Sacrifice

When AJ and I began the process of deciding things we wanted to do for our baby once they were born, one of the biggest things for me was breastfeeding. It is pretty amazing and also pretty overwhelming but here's a few things I sacrificed along the way.

So off I embark into this world of unknown after Porter is born. So many questions come up and you feel like you are a deer in the headlights many times as you are trying to get this smooshy bundle of newborn baby to latch and eat from you. They don't work too well with you in the beginning but they are pretty resourceful the hungrier they are! It is amazing what the survival instinct will do and they can snuggle right up, latch on and go to town.

Well, I knew that the blissful days of on-demand feeding were going to come to an end once I had to go back to work. I wasn't going to work full time, but three days a week, Porter would have to take a bottle. Thus, this is where the sacrifice came in. I had to pump. Oh, the dread and the drudgery. Breastfeeding every two hours and sometimes more often than that often made me feel like I was just a warm food source, but pumping is probably my least favorite thing in the world to do. But knowing how much AJ and I felt the value of breast milk for our baby while I was at work, I embarked on this journey. So for a year, I pumped at work, 3 days a week.

Fast forward to now. Maggie is 13 months old and I still nurse her as she likes. We definitely still have the morning and night feeds and before naps feeds. Sometimes she will nurse more when I am home but she always gets a bottle before her nap, thus I pump. Every day at 3pm when I am at work, I grab my phone and take a pump break. Oh, the glamorous life I live! Who knows how long this will continue? I don't see a reason to end as I am still producing and Maggie is still drinking it. I have pumped for 2 plus years! Who does that?

I guess when I sit down and think how long I have been nursing, pumping and had babies in diapers and still to go, I get a little excited for these stages to be done. But then again, that really will signal the end of babyhood for us. So for now, I am cherishing the moment with my Medela pump and 3 o'clock breaks at work. Ah, the sacrifice.