Like everyone, when I had a baby, my life completely changed. And because I had spent two hours a day tied to a breast pump since my baby’s birth, being a mother and an exclusive pumper became very intertwined for me. Exclusive pumping was a big part of my identity. Because of this, it was really important to me that I was successful. This meant (after my supply snafu early on, when I would skip pumping sessions more than I should have) being a bit obsessive about getting my pumping sessions in.
Exclusive Pumping Part 2 – The First Year
The Routine Early On
When I started exclusively pumping, I pumped whenever my baby ate. My routine was that I would bottle feed him, and then I’d put him on my lap and hook myself up to pump. He would fall asleep there with the pump motor apparently functioning as a lullaby. (Maybe the Medela Freestyle sounds like the inside of a uterus. Who knows?) When I was finished pumping, he’d be conked out enough that I could move him to his bassinet for the rest of his nap. [Read more…]
Exclusive Pumping Part 1 – Making the Decision
By Amanda Glenn
Before I had my first baby, I had three missed miscarriages (which means I didn’t know I’d miscarried until we had an ultrasound and there was no heartbeat). As a result, I was kind of used to being told by healthcare providers that my body had failed at what it was supposed to do. Of course, most of them were very kind, and they would never have intended that I take the sad news this way. But that’s how I felt while I when devastated by the losses and unsure about whether or not I would ever have a baby. [Read more…]
