No More Pumping

The time has come, I think, to stop pumping for Maelin. I love nursing her, but I HATE pumping. We've had about 2 months worth of frozen milk saved up and we've been going through that quite a bit.

One of the main problems with working full-time when you're a nursing mom is your milk dries up. I've tried as hard as I can to pump during work. From August till December, I pumped during my plan time and during my recess time...twice a day. From January till now, I pump during my plan time. I just wasn't getting enough during the recess pump to make it worth it.

We were supplementing with the frozen milk but now we only have 1 bag left...enough for two more bottles. We had to make the hard decision to go buy some formula. I was in denial for about a week that we really needed to give it to Maelin...I even called the doctor to see if the few ounces I was still able to squeeze out would be enough for her.

Nope, our doctor said. She needs at least 30 ounces of milk/formula a day. I've been able to get about 20 ounces lately.

We got out the formula last night and mixed it with some of my milk to see if MaeMae would even like it. She GOBBLED it down...little pumpkin. Then she fell fast asleep and didn't wake up till this morning.

So, I've decided to stop pumping at work. I'm still going to try to nurse her in the morning and again at night, but we'll just have to give her formula during the day. Part of me is so sad about this...I LOVED nursing MaeMae. It was the only thing that I alone could do for her, and now it's almost over. She was so cute when she was finished nursing: she'd get a very playful, devious look on her face and look up at me and grin. Then she'd start pinching or hitting my nose. It was our favorite time together in the mornings.

I'm still going to try to keep that up as long as I can. I was able to nurse her excusively for 10 1/2 months and I'm so proud about that. It was soooooo hard and time consuming, but totally worth it.

I guess she's growing up. First we lowered the crib and now this. Why can't they stay babies for just a little while longer???