PUMPING SUCKS! Guest Post by Ruth!

This is the second guest post for the pumping series. Ruth is one of my very close mom friends and she is a hippy just like me!

Take it away Ruth!

Pumping Sucks!

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Ruth. I have an almost 9 month old baby girl, Liath. Sarah and I became friends when we were both pregnant. We have 2 common beliefs…#1 breast feeding is best for our babies and #2 Pumping SUCKS.

First let me say, as parents everyone agrees: we will do anything for our children. For me this means, I go to work to make a living and Liath goes to daycare which means I have to pump my milk. I pump 4-5 times a day 5 days a week. I have a routine: pump in the car on the way to work (yup that’s me on I-435 every day), pump during lunch, pump at 3:00 p.m., pump on the way home. Sometimes I even pump if Liath is sleeping a long time at night. There are days I feel like I pump more than I actually breast feed my child….it’s crazy.

Many people, including my doctor, ask “Why do you bother? It takes so much time to pump. Formula seems easier.” I simply reply “Studies show breast milk is the BEST food for babies.” I am doing what I need to do to give my daughter the best possible start in life.. That being said, there are days when I look at my pump and curse it, then when I am pumping, I beg my breasts to letdown and release the milk they hold. It’s a love-hate relationship. I hate pumping, but I love the benefits Liath is getting.

I have often thought, on weekends when I don’t pump, ‘I would like to donate my milk so a NICU baby can get breast milk instead of formula.’ The thought is wonderful…the process and red tape nonsense is crazy. A mom who has extra supply might be more inclined to deal with the process. I am not one of those moms, I work hard for every drop, every ounce. When I am done pumping and Liath is done nursing, if I have frozen milk leftover, I will be willing to donate my milk to a momma whose supply is questionable at times; I have a lovely friend who did me this favor and would like to pay it forward to another baby.

Breast feeding moms are a community, pumping moms make up a small inner group of that community. For those of us who pump, or have pumped….YOU ROCK!

Tomorrow will be my post on how I feel about pumping. And then the series will probably be over.

Swt