bye bye, breastpump!

I never really set a goal past 6 months for pumping this time around.  I said I'd do it as long as I could and as long as it still worked, hoping maybe I'd make it longer than I did with Jake.  I stopped around 7 months with Jake, so I knew I'd be approaching the "I'm OVER it" threshold around that point again.  


Before meeting the 6 month goal, I didn't allow myself to think for too long about how annoying it is to wash parts, store the milk, schedule outings around pumping, lug the damn thing with me if I was going to be gone for more than a few hours (and figuring out how to store the milk until getting back home, etc...), not to mention having a machine tugging at my boobs for at least 20 minutes several times a day while working and/or taking care of a baby and a 4 year old.  UGH.  See there?  It's easy to list just some of the reasons why pumping sucks, but it's the choice I made, so I stayed positive and focused and I didn't let myself go down that rabbit hole until Hamp turned 6 months old.  Then, poof, I was D.O.N.E.  I guess I didn't realize how excited about that 6 month goal I was until I reached it.  I weaned in a matter of a couple of days and pumped for the last time 9/29. 


I have enough in the freezer for Hamp's 3 school bottles a day for about another month.  I also have a little bit of the milk from the first week left which has all the good colostrum and antibodies, which I give him some of when he has a cold.  It does seem to help him get over it more quickly.  I have also found that putting a little bit of breast milk in his baths when he has a rash or something going on with his skin helps clear it up quickly, so I'll probably hang onto a bag or two for that.




Now I get in bed at night and don't have to worry about pumping or how I'm going to manage pumping the next morning while feeding and taking care of the boys.  It's just so nice!




I'm glad it worked out to have provide Hamp with my milk as long as I did, but it does not pain me one bit to say, once again, that I AM DONE!!!




WAHOOO!