Signing off

Signing off

Well, hopefully not. But I am emailing our HR person today to say I’m done using the little office I’ve been pumping in and since that has been where most of my blogging has come from….
I can’t believe I’ve been at the pump so long.

- I expected to HATE it way more than I did. It turned into something I just did and wasn’t that much of a big deal.
- The more annoying part of it all was the time it took up and the need to be strict about that time.
- It wasn’t really that much time. This surprised me. I could get in and out in 10-15 minutes. I was more bothered by how it was perceived by my colleagues than by the actual time taken.
- I thought I’d have time while pumping (since it was supposed to be hands free) to work a bit but that notion went out the window fast. At best I could put a few words into blogger. I did become an expert at eating lunch whilst pumping.
- I don’t really have any work friends to go to lunch with but I still have hated how I felt like I couldn’t go out to lunch or coffee (or to visit Andrew).
- I am going to miss having a little room to store my junk.

Pros of Being Done Breast Feeding
- Sweet freedom from the damn pump (and all of those annoying parts)
- I can medicate- I am now free to take all of the OTC meds my heart (or sinuses, or throat, or head) desires. **This one is the best!**
- Michael and I can split bedtime/wake time a bit more.
- I have my lunch breaks back and have started to go for walks or get exercise in during the day.
- Andrew is growing up and onto a new life chapter.

Cons
- I don’t think I can ever go back to 26 WW points+
- It was so, so, so very convenient and now there is cost and planning.
- I used to not worry about sneezing on him since we shared immune systems.
- He isn’t too keen on milk yet.
- Baby boy is still figuring out how to regulate how much he eats at night and has been waking up very early and likely because he is hungry.
- Miss my snuggly baby time Not really. I was expecting this to be the biggest con but he is actually more engaged and cuddly at bedtime now than he was when I was nursing. Now he lays on me and we read a book. It has been a really smooth transition.

Overall I am ecstatic how well our BF’ing journey went. Bumps and bruises and a lot of work along the way but it was actually pretty great. I was surprised by how much of a non-issue it was for me. I was able to make nursing in public work for me and the closest I came to being shy was hating Michael seeing me pump at first (got over that though). After the first few months there wasn’t a lot of pain or leaking and, except for a few minor indiscretions, teeth weren’t much of a problem. I am very glad to have my sovereignty back but I expected to feel like I had made a great sacrifice and I don’t really (OK, in hindsight, I felt very much like a martyr a few times like when I was really sick and told to netti-pot or when I couldn’t get LASIK).

So goodbye little room. I won’t really miss you but I’m grateful to have had you.





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