Pumping Rant

MadelineGraceG

I can't stand pumping! There, I said it. It sucks. (literally!)

My daughter is 7 months old and I started pumping about a month ago. She was getting to where nursing would take over half an hour because she was getting SO distracted. She wanted to look at EVERYTHING! And as a stay-at-home-mom of a 5 and 3 year old, ain't nobody got time for that! Nursing that long is for newborns, not 6 month olds.

I feel like by now I should be well on my way to getting my house/weight back on track, not working my whole day around pumping or feeding the baby. I can't just exercise throughout the day because I have to change out of my nursing bra, and then I can't just go back to "house-wife" stuff because I have to change back into my nursing bra before it's time to pump again. Changing your bra multiple times a day gets old quick. I used to just wear a sports bra all day so that if the mood to exercise hit me, I was ready! Now, not so much.... I guess I'm just lazy.

My sister pumped from day one with her daughter, she pumped several times a day for 12 months. She even woke up at night to pump. She was a champ! I basically pump twice a day, morning and night. IF I can remember to pump in the afternoon, I do. But that doesn't happen often. ("What the cow? It's 5:00?!" Pretty much every day...) Pumping so few times in a day has really hurt my supply, I get maybe 12 oz a day. That does not keep up with a growing 7 mo old so she gets formula often, which really lays the ol' guilt trip on me. (Even though I completely weaned my other two at 6 months. Guilt is a funny thing, isn't it?)

I think I'll invent a blindfold/earplugs for babies that get too distracted to nurse. Lol!

TLCEsq

I exclusively pump because I don't make enough to EBF (I have glandular issues) and my daughter was a preemie in the NICU for 10 days. I feel your pain, I started with 8 to 12 pumps per day and now I am down to 4 and she's 10 weeks old. I only get 12-16 oz per day so she's been supplemented with formula from day one. I wear a nursing tank all day long.

You shouldn't feel guilty at all - formula isn't poison. You're feeding your baby and that's what matters. Try power pumping once a day, 20 minutes on then 10 off 10 on 10 off 10 on. It helps with supply but at over 6 months post partum I'm not quite sure what your results would be. What kind of pump are you using?

MadelineGraceG

It's a Avent manual pump. I have an electric one, but it hurts like crazy!

DawnieB1977

Sounds like you're doing a great job, you've fed your baby for 7 months!

I've had to mainly formula feed all of mine due to low supply, and it sucks, but I can't change it. I don't know why it's happened, because they won't investigate. My GP said that some women just don't produce enough. My third is 9 weeks old tomorrow and I'm still trying to bf when I can, but she's not interested now. Even if I pump 4 times a day I get 4oz maximum altogether. Sometimes I can pump from both sides and get half an ounce. I'm having a tough time with it, but need to remember my 5 and 3 year olds are gorgeous, healthy and happy.

I make sure I wear a low cut top/dress so I can pump if I get a few free minutes. Even if she gets only 3oz of breast milk a day, it's better than nothing.

TLCEsq

It's a Avent manual pump. I have an electric one, but it hurts like crazy!

Wow you manually pump?! That might explain why you hate it so much! I rent a Medela Symphony and also have a Medela Pump in Style Advanced. Both are double electric and pumping shouldn't hurt - mine start with low suction and then you can adjust it.

mommyrunning

With my second child I also rented a hospital pump which was faster than a regular pump. You mentioned you have to change to a nursing bra. You could just push your regular bra up. If privacy is an issue a blanket or nursing cover would help. I do remember feeling isolated when I pumped but I used the time to do stuff on my iphone like log my food, look for recipes, check Facebook etc. But as others said don't feel guilty. My 1st got breast milk along with some formula until she was 4-6 months old when my milk started to drop too low. She is a very smart healthy 6 year old now. So every little bit helps. I have a 16 month old that nurses at night still and honestly I wish I'd switched to pumping when she was younger. I'm glad I could nurse her but now she just does it for comfort which is a harder habit to change.

tiggerhammon

I manually pumped with my daughter and hated it! I have a double electric one now and don't mind pumping. However, time is still the bigger issue for me. Heaven forbid something come up and I need to leave my baby with my husband for some reason, there is no pumped milk in my house right now.
I keep telling myself I am going to do it and it keeps not getting done.

I personally am in exclusively sports bras right now. They work for every day life, going for a walk and work fine for breastfeeding.

Feeding a baby is so time consuming. Granted, mine is the newborn and not a 6 month old but I feel like I spend most of my day feeding and there isn't time for much else - forget having to pump too after all that feeding!

lisapr123

Yep, it sucks. I hated nursing and hated pumping. I did it for three months. I went thru 2 electric (Medela & Ameda) and hated them both. In the end it was an Avent manual that I liked the best. I used that thing 8-10x a day for nearly 3 months and got a fair amount of milk doing so....way more than I ever got with either electric pump.

You know what....feel no shame in formula! As soon as I switched to 100% formula I felt so much better! Some people love nursing, I just never got the warm and fuzzies over it...