We meet again. It’s been a little over 5 years since I’ve seen you. Your noise is unforgettable and your bright yellow color is as vibrant as before. What am I referring to? It’s my Medela pump.
I pumped for 6 months with my middle son and I won’t lie, it wasn’t my favorite thing to do. It was quite the labor of love, and I’m now back at pumping for my baby, Luke.
Every 3 hours or so, I put on my favorite pumping bra, grab something to drink and attach myself to this yellow beauty whether I want to or not.
I’ve pumped multiple times day and night over the past 6 months. Some of those times I would be in tears (cue NICU stay), barely able to keep my eyes open or trying to bottle feed my newborn while pumping at the same time (it is a juggling act).
Our relationship is for sure one that is both love and hate. I love how this pump gives me the ability to express milk to feed to my baby when latching wasn’t possible when he was a little 1 pound micro-preemie attached to multiple wires. However, the time commitment is one that I don’t love.
I’ve approximately been hooked up to this pump a thousand times. ONE THOUSAND TIMES. The amount of time I pump is between 15-30 minutes each time. This blows my mind. Over these countless hours, I’ve played games on my iPad, watched Friends on Netflix, and I don’t even want to know the amount of time I’ve wasted on Facebook and Instagram.
My yellow pump and I spent many hours pumping in the bed post surgery in the hospital, bedside in the NICU, a couple times in the car, and our favorite spot … the corner of my bedroom.
While our relationship is surely love and hate, I’m grateful for this modern machine to be able to grow my 1lb 11oz micro-preemie to the thriving 6 month old he is today.
I know that life and those feels! I’m 10.5 months into pumping for my little girl, after she was born 6 weeks early and also spent 4 weeks in the NICU. I’ve got no end in sight, as I plan/hope to continue for a good while longer, but I also am extremely grateful to be able to provide this for her. Thankfully, I’ve gotten to the point where I only need to pump about every 5-6 hours, and can sleep through the night, and still meet her daily need. My relationship with my pump is pretty special, and crazy as it sounds, I imagine I’ll miss it one day.
I love nursing at home and on the weekends but pumping in my car (I work home health) is a chore! I’m fortunate that I make enough for him so I try to keep my complaining to a minimum because when I think about it I want to quit! ?