When he was two weeks old, I gave up nursing despite never having wanted anything more in my life, thinking formula would be it for us. Then, I had some luck: the pump worked. The first few months were difficult, seven or more sessions a day, literally hours stuck in a chair hooked up to a machine. But it worked, and Sam got breast milk.
Then I got lucky again, in that I was able to donate extra milk to one adopted baby and again to a milk bank for premature and sick babies.
Even better, pumping got easier and I cut back to four, then three times a day, two.
Then, just last month, Sam stared eating some serious solid food. I kept it to one pump for the past few weeks, getting a tiny bit of milk. Sam kept eating, and he sprouted his eye teeth. And last night, he ate a huge plate of food--fish, vegetables, cous cous--just ate like a champ. This is the message I’ve been waiting for.
I'm sure it's a bittersweet moment. I remember the last nursing session with Kian, part of me was relieved to have my body back to myself (for that very short 2.5 mos before getting pregnant again!) but sad that part was over. I'm sure you won't miss the pump that much, and glad to have some of that time back in your day, but it's definitely a "passage" and can be so sad that it's just....over. Congrats on going so long with the pumping! So amazed that you were able to and wanted to go that far with the pump! Congrats on your big eater ;)
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