Bye, Bye, Bye

Anyone who has had a baby has heard it..."breast is best". I wasn't one to follow this bit of advice from any of my doctors until Baby Hulk ended up in NICU. Honestly, breast feeding just grosses me out. I have tons of friends that breast feed their babies in front of me, and I'm fine with it. I just knew that I NEVER wanted a baby attached to my boobs. EVER. So many people have asked how do you know until you try it. It's just one of those things you know. Even now after pumping breast milk for two kids, people still ask me if I regret not breast feeding. Let me explain...NO, the thought of a baby attached to my boob makes me want to get sick. It's so funny how opinionated people are about parenting choices.

After hearing all of the benefits of breastfeeding, including rapid weight loss, I decided to give pumping a try. I was already backing out of that decision when Baby Hulk arrived early and was shuttled off to NICU before I had a chance to hold him. I decided that for Baby Hulk, I would pump milk and forced myself to last four weeks. I ended up pumping milk for ten months and still had enough milk for fifteen months. With Kobra, pumping milk was a given and despite losing over three freezers full of milk during Hurricane Ike, I will still have milk for approximately 14 months.

I admit that I felt a little sad when I turned in my pump last week. I also think my hormones are out of whack as my body tries to adjust to being on it's own for the first time in over two years. I'm happy to be free of the pump, and I know the rest of the family is too. Pumping is a big commitment. There is the time it takes to actually pump, plus cleaning and sterilizing, freezing and finding room for all the excess milk I was lucky enough to have, keeping Squirt and his friends out of the room while I pumped and getting home in time to pump, and so on. Despite all the "work" I am so happy that I pumped as long as I did and was able to give my baby breast milk. I don't ever regret giving formula to my other babies, but I am happy with my decision to give pumping a try and the results.