A Love/Hate Relationship

When the twins were born I had all intentions of breastfeeding or at least trying my best. I knew I had to be flexible in this plan for multiple reasons. When they were born 6 weeks early they were admitted to the NICU which meant this plan had to quickly be altered. Starting the day after they were born I was pumping 8 times a day-every three hours with hopes that this would eventually lead to breastfeeding. Once they came home we continued this process until they were mature enough to latch on properly. Jackson was able to sooner and Riggs did ok as time progressed but it seemed best for us to continue pumping and bottle feeding. This decision had many layers-One daddy could help with feedings this way, Two it was much more efficient for all of us-I could pump and feed both at the same time being doing in about 20 minutes and Three I knew I was returning to work so pumping would be a big part of their feeding no matter what. Over the last few months I have gone from pumping 8 times a day to 6 to 5 and to 4 once I returned to work. As it was harder and harder to find time at work I went down to 3 and then eventually decided to only pump in the mornings and evenings. At 7 months I have decided the effort is no longer worth the amount of milk I was producing. So now I say goodbye to an item I have come to love and hate with equal passion...my pump.