Goodbye Pump, Hello Formula

I've hated pumping since my pumping days at work when Jackson was four months old. After drying up, I tucked the pump away and never thought about it again. When the triplets were born, they were each able to latch right away. I breastfed fairly easily for a month. Once Jesse returned to work, I struggled figuring out how to feed all three on my own and keep up with Jackson. I also worried that they weren't getting enough. I made the choice to exclusively pump rather than breastfeed. While it gave me some peace of mind, I began to dread the next pumping session more and more.  My schedule was completely dictated by the pump.

I planned to stop pumping when the babies turned six months old. As much as I wanted to, I wasn't emotionally ready then. The guilt surpassed my disdain for pumping. Since becoming a stay at home mom, I felt like it was my job to provide breastmilk. I was making enough, so it seemed selfish to stop. I kept pumping, but gradually allowed myself to decrease the number of pumps per day. By 9 months, I was emotionally and physically ready to begin weaning.

Weaning was much more difficult than I anticipated. I naturally dried up with Jackson after returning to work, so I really didn't know what to expect. It has taken me three weeks to drop from 3 pumps per day (ppd) to 2 to 1 ppd. I am currently expressing every other day and still getting about 8 ounces. During these three weeks, I started my first postpartum period and the hormones, aches, and exhaustion have been INTENSE. I am just now starting to feel like myself again.

In the past few days, two different friends of the family have offered to donate their breastmilk now that their own kids have weaned. I've ended up with just over 500 ounces of donor milk. If I give each baby one bottle of donor milk per day, they will continue to receive breastmilk until they are 11 months old. 

I am so content with my decision to stop pumping. I will never miss:

• driving down the interstate connected to tubes and bottles
• setting alarms in the middle of the night to wake up and pump
• toting my pump around everywhere I go
• going upstairs to pump while we had company
• sleeping in old sports bras with holes cut in them
• washing out pump parts and bottles multiple times a day
• picking out clothes based on whether or not I can pump in them without getting completely undressed
• not being able to immediately console a baby because I was pumping
• having to abruptly stop pumping because I needed to tend to Jackson or babies' needs
• pumping while cooking dinner, washing dishes, etc
• running around topless for months (Jesse says it's more like National Geographic than Playboy)
• the aches and pains of clogged milk ducts, or even worse, mastitis
• stuffing my face with oatmeal and lactation cookies
• taking supplements (At one point I was taking 36 pills a day to maintain milk supply!)

Good riddance!

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The trio will be 10 months old next week and we still have 22 cans of unopened formula from the free Enfamil Multiples program. While that sounds like a lot, the babies consume 72 ounces a day and we go through two cans every three days. Between the formula and donor milk, we should only have to buy formula for one month. (I'm not sure what Maddie will drink after a year, but definitely not cow's milk.)

I came up with a really quick setup for formula. I had purchased sixteen 4-oz Gladware containers when I began making homemade baby food several months ago. The containers happen to hold exactly 8.5 scoops of formula. This works out perfectly because the babies take 6-oz bottles. (17 oz of water + 8.5 scoops of formula = 18ish oz of formula)  Every couple of days I fill the Gladware containers with formula.

Jesse's Blender Bottle has become the official formula mixing container. I just fill the Blender Bottle, dump a Gladware container of formula in, shake, and pour. This is our current kitchen setup:

It is amazing how much less time, energy, and space formula takes than pumping! Of course, I'm not advocating this route and I would encourage every woman to breastfeed for as long as possible. But, I've been there, done that. The babies had a good start. I saved thousands of dollars and provided the best nutrition possible for over 9 months. It's time to move on!

Awesome Mail Delivery

I received three completely unexpected items in the mail that have totally made my day.

1. I was caught off guard to open an envelope from our lawyer, which contained a very large refund check.  It was nearly a year ago that the police removed me from my classroom to discuss insurance fraud.  Out of utter fear, we rushed to a lawyer, paid an inordinate fee, and twiddled our thumbs.  I guess the coast is clear.

2. My hands-free pumping bra finally arrived.  I ordered it over a month ago when they were offering a free promotional bra.  I only had to pay S&H and got a $30 Simple Wishes bra for free. 

