Pumping breastmilk for your little one is easier said than done. There is lots of hard work and dedication that goes with that. I thought it would be good to provide a list of the top 10 things I hated about pumping. It ended up to be 14 and I am sure I could easily extend that further. It would be great if you share your hates as well. Send me your top 10 and I will put together and publish our most common hates.
1. Looking at the clock and knowing that the pumping session is about to start
2. Looking at the clock and knowing that the pumping session is about to start and the little one is in the middle of a crying tantrum.
3. The LO is feeding sooooo slowly from the bottle and you want the clock to stop as it ticks past your pumping schedule. You know that you still have to burp and clam the baby
4. Turning on the pump and listening to the eih-eye, eih-eye sound of the pump
5. Turing on the pump and listening to the pump as it sirens away and as the first drops are being expressed and you finally are relaxed enough to have a let-down the LO decides to wake up with a loud cry
6. putting the pump parts together
7. washing and sterilising the pump, parts and bottles
8. Not able to use your freezer for your own needs. After all with a little baby you hardly have time to take a shower, let alone cook. Now the freezer has been cleaned out to leave space for frozen milk
9. Pumping in the public toilette while there is a line up and people are wondering what on earth you are doing in your stall.
10. Only being able to leave the house with a strict timetable as you have to either be back for your pumping session or need to have a public toilette close by. Especially one for disabled persons if you have the buggy with.
11. People not understanding why you can’t just breastfeed.
12. Waking up at night to pump while the LO is sound asleep – that just isn’t fair.
13. unsupportive doctors
14. Not having a label on the bottle that says ‘breastmilk inside’
Feel free to add your hates in the comments.
So why the hell do we pump? Simply put, to provide the best start for our little ones. Have a look at the list for 10 things I love about pumping for more.
That is so true. Not that I have anything against formula, but I would like to show off my hard work by with a label like ‘pure breastmilk’ for the bottle. Maybe I should get make one.
Thanks for the list!
I am totally making labels with my label-maker that say “pure breastmilk”. I feel like people give me dirty “your feeding your baby formula you lazy mom” looks. Little do they know that I have been forced to take the most difficult route of exclusively pumping. Oh, I hate pumping so much. I want to smash pump with an axe.
Oh I so understand your frustration!! People EVEN approached me and asked why I am not breastfeeding!!! You can imagine how I felt. I guess best is to ignore everyone and just think about the positive side… our baby gets breastmilk. I was so tempted myself to put a label like “pure breastmilk” or “breastmilk inside” on my bottles, but I have a friend whose baby was formula fed and I didn’t want to offend her….
i feel ur fustrations too… i hate it when i need to wash the pump parts and bottles. and also have to rush to pump before putting baby to sleep at night. and i’m all alone doing these, I’ll be lucky if my bb isnt cranky and my father in law helps to carry her for a while. i had to buy a chest freezer to store the excess milk and when it’s full, i had to throw them away cos no one wants my febm.
I really hate how badly my nipples hurt 24/7! No matter what time of day it is, they are always erect and always tender!
What a great post! I’ve been EP for 6 weeks now. Sometimes you feel like your all alone. It’s good to know others can relate!
To add to your list…somehow I manage to get milk on me every time. I hate the sticky feeling. Secondy, I hate the irony of my baby crying because he wants to eat and knowing that his food source is just inches away but he wants nothing to do with it!
Yes, people assuming I’m giving my baby formula is annoying…especially when you
Feel their eyes on you. It’s also incredibly frustrating when you’re asked how breastfeeding is going at every doctor visit, then having to explain how it still isn’t working out. Then you get the “just keep trying” speech.
I also thoroughly dislike how pumping feels. I get so uncomfortable and just downright angry about it haha
I also want to smash the pump with an axe or just throw it as far as I can. I have low milk supply so it’s even more frustrating to be on a stupid, loud, uncomfortable, super expensive piece of crap and only get about 4-6 ounces a day! #15) having to choose between pumping ‘real quick’ or between taking a nap, feeding a crying baby, taking a shower, shaving, or just trying to get caught up with all the other stuff we have to do!…. Oh and work once that lovely short (cause we don’t live in Europe) maternity leave stops; assuming you are lucky enough to have maternity leave. #16) feeling like a prisoner!
So glad we are all finally being honest about this too… I will now make sure to tell all soon to be moms, that it is not only a new baby that is life changing, but all the fun in feeding is a whole other story! Would have loved some advice on this part, but I guess it’s just a little secret that lactation specialists and doctors leave out when they talk to you.
So in the end, pumping sucks but we stick with it as long as we can, formula is not bad (it took me a bit to get to that) and what’s most important is that our babies thrive so we can hug them tight when they cry and kiss their bellies when they laugh.