my milk for 6 months,when Zoey was born and she could not nurse or drink from a bottle.People thought I was crazy... till she STARTED nursing at 6 months of age!I kept it up until she was 1 1/2.Then biting started and we just could push pat it.

    You did really great job Melissa.Really a gift to that sweet,beautiful girl!

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  7. yeah, I gave up after 10 months! Its hard -REAL hard! You did amazing! and totally understand the guilty feeling.

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  8. yep, I only lasted four months with another two months stashed in the freezer. After trying to keep up with our schedule, I just found that I honestly didn't have time to pump after getting her to all of her appointments! I felt so guilty about stopping, but knew that I had to for my own sanity. It really mad me mad that as soon as I switched her to formula, Addison's doctor took her off one of her vitamins. Really? Breast milk required extra things that formula doesn't? That made no sense to me.
    Anyway, congratulations on hanging on for so long! I'm definitely impressed.

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  9. You are amazing! I only made it to 6 months EPing. Go, mama!

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  10. You pumped all this time?? Do you have a Superwoman t-shirt??? I hope so!! That is quite the accomplishment- you better NOT have any guilt over stopping! btw That picture cracked me up:)

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  11. Yay, you!! Pumping is a lot to ask of yourself, especially pumping for that long. Big kudos to you, Mom.

    I pumped for 18 months -- and breastfed for six months; I laughed to see your freezer picture because it was so familiar! I'd never fault a woman for choosing not to pump -- I hated pumping -- but that just makes it more heroic when women like you DO pump, and for so long!

    And boy am I impressed at the string of comments! You have an amazing group of readers here. My hat's off to all of you (us).

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