And when she got there, the cupboard was bare

[kofduke]

and so the poor baby had none.

The freezer, actually.

It's finally happened. My freezer stash will be gone as of this weekend - I only have four ounces left, and I need to attend a funeral Saturday (my dear secretary passed away :crying), so that'll wipe it out. Plus, I have a trial either Friday or one day next week, which means a day without pumping. I am SO disappointed in myself. I only have 2 weeks to go until DS turns a year, and it looks like he may have to either get formula or (yes, I know, gasp) get whole milk a bit earlier than I would have liked. I'm going to try and do tons of extra pumping this weekend, so maybe it'll be enough, but I'm doubting it.

:crying

[Hannah's Mom]

2 weeks early to introduce a little whole milk or formula is fine if you have to. I'd still say you made it to a year! You've done a great job!

Now for some possible suggestions for stretching out that supply. On the day you have your trial, would it be possible to at least pump once in the car after the day is over? And maybe before the trial starts and during a recess for at least 5 minutes. I've had to do that before (I'm an attorney with legal aid) and then I just waited a short bit to BF dd when I got home. I didn't notice where you are located, but I've heard that some judges are ok if you approach them before the trial starts and explain to them that you might need a short recess during the trial to pump. An acquaintance of mine did this and the request was happily complied with by the judge.

[kofduke]

Thank you so much for the suggestions and encouragement. I'm going to try and pump once during the day - I just need to see how my client is doing (I'm serving as an advocate for a young girl who is a witness at a family violence trial). Out of curiosity, did you have any trouble getting your pump through courthouse security? I'm just picturing myself explaining what it is at the criminal justice center to the guards...

[Hannah's Mom]

What a wonderful job (or is it volunteer?)! Many of the courthouses in my area (southeastern NC - we serve 7 counties, but I've only been to the courthouses of 5 of them) are VERY lax about security. A couple of them don't even have metal detectors or deputies at the entrances and the ones that do usually let courthouse personnel and attorneys through without checking their bags, and I'm pretty sure it was always assumed that the PIS was a briefcase, so I never had a problem. I would not have hesitated to tell the guards what the bag was, though. You have nothing to hide and they probably won't even care.

eta - I understand your dilemma about whether your client is doing ok and how that might affect your ability to pump that day. Also, a victim advocate is probably not realistically going to be able to ask the judge for a recess. You still may be able to pump before the trial in your car (on the way to work even) and after the trial.

Good luck!

[kofduke]

It's a volunteer, pro bono case, but it's what I really love about my job (generally, I'm a commercial litigator...) I got my MSW before going to law school, so this is the type of work I always pictured myself doing.

Courthouses here all have x-ray machines, metal detectors, etc. But you're right, I have nothing to hide.

I take the train, but I think I may go into my office before the trial :) .

My DH and I have been having some conversations about moving back to NC, by the way...we love it there. Our only holdup is that we don't want to move DS away from his grandparents.

[chickiebabe]

First - you've done a great job to make it so far with no formula supplementation! I wanted to share my experince with courthouse security and breastpumps. I was called to jury duty when my son was 4 months old and was selected for the jury of a murder trial. For 10 days, I had this conversation with a 65 yo security (male) guard (the same one every day) after he looked at the PIS under Xray:

"So, what's this in here?"
"It's my breastpump"
"What do you do with it?"
"I pump milk for my baby to eat"
"Pump from where?"
"From my breasts"
"Do you really need it with you in court?"
"I use it twice a day during the court recess."
"Well, OK, go on in"

Amazingly he was never seemed surprised by my answers, he just never seemed to "get it". I almos offered once to show him how it worked but it never got that far!

I hope you'll be able to find at least one break to pump during your trial. Good luck!

Amy

[Harper]

You know I know just how you feel, but it happened to me when dd was 8 months! Congratualtions on making it this far. My guess is if you pump all weekend you may be able to build up enough of a stash so that you can catch up. I had several false scares before I really really ran out and had to supplement so this is only your first!

I brought my pump through the security at the UN in NYC. A couple of times they didn't even stop me but each time I was holding my breath wondering how they would react when I said it was a "breast pump." The guard that finally stopped me had no reaction when I told him what it was and he was really upset when I told him that he was the first one who stopped me.

Good luck!

[1xmom]

I also know the feeling. If you little one still nurses at night, you could possibly let him nurse from one side, and you pump the other side. Sometimes I just had to pump on weekends and stuff just to get every little bit (and I mean towards the end, "little bit" was about all I was getting). I also didn't give dd whole milk, we went straight from breast to 2%. I don't even think breast milk is as thick as whole milk compared to the thickness of formula. The whole milk was just so thick, dd wasn't too crazy about it.

[kofduke]

well...my trial got postponed. I'm furious for the sake of my client, but if I can build up my stash by 1-2 bottles this weekend, I may make it through to his first birthday, now. I love nursing and want to continue, but I'll be eager for it not to be his main food source, KWIM?

[fishy]

[i]
"So, what's this in here?"
"It's my breastpump"
"What do you do with it?"
"I pump milk for my baby to eat"
"Pump from where?"
"From my breasts"
"Do you really need it with you in court?"
"I use it twice a day during the court recess."
"Well, OK, go on in" [/B]

LOL the 'pump from where' line just cracked me UP!