really getting tired of the pump

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

not looking for "go ahead and quit" or i wouldn't have posted it here. anyoine have a little energy to muster a pep talk for me? he is 15 months old now, i am down to pumping 4X a day for an hour at a time, but i am still just tired of it.

[anj_rn]

You can do It!!!! I am in the same boat, my DD is 19 months. One thing that helped me was my DH agreed to take care of the kids for my evening pumping session, so now it is me time. can you decrease the time of your pumpming sessions? Maybe that would help. I know I felt like I was attached to the pump all the time, but cutting 10 minutes from my pumping time made me feel much better.

[lalemma]

I just want to tell you how impressed I am that you're still pumping, and so much/so often!

I work part-time outside the home, so I pump twice a day. And it is just my nemesis - I really dislike it. Mind you, I've only been doing that tiny amount of pumping for a few months.

Anyway, just so you know - I am always in awe of women who are tough and committed and pump a LOT for a long period of time. It's humbling and inspiring and many a day has made me pump longer than I wanted to.

Be proud, mama. You are doing hard work for a great cause. Good for you!

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

thanks, i am planning on cutting down to 3x a day after thanksgiving, or maybe waiting til after Christmas, but for sure by new year's.

maybe will see if i can cut time from 2 of my sessions a day. then combine that down to one. i really need over an hour in the am to empty out well.

[AustinMom]

I'm so glad you posted this and I'm even more glad that you have been pumping so much so long.  I'm only 7 weeks pp and have to exclusively pump to give my baby milk, and after a very traumatic pregnancy, birth and just about up till now pp, pumping is the last thing I want to be doing, especially with a 2 YO in addition to baby.  You TRULY have inspired me to keep going.  I know you have been at this much longer, and you probably know everything about the tricks of it, but it really helped me to find something I liked to do and I do that while pumping.  Mine was eating chocolate.  The GOOD chocolate, I have a Toblerone bar right now that is a fantastic treat every time I pump and I now sorta look forward to it.  I also leave the bar out on the counter so I know when I want a piece, I have to go pump for it.  Also, if you don't have a hands free pumping bra, get one, it's the only thing that has helped me make it this far.  I have a sports bra that I cut slits in for the back of the flanges to fit through and I wear it all day with nursing pads in it to cover the holes and when it's time to feed baby, I just slip in the flanges and pump while feeding her.  If this would work for you, maybe try that to pump more often but for shorter period of time? I don't know what works for your life, but this has really helped me. 

Keep going!  You are are a motivation for A LOT of women.  I know I can make it at least a year if you have made it this long.

Same here on the hubby taking kids for evening pumping.  Maybe get a dirty love novel to read? Or Netflix a new series and watch that while pumping? 

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

the hubby in the evening taking the kids thing won't work, he works the 3-11 shift, and then by the time he gets in and eats etc he literally falls asleep the monute his head hits the pillow because he also gets up every morning to take the big 2 to school while i stay in bed and cuddle with the lil guy.

making my own pump bra wouldn't work for several reasons. the only sports bras i've been able to find don't have nearly big enough cup sizes to even be semi comfortable being hte main one.

thanks though austinmom, and yeah i've packed on weight because i have been very liberal with the rewards for pumping, lol. the past couple days i've been eating the candy from the fall festival bags, lol.

[AustinMom]

What if you make your own bra?  Maybe get some fabric that's semi stretchy, cutting a supportive strip and just tie it in the middle between your boobs?  I mean, it's not to hold your boobs up, just the pump.  MORE Kuddos to you for pumping this long without one!!!

[BethHH]

Originally Posted by AustinMom 

I have a Toblerone bar right now that is a fantastic treat every time I pump and I now sorta look forward to it.  I also leave the bar out on the counter so I know when I want a piece, I have to go pump for it.  Also, if you don't have a hands free pumping bra, get one, it's the only thing that has helped me make it this far.  I have a sports bra that I cut slits in for the back of the flanges to fit through and I wear it all day with nursing pads in it to cover the holes and when it's time to feed baby, I just slip in the flanges and pump while feeding her.

You are a genius.

[bri276]

I EP'ed 21 months.  I actually think the longer I went, the harder it got.  Your kid gets older, therefore harder to find time to pump, I was just sick of being physically chained to the stupid pump. 

Having a goal helped.  We had a vacation to Florida when DD was 21 months so I decided I'd be done by then.  No way was I lugging that thing back and forth or leaving the beach or watching the clock to see if I could have a second gin and tonic!!  Plus, the timing was good- it was May, so the winter viruses were over and summer was starting up, just the time when I wanted to be outside and free.  So maybe it would help to set a month you'll HUTH, as they say?  And take a vacation at the end!  Even if it's just a weekend or something...

[emilysmama]

I pumped for 3 years until after dd weaned herself.  I exclusively pumped for those first three months (10-12 times per day) until my dd finally learned to latch on.  Then another nine months of pumping (6-8 times per day) while she was in daycare full time with no solids, because she didn't really get interested in solids until 1 year old.  Even after that, I continued to pump (5-6 times per day) a lot because dd was in day care every day for many hours for all those years.

So I say to you that you are doing an incredibly fantastic job.  If you quit today, your baby will have already had a very precious gift.

So that's what kept me going.  I gave myself permission to quit anytime I wanted.  But first, I would say to myself, I will pump for just one day longer.  Tomorrow I will quit.  After I got past that day of pumping, I said the same thing to myself the next day.  And eventually this became 3 years, when it was obvious that my dd had weaned herself.  I started talking to myself like that when dd was one month old, when the never-ending cycle of pumping 10-12 times per day was exhausting.

For me it worked.

However, I dearly wish I had thought about the idea of the Toblerone chocolate, as the previous poster did.