I Pump, Therefore I Am

I'm starting a whole new category here - Boob-a-licious - to cover all things boob and pump-related because I feel I'll have a books-worth of stories to share soon enough.

But first, 10 Things No One Told Me About Pumping...

10. That there was any such thing as pumping your breasts to get breastmilk because there was a possibility baby just wouldn't do it.

9. That my days of being protective of my breasts because I've had fibrocystic cysts for years was now over and that I'd be manhandling them daily.

8. That there was something called an Electric Breast Pump and that it wasn't the name of a punk rock band.

7. That my breasts could actually bend and twist in odd directions when I'm trying to balance the bottles on my lap so I can type while pumping since I'm sometimes too lazy to put on my hands-free make-shift pump bra.

6. That there was something called a hands-free pump bra until I finally learned there was something called pumping your breasts for breastmilk.

5. That I'd actually say every 2-4 hours per day "I've got to pump" and make a dutiful beeline to my pump.

4. That I'd buy a vehicle power adapter and actually pump in the car (so far only while G. is driving, not while I'm driving...)

3. That I'd be keeping a Pump Diary every day and looking at this whole pumping experience in terms of numbers i.e. getting those ounces up.

2. That I'd be finding creative ways to eat more oatmeal to increase my breast milk production - oatmeal with brown sugar and half & half, oatmeal cookies, oatmeal breakfast bars, oatmeal in meatloaf (yes, really).

1. That even with flanges and bottles attached to my nipples, my husband still thinks I'm sexy.

Comments

[Pamela]

Congrats on keeping up the pumping! Hard work, but it does get to be routine. I actually pumped in the bathroom at a work-related Christmas party. And in the airport bathroom. The car was actually nice and luxurious for me. I only did it while parked, but I came up with this whole system for creating relative privacy in parking lots and parking garages. Oh, those were the days.

Another resource you might be interested in for tracking your pumping is TrixieTracker.com.

[Isabel]

Pumping sucks. I hate it, and I do it everyday that I'm at the office. And as much as I hate it, I do it because I love my baby and he's worth it.

It sounds like you've got this whole thing figured out. Good for you and good luck keeping it up! :-)

[Kristen]

I am also an exclusive pumper. I am devastated this week b/c my 5 months of pumped expressed breast milk is gone! My freezer door got stuck open and defrosted everything and it is ruined. Be careful!

[Jessica S.]

Oh, Kristen, that's horrible!I've haven't managed to express very much in the way of extra milk, but I'm certainly going to divide my tiny store between two freezers now.