The Bean is 8 months old today. My sweet little girl is growing and changing faster than I ever imagined possible. I see the glints of her personality now, driven and determined, curious and inquisitive, happy and outgoing. Here's hoping I can nurture her spirit as well as I have nurtured her now 17-pound body.
Today also marks 5 months since my return to work. 5 months of pumping,as well. When I (mentally) signed on to pump until the Bean was a year old, it didn't seem like much of a commitment. Now, just over halfway through my pumping contract, I am eagerly awaiting the day when I can put that pump in the closet and forget about it for a few years. In reality. the pumping isn't THAT bad. But it's at turns boring, annoying and embarrassing. The only "enjoyment" I get out of it is relief that I haven't leaked through my shirt. But I love nursing the Bean, and you couldn't pay me to give that up any time soon. 5 months down, 4 months to go.
To all the mamas out there with bottles balanced precariously on your knees as you sit on your bench/folding chair/dirty carpet in the bathroom/janitors closet/first aid room, sterilizing your pump parts twice a day in a microwave that smells like someone else's lunch, hiding your milk in the back of the communal fridge... keep up the good work. Your child will thank you! (Actually they won't, but that's why you should give yourself a pat on the back..)
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4 weeks ago
4 comments:
Awwww. Happy 8-month b-day, bean, and happy pumpiversary to you! I am so glad that you wrote about all of this---I have definitely had days where I've thought "why am I doing this?", but as you say, I do think it's ultimately worth it. (And I actually just cleaned out the microwave in our common area, because it was grossing me out!)
Yay for you! Having been pumping for the better part of 7 months now, I have to say that I am looking forward to putting that sucker (ha ha) away. But with Minnow's dairy intolerance showing no signs of abating, I'm trying to tell myself not to get so excited by the prospect of her first birthday. I have no idea how we'll wind down the pumping...
Happy pumpiversary! And 8 months, Bean! Where did the time go?
Give yourself a pat on the back for me! (and the other pumping mamas, too!) Wow, that's one thing I do NOT miss about working outside the home and raising an infant...
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