3. My fellow triplet moms and I are participating in a secret sister gift exchange throughout the year.  The idea is to anonymously send cards and gifts at random times throughout the year, in addition to birthdays and holidays.  We all signed up using Elfster and created wish lists of things we'd like to receive or interest ideas.  I received a package with the following contents:

To Pump or Not To Pump, That Is the Question

I am three weeks away from reaching my long-term pumping goal of six months.  I was able to offer exclusive breastmilk for the first 4.5 months.  Currently, the babies take four 5-oz bottles of breastmilk and two 5-oz bottles of breastmilk/formula.  Of the 30 oz each baby consumes per day, about 4-5 oz is formula, which means I'm able to provide roughly 85% of their food.  (We have not introduced any solids.)  I originally planned to stop pumping at 6 months, but I am considering extending it.  Here are my pros and cons:

Reasons Why I Want to Wean

1. I want my body back.  For nearly four years, I have either been trying to conceive, pregnant, breastfeeding, or pumping.  Since I anticipate the triplets being our last children, I look forward to regaining control of my body once and for all.  No more mastitis, clogged ducts, or engorgement. I want to be able to diet and exercise without it taking a toll on my milk supply.

2. I want to have more choice in how I spend my time.  I spend 3 hours per day hooked up to a pump (6 pumping sessions x 30 minutes).  That's three hours a day I could spend playing with Jackson, holding babies, cooking dinner, mopping, etc. 

3. I want a more flexible schedule.  My life is on repeat every 3-4 hours.  My schedule is dictated by the pump.  I take it in the car.  I've left parties early and excused myself from guests in my own home to go pump. 

4. I want to sleep through the night.  It's absurd waking up in the middle of the night to pump when my husband and children are sleeping peacefully.  I have to continue to pump because I get twice as much milk at 3 a.m. and my supply tanked when I skipped the middle of the night pump.

5. I consider six months to be a very respectable amount of time to provide breastmilk.  That's why I made that my long-term goal.  I devoted the same amount of time and provided the same amount of milk to Jackson.   

6. I want more choice in clothing.  Most dresses and shirts must be completely removed in order to pump.  I'm tired of wearing the same loose-fitting clothes every day.  I'm also eager to begin weight loss and get back into my wardrobe staples. 

Reasons Why I Want to Continue Pumping

1. It's FREE!  In over 5 months, we haven't spent a dime on feeding three babies.  We have used 2 cans of formula given to us by our pediatrician and 1 of 18 cans sent from Enfamil.  I use two Medela Pump in Style Advanced pumps that were given to me.  We use the same bottles we used with Jackson, which we received as baby shower gifts.  I asked dozens of other triplet moms how much formula they used and the average was one small can a day or a large can every other day.  Buying formula would be a $200+ monthly payment. 

2. It's the best nutrition available.  Even the formula companies print this on every can and pamphlet.  In the midst of flu/RSV season, it would be ideal to continue to offer the antibodies provided in breastmilk.  Of course I can't guarantee it's because my children were breastfed, but none of my four children have every had any ear infections or illnesses beyond a common cold.

3. It's selfish to stop pumping.  The only reason I quit breastfeeding Jackson by 6 months old was because I had completely dried up.  The demands and stress of going back to work caused my milk supply to diminish.  I have no excuse this time.  I stay home.  It is literally my "job" to take care of my children.  That includes feeding them.  If I'm able to make the milk, I should!  There are many moms (especially mothers of multiples) who have struggled far more than I have to provide breastmilk for their kid(s).  I would feel incredible guilt for quitting strictly because of convenience. 


Decisions, decisions...

Grottiness All Around

I'm not sure how much more I can take!

Over Thanksgiving I developed mastitis.  I literally stayed in bed for 18 hours.  I woke up on the floor drenched in sweat with no recollection of how I got there.  It was equivalent to the flu.

I now have what a lactation consultant believes to be thrush.  I'll spare too many details, but it involves fiery, itchy, bleeding nipples that cause cursing and screaming every time I pump. 

Jesse woke up yesterday with a stomach virus, but still went to school.  Fever, vomiting, and diarrhea must wear a man out because he was passed out before 8 p.m.

Jackson's most recent discovery is that he can use nail clippers to punch prescription pills out of those aluminum packets.  Jesse accidentally ended up gagging Jack to get the Lipitor out of his mouth.  Nothing like cleaning up vomit as part of our bedtime routine.

We are back to frequent wardrobe changes for myself and Maddie thanks to the pediatrician refusing to refill the Prevacid.  Our poor girl has returned to a never ending fountain of projectile vomit. While she appears to visibly be in pain after she eats, she is at least able to smile and still be her sweet self throughout the day.

Amelia alternates between blistering diaper rashes and clear skin.  Her nose has been chronically stopped up but she cries hysterically anytime you try to clean it.

And then there is James.  With the exception of some minor congestion, he's in perfect shape.

Prayers that the kids can stay healthy and germ free!