100th post

I think this is my 100th post.  Coolness.

I'm in a countdown.  Today is 10/24.  Just over 6 weeks and the girls will be one year old....

And I will have met my one year pumping goal


I am seriously all over this pumping thing.  Really.  There are two reasons I'm continuing.  The first is purely a lame reason:  I only have six weeks to go and I refuse to stop so close to the goal.  I feel like I'm dragging myself to the finish line.  I've come this far and I will not stop when I'm so close!!

The second reason is a more practical reason:  I just hate formula.  Really.  No offense to anyone who uses it, but that stuff is just nasty.  It smells bad, the consistency is gross, and the thought of it just...well, ew.  I know its scientifically derived to be a close proximate to breastmilk and meets all nutritional needs, blah blah blah...

But yuck.  The thought of drinking it makes me want to throw up and I can't believe the girls will actually drink it.  Are their tastebuds dead?

It isn't a cost issue.  I have over 1000K worth of formula in my basement right now, which was covered by insurance (for the long saga on that, go back and read some of my older posts).  We will never use it, and I'm going to have to either sell it or donate it (if anyone wants preemie formula, contact me!!!!).  I could stop pumping tomorrow and not have to buy another can of formula and would still probably have leftovers.

But yuck.

I have cut down on my pumping sessions.  For nine months I pumped 8x/day.  I now do it about 6x/day.  At my last moms of multiples meeting, a woman came up to me and asked if I was still pumping.  When I said yes, she was shocked and impressed.  I'm the only one in my 'age group' who continues...most gave out about at month 3.  Its hard in general, but doubly hard for twins I think, especially if you are a stay at home.  And often, most women won't have enough to pump for two (pump is less efficient, so while you may be able to breastfeed two, pumping for two is much harder) so they have to supplement a little anyway.  We always did, and still do.  The girls probably get 70/30 breastmilk/formula.

But 6x/day is a lot.  I have to plan my day around it.  I can go about four hours before I feel like I should stop and pump.  Which means I do it twice at work.  Weekends also have to consider when I can get back and pump.  I've done it in the car, I've done it DRIVING while in the car, I've done it in bathrooms, parking lots....  I'm going on a work retreat this week, and will have to bring my pump and had to ask for a fridge in my room.  Pain in the butt.

But six weeks.  Six weeks to go.  Despite it being a pain, I admit that it will probably be hard to stop.  I want to continue until the girls are solidly on milk, so I'll probably try to transition them a bit before their birthday to make sure they deal with it ok.  And its going to be a gradual decrease for me...I remember stopping for Zev and having a few weeks of pretty bad discomfort.  So I think I'll start to drop some sessions in a month or so while starting to give the girls some milk and hopefully we'll both finish transitioning at the same time.

Six more weeks.  Bittersweet.  Glad to not have the inconvenience, sad that it means my girls don't need it anymore.  I could of course go longer, but I think my husband would kill me.  I think he's anticipating the end more than I am.  He's been wonderfully supportive the entire time, but having it impacts him as well.  So I'm sure he'll be grateful once I'm done.

What will be interesting to see is if the girls are healthier than Zev was during this first winter.  That is one of the benefits of breastmilk:  increased immunity.  If it means they won't have the same ear infection problems he had (he had a ton of ear infections...at least 7 that first winter), it will be well worth it...