Almost Exclusively Pumping

It has been a week of almost exclusively pumping and I have very mixed emotions. I have shared some about the ongoing food sensitivity saga with Little Man. The transition to SAHM-hood has had some challenges on its own, but to add in a significant diet change and now almost exclusively pumping, I can honestly say some days I feel totally crazy. I am on day 31 of dairy, egg and gluten free with 5 cheats, two of those times only being 1-2 bites of the offending food.

His spit up has been better and he was pooping more regularly, but then we started solids and he cut the top two teeth last week so a dose of prunes it is. I had noticed my supply decrease some when I started the diet but I think he also had a growth spurt around the same time. Feedings were starting to get very challenging again. He would not wait for the letdown and at night, there just was not enough there for him to settle down easily for the night and then he would wake up anywhere between 3 and 5:30 am starving. I realize that for some moms, a baby that only wakes up once or doesn't wake up until 5:30 am is great. I have the "Baby Whisperer" school of thought that, barring any medical condition, a 5-month-old baby should be able to sleep through the night. That and the fact that I was totally spoiled by Baby Girl who was sleeping through the night at six weeks. I believe that most or possibly all of our sleep issues are actually food issues.

So the decision was made to start pumping. I nurse first thing when he wakes up then pump the rest of the day, even the night feeding. It's both a relief and heart-wrenching. This is not what I signed up for, to be at home full time and still have to pump! I pumped when I was working and pumping at home was not what I wanted. The relief was that I finally knew how much he was getting and it helped me to learn when he was really hungry versus something else.

This week has been tough. Washing all of the pump parts, washing bottle parts, the actual pumping (2-4 times per day), bottle feeding in addition to feeding my daughter and myself, my days are circled around food. I'm not sure if I will be able to go back to nursing, I hope so, but if not, we will figure it out. I am happy that I know he is full now and that he is getting the ounces he needs.