All Done

Me and the breast pump? We're through.

A couple of weeks ago, I cut my pumping down to once a day. By last Thursday, I'd only have about half an ounce per day. So, when we left for Chicago on Friday, I decided I wouldn't take the breast pump along and, for the first time, skipped a whole day of pumping. When we got home on Saturday, it was so late and I was so exhausted that I didn't mess with doing it then, either. Sunday night I pumped, and only got about - yep - half an ounce. After three days! I knew then that it was over. I haven't pumped since then and, unless I miraculously become engorged with milk, don't plan on pumping again.

Surprisingly, I don't feel as sad about it as I thought I would. Perhaps that's because I've been slowly producing less and less over the past few months and, in the back of my mind, I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep it up. Perhaps it's because now that I've had a few days sans pumping, I remember the freedom of not having my boobs tied down.

I've gained a lot from breastfeeding, though, and I'd definitely do it all over again. I believe it helped me heal quicker after Asher was born. I believe it kept my hormones under control. It was healthy for my baby. It also made me more comfortable with my body. I never would have thought I'd feel open enough to whip my boobs out in front of my mother-in-law to nurse the baby or write about them on my blog. I'm sure everyone will miss the essays about my boobs, but I'm sure there will come a day at some point in the future that I will be talking about them again, either the next time I'm breastfeeding, or after my awesome DD boob enlargement surgery.