Pumptastic

Have I told you lately how much I hate pumping? I really, really, really hate it. It is the downpoint of my day, every day, four times a day. Yes, working full time, I have to pump four to five times every day, twice at home, and two to three times at work, depending on whether I go feed Bryleigh at the daycare during my lunch hour, which I do practically every day.

In the mornings I get up, shower, wrap my hair in a towel and put on my robe, then I wake Bryleigh up to change her diaper and feed her. While I’m sitting there feeding, enjoying that special time with my daughter, I can’t help but feel dread at knowing that as soon as I’m done, I’m going to have to go pump.

Once B has been fed, I rock her back to sleep and put her back in her crib. If she won’t go back to sleep, then I give her to her daddy, who is always still in bed and who I’ve nick-named “Baby Ambien”—when he lays her on his chest, she falls straight to sleep within a matter of seconds! Once she’s in her crib or wrapped in her daddy’s arms, I then gather up my pump stuff and take it into the bathroom, where I get myself all hooked up and then blow dry my hair and put on my makeup while I pump. Usually I finish with my hair and makeup before I’m done pumping (it only takes me about six minutes to dry my hair, and about five to put on makeup every morning), so I sit and read a book for the remaining three to four minutes.

I pump at work again at 10am sharp and then head to the daycare to feed her at 12pm, and then I wait and pump again at work around 4pm. Then after work I pick her up, and we play until 7:30pm (she’s usually had a daycare bottle between 5pm and 5:30pm), and then we start her bedtime routine (bath, lotion, diaper, jammies, food and a story, and then a song), and she goes to bed between 8pm and 8:30pm.

Then I end my day by pumping again around 10pm. I hate pumping.