Exclusive pumping can be HARD. It’s challenging to manage your baby while you pump, middle of the night pumping sessions are exhausting, and your pump can feel like a ball and chain. Here are six pieces of exclusive pumping encouragement to remember when you’re having a rough day!
Exclusive pumping is something to be proud of, not ashamed of
Exclusive pumping might not be what you would have chosen, but it’s not something to be ashamed of.
When my pumpling was a baby, I HATED the question “are you breastfeeding?”
I always felt compelled to go into a long explanation about how my baby wouldn’t latch well, so I was pumping all the time and feeding breastmilk from a bottle and here are some details about my pumping schedule!
Then the random stranger at Starbucks would back away slowly.
I think the reason I did this was because I didn’t feel like I could just say yes. Maybe I felt like it would be overstating what I was doing? Or claiming to have succeeded at something that I thought I’d failed at?
At the time, I felt little bit of shame about exclusive pumping.
If you feel this way, too, you have NOTHING to be ashamed of.
Breastfeeding is not something that is completely within our control. You found a way to breastfeed your baby in spite of all of the obstacles.
And that’s something to be proud of.
Your baby loves you the same whether you pump 5 drops, 5oz, or 50oz
It’s easy to feel demoralized when you don’t pump as much as you’d like.
Try to remember that your baby thinks you are a superstar no matter how much milk you pump. (And he or she is correct!)
Just by being YOU, you are an awesome mom. How much milk you pump has nothing to to do with that.
Focus on the breastfeeding goals you did meet
It’s easy to get caught up in the things you didn’t accomplish, but try to focus on the things you DID.
Say you wanted to nurse your baby for six months but ended up exclusively pumping for six months.
You still breastfed your baby for six months! That is awesome.
You are the expert on you and your baby
Sometimes it can be a challenge when other people imply (or outright tell you) that you’re feeding your baby wrong. Like when your aunt tells you that pumping isn’t breastfeeding and you should just switch to formula. Or when your cousin informs you that you should really keep trying to nurse because it’s easier.
YOU are the expert what works best for you and your baby. You are the one pumping and bottle feeding your baby around the clock. You are doing a great job.
Breastmilk is important. But YOU are more important.
If you are losing your mind from waking up to pump (or whatever is making life really hard), it’s okay to cut back and supplement if necessary.
A happy mom is more important than a few extra ounces of breastmilk.
When mom isn’t happy, no one is happy, so make sure to take care of yourself so you can take care of your family.
This won’t last forever.
You won’t be exclusively pumping forever. Eventually you will wean, and eventually you will have a lot more time and freedom.
You can choose to stop at any time, and however long you pump, you are a wonderful mom to your baby.
Feel free to tell us your thoughts in the comments!
Want help putting together the perfect pumping schedule for you that saves your sanity AND your milk supply? Check out the Exclusive Pumping Playbook! Includes cheat sheets for setting up systems and routines to make things easier. Use EPUMP30 for 30% off.
This is so encouraging! And the best tip that I like: this doesn’t last forever. I remember making it to 1 year of EP with my daughter… It felt amazing to say that I achieved my goal for 1 whole year! I’m only at 2 months with my son and 1 year feels like eternity, but I’m trying my best to make it. Short term goals.. 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, then 1 year. I want to keep getting emails like this to encourage me to keep going.
I’ve read this post a few times since coming across it, and every time I just bawl. Those feelings of failure and disappointment are exactly how I felt. My baby’s glucose levels were too low when she was born, so I had to nurse 1st, then supplement with formula. A couple of times they even tried glucose gel to get her levels up. Her latch was not good and I ended up with cracked, bleeding nipples. I was told I needed to continue to bottle feed for 2 weeks just to make sure everything stayed good. By the time 2 weeks were up, she no longer wanted to nurse because the bottle was too easy. Every time I would try to nurse unsuccessfully, I’d end up crying because I felt like I was failing my baby. Thankfully I was pumping and feeding breast milk from the minute my milk came in, so keeping up supply wasn’t a problem. It wasn’t until I came across this post that I got some comfort that what I was doing was Ok, and it was enough. I’m still a little sad that things didn’t go as planned, but I know some things are out of our control. Thanks for the encouragement, it was exactly what I needed!
Dare I say I actually CHOSE to exclusively pump? After my daughter had a drop in her glucose levels in the hospital, I wanted to know the exact amount she was drinking. I couldn’t tell the difference well between her actually drinking vs. using me as a pacifier when she nursed, which to me was very time consuming. Also, I just didn’t like how nursing felt.
I thought I’d only last a week pumping because of the hardships that come along with it- like what do you do with the screaming baby while you pump?!?!
I decided to give myself short goals: get to the end of the week, end of month, end of three months. Now I’m 10 1/2 months in. It got easier once I dropped pumping sessions. Also, it was super helpful to pump while I had baby in bouncer having a bottle.
This website is very supportive and has been very helpful during my EP journey. I read a lot of the stories on here and for most women they really wanted to nurse but maybe couldn’t for different reasons. I wanted to share my story since I figured it was a little different, with me WANTING to EP.
That’s awesome – congrats on making it 10 1/2 months!!
Thank you so much for sharing this! I intially wasn’t planning on doing any of it, just formula. But I have been giving pumping a go and have felt guilty that I didn’t give breastfeeding a true try. He latches fine but I just need to know how much he is getting!!