Sad Day

Well. Sunday, May 24, 2009, at 8:30 PM was my LAST TIME TO PUMP! I have been so surprised by my feelings towards breastmilk and pumping. Shortly after we were "in the clear"/around 12-20 weeks pregnant, I started researching about breastfeeding. I read or started reading two books about it because I was told that I needed to read as much as possible about the subject and try to be as informed as possible. My attitude about the whole thing (before baby) was if it happens, GREAT. If not, oh well. Now I knew the benefits. I had many, many development classes in college and all drilled into us about how important breastmilk is. So I knew/know the facts. But I still was nervous about it and just went into it with a realistic attitude that it may not work. I also knew that there was huge chance that we would deliver Trigger early and he may not be able to breastfeed. Well, that ended up true. While we were in the hospital, Jennifer (my SIL) sterlized all her pump parts and brought it all to me. SOoooo sweet! However, the night Trigger was born, we went up to the NICU and I asked about breastfeeding. Of course Trigger wasn't big enough to actually nurse. They "gave" (or paid by insurance) me a MEDELA pump. Matt and I took the pump back to the room and got everything out and read the directions. Matt had to go back up to the NICU to sterilize everything and I pumped for the first time that night. I pumped every 3 hours to try to get my milk to come in. It took 3 days....he was born on Tuesday night and Friday night I started flowing! I remember waking Matt up (we were staying in the hotel in Shreveport) to show him. It was very exciting. We stored my milk in the fridge and transported it to the NICU everyday. Since I was pretty much living in Shreveport while Trigger was in the NICU, I did quite a bit of pumping in Liz's car (thank goodness for the battery pack...next go round I will invest in the car adapter) and in the NICU nursing room. Anyway, when Trigger was discharged, they told me that I could try nursing at home. It was too nerve racking for us because it was hard enough to get him to stay awake to take 50 CCs in 25-30 minutes...they had told us how critical it was to make sure he got enough milk since he was so little. So we opted to continue pumping and KNOW what Trigger was getting. I pumped every three hours around the clock. The hard thing about pumping exclusively is that it drains you and your husband...noone gets a break. Our schedule was 7, 10, 1, and 4 AM and PM...that's what the NICU put Trigger on and we continued. So, Matt would get up and feed Trigger during the night and I would get up and pump....FOR THE BIRDS!!!! AWFUL...worth it but awful!!!! because we couldn't just say, "I'll take tonight and you take tomorrow night." Anyway, we made it through it!
I want you to know that the BOOKS ARE WROnG! I read in so many books and on the internet that people who pumped exclusively would NOT have enough milk. Well, this is ONE time that it pays for my body to be the opposite of what the books say. I was a milk machine! In January 09, I was pumping 65 ounces a day...over double what my child needs in a day. I pump and freeze my milk. I have pumped so much milk that my grandmother gave me her new chest freezer and we bought and upright freezer to store the milk in. AND, they were full about a month ago. NO MORE ROOM FOR MILK...TWO FREEZERS! crazy!!! I have enough milk to probably last until Trigger is about 16 months old....breastmilk for 16 months...NO formula. AMAZING! Anyway, so I had a friend tell me that I really needed to start slowing down or I was going to be in pain when I stopped. I started slowing stretching out the time between pumping sessions..and slowly started getting my life back! And, Sunday was my last time to pump. Amazing how I went from "if it works, it works" to pumping 65 ounces and not stopping until Trigger is 10 months. That's right I pumped for 10 MONTHS! I know this is a long post but so important to me and this has consumed my/my families/my co-workers lives for the last 10 months. Glad I'm done but so sad that my baby doesn't need me anymore. For those of you that would like to pump, I'm here to tell you that it can happen but you have to be determined. I didn't miss pumping sessions...until it was time to quit. You have to be willing to set everything aside to make it happen! I could not have done it without a supportive husband, family members, and co-workers!!!! Thank you for helping me.
These are pictures of my last pumping session...nothing revealing..don't worry!
Me and my horns

My last milk!

Me and my best friend: The MEDELA pump...BTW, if you are looking for a pump, this is THE best pump.

FUN FACTS: I pumped approximately 1,700 times. I spent approx. 33,000 minutes pumping (or 550 hours). WOW! Sooo...I would say the medela pump is a good one if it can hold up for that many hours!