My latest content is up at the Dollywood Insiders blog. See the excerpt below and then head over to read & see the rest!!!
When my little girls were babies, I always worried about outings because of the uncertainty of where I could nurse, change diapers or just escape the noise and stimulation.
There’s no need to worry about that at Dollywood’s Splash Country.
See the rest over at the Dollywood Insiders blog!
Pumping isn’t fun. But if you’re a working mom who wants to feed her baby breast milk, you just gotta suck it up and do it. (Pun intended a little) And if you’re an exclusively pumping mama, let me just say right now that I think you are a ROCK.STAR!!!! That level of commitment amazes me!!
For lots of pumping mamas, Baby’s first birthday is our ultimate goal. At that point, whole milk can enter the picture, solid food provides a lot of the nutritional needs and we still have mornings, nights and weekends to provide breast milk straight from the tap.
A couple days ago, I was chatting with a coworker via IM and she was teasing me because it had taken me awhile to respond to her initial message. I had been in the Mother’s Room pumping and had told her so. Her response was “You’re still doing that?” and it got me to thinking the generally accepted idea that even if you keep nursing past one year, pumping always ends at the first birthday.
With Brooke, who was always fed a mix of formula and breast milk, I opted to stop pumping shortly after her first birthday. I replaced formula with whole milk and the amount of breast milk I was able to offer just didn’t make a big enough dent to be worth it.
However, when Leah turned 1 in June, I didn’t feel a need to stop pumping. And today, at 15 months and counting, I’m still pumping and don’t really have an ending time in mind. Here’s why:
This has always somewhat of a mantra for me when it comes to parenting and approaching milestones. Whether it is breastfeeding, potty training, moving out of rear-facing or harnessed car seats, I don’t feel a need to rush it. What we’ve got going right now is working so I don’t see the benefit of changing things.
I’m sure Keith would love to stop washing bottles at night and it would probably be slightly easier for daycare but other than that, there’s no real hardship associated with continued pumping that prompts me to stop.
If I wasn’t working, I imagine we’d have one or two nursing sessions during the day in addition to the morning and nighttime ones we currently share. My view is that pumping and sending expressed milk to daycare was a substitute for nursing while we were apart during her first year and nothing fundamentally changed about that after her first birthday. Breast milk is still extremely beneficial for toddlers and I am happy to do what I can to get that nutrition to her every day.
I recognize that I’m very blessed to have the pumping situation that I do. My company has designated “Mother’s Rooms” in every location I’ve ever been in. It is equipped with counter, sink, mini-fridge and chair. One of the Houston offices I worked in was super tricked out with a radio, table full of magazines and even a foot warmer/massager. My managers have never batted an eye at my need to be away from my desk to pump.
So that time for me is an opportunity to step away from my computer and enjoy some Mama-Time. I read or watch Hulu on the Kindle, catch up on social media, jot down lists or even just close my eyes and mediate to the lovely hum of the pump.
I worked very hard to get to this point and still be nursing and pumping at 15 months. When my output rapidly decreased at around the 6 or 7 month mark, I tried everything – adding pumping sessions (up to 5x/day), fenugreek, blessed thistle, oatmeal, more water and when none of those worked, I eventually started taking domperidone which helped immensely. In fact, I am still taking the domperidone to maintain the supply I have now.
So I realize that it’s not always easy to “just keep going” and hope that any mamas who have the desire to keep going are able for as long as they wish.
Did you pump breast milk for your child(ren)? When did you stop? What was your experience like?
I feel like when I posted Leah’s two month update we were in one of those not-so-fun stages…sleep was hit or miss, I was still trying to regulate my painful oversupply of breastmilk and we were all getting used to our new schedule with Brooke in school.
Now though, it seems that we’ve gotten into a pretty good groove with Miss Leah.
Size: There hasn’t been too much change there as far as clothes go. She’s still in 3-6 months primarily and everything fits just right. At her two month well check, she was 14lbs, 7.5oz and I haven’t gotten on the scale with her lately. I’d like to give measuring her length a shot too. I’ve gone up the next rise on her diapers and they seem much comfier(let’s say that’s a word!) on her.
Eating: I’m so happy to say this is still going well. I was very nervous the first day of daycare because up to that point she had still been refusing bottles. Her teacher worked with her and by the second feeding she was an old pro! I visit the Mother’s Room three times a day to pump milk for her and so far, I seem to be able to get enough for her every day. I’m very hopeful that I’ll be able to keep up with that as time goes on!
Sleeping: Leah’s sleeping habits became much more manageable a few weeks ago. She would take a long nap in the morning or sometimes two short ones. With the activity in the afternoon of picking up Brooke from school and then dinner, she wouldn’t always get a nap in before it was time for bed. She gave up her tendency to take 2-3 hours to settle down to bed which I greatly appreciate!!
Now that she’s in daycare, she doesn’t seem to sleep much during the day and luckily that hasn’t affected her night sleeping. We put her in the swing in the dining room while we eat dinner and often, she’ll fall asleep there and I’ll have to wake her up around 8:30 to go to bed. Then I’ll wake her up around 7am to get ready to go to daycare. We don’t see her awake much which makes Momma sad but its what she needs right now so we’ll keep following her lead.
Personality: Its so funny to think that when she was first born Leah was such a grumpy gus because now she’s so happy and easy-going. It’s not hard to get a smile out of this girl!! Her daycare teachers gush every day about what a sweet, happy baby she is. She can still pack a wallop with that noggin of hers when she gets mad enough but generally she’s content and ready to play!!
Milestones:
Babble, Babble – My, oh my, can this girl talk!! Lately when she wakes up in the morning, she doesn’t cry but will starting chatting away in her crib. Let me tell you, that is a much more pleasant way to wake up than a wailing baby!! Daddy is her favorite conversation buddy and she’ll give him an earful!!
Daycare – Mid September meant me going back to work and Leah starting daycare. She’s adjusted beautifully to the new schedule. Her teachers love her, she’s never once fussed as I leave and I get happy reports every day that she loved certain songs, watching bubbles, looking in the mirror. The smooth transition has made going back to work sooo much easier!!
Sister, Sister – One of my favorite things about going from one kiddo to two is watching the relationship evolve between Leah & Brooke. One of my favorite parts of the day is when Leah & I pick up Brooke from her after school program. Leah gets a huge smile when she sees Brooke and watches her most of the car ride home. One of Leah’s favorite things seems to be when Brooke spells her name to her. Sounds weird but its adorable. Brooke loves on her sister pretty much whenever she can and gets super bummed when Leah’s asleep at her bedtime and she can’t give her a hug and kiss goodnight.
Going from month 2 to 3 seemed full of subtle changes but its still amazing to see Leah grow up before our eyes.
Get caught up on Leah’s monthly updates:
Month 1
Month 2
