A bittersweet farewell.

Last day using my pump: 7/18/12

This morning, I said my final good-byes to my dear friend... my Hygeia Double Electric Breast Pump. It's been a great year and we have many fond (and not so fond) memories, but it's time to say farewell.
I've been pumping for 11 months and 10 days, and I'm finally ready to call it quits. For many of you, this may sound like a crazy person talking, but I really did become "attached" to my pump. I made a goal of exclusively giving Linna breast milk for one year, but like many things in life, circumstances change. My husband and I leave for Chicago for five days, and we're leaving Linna with our parents. I don't have enough breast milk stored (frozen), and I'm not pumping enough milk to get her to a full year. So to make the transition to whole milk easier for Linna and the grandparents while we're in Chicago, I've decided to stop pumping today, and we've started the transition to whole milk. While she's still getting some breast milk, she started on whole milk last night. So far, so good!

Over the last 11 months of pumping, there have been MANY times that I've wanted to throw in the towel. But knowing the benefits of giving your baby breast milk for a year, I decided to stick with it. My milk supply was like that of a cow in the beginning, and decreased at about five months. I used Zija to get my milk supply back up, but pumping is still a very time-consuming process. My entire life started to revolve around the pump.

Although I am SO happy to pack up the pump and FINALLY have my bubbies back, it's kind of an emotional farewell. In a way, my purpose in life became my ability to provide my baby's nutrition for almost a complete year. Knowing that I was the only person that could give my baby exactly what she needed nutritionally, made pumping a little bit less of a pain. Not having to pump every day, multiple times a day is going to take some getting used to. But this is one less thing I need to worry about on a daily basis.

For the last week, I decreased my pumping frequency to once a day. The first couple days were tough, and sleeping became difficult, as my bubbies were so full of milk. But the last couple days have been easier, and my bubbies are becoming less and less engorged. We'll see how it goes with eliminating pumping all together. If I look like Dolly Parton the next time you see me, you'll know why:)

So, farewell my pump. Thank you for sticking with me over the last 11 months. You never died on me, and you just kept going! I should look at this, not as a farewell, but more like a "see ya later". I'm actually looking forward to bringing you (my pump) out of storage when baby #2 shows his or her lovely face (no, I'm not pregnant). Thanks for being a wonderful companion, each and every day;)

Your friend,

The crazy pumping lady:)