I have never met a mom who enjoys pumping. The results of pumping? Yes. The act of pumping? NO. (If you’re out there, no shame and good for you… but can you let me know your secret?!) Today, I thought I’d share what I actually think about while pumping. Any mom who has pumped knows you are supposed to think about your baby to get the most out of your pumping session… imagining their cries or that sweet newborn smell or imagining their little fists…
What I actually think about while pumping is how long I have until I can be done. Like I said, I don’t enjoy pumping and if I’m being honest, I count down the SECONDS until I can be done. On top of feeling uncomfortable, I often feel guilty that I feel this way because I’m thankful I have extra milk that I can pump for my baby. OH, and speaking of guilt…
At least this is a guilt free time to catch up on my Netflix and Hulu queue. Due to my type A/Enneagram 1 personality, the first year of having a baby I rarely end up single tasking. If I’m watching a TV show I am usually also folding laundry or prepping dinner. When I pump I get to just enjoy watching a show as a nice distraction and I try to think about that much more than the pumping.
What I ALWAYS think about is how much I want a snack. Anyone else suddenly starving the second they have a let down?! It doesn’t matter if I just had a huge meal, I am suddenly dreaming of food. All those jokes about pregnant women cravings? Didn’t apply to me because I get crazy sick during my pregnancies and nothing really sounds good. But NOW all those crazy demands come at my husband with all that same hormonal urgency…
What I actually think about while pumping is what 21 year old me would think of current me. I used to pop bottles, and now I pump them. I think about how different my life was then and how it is both better and much more challenging now. But I also think about how lucky I am that the people I would go out with then are the same ones I can text to ask for support with a rough parenting day now.
What I actually think about while pumping is how fast this is going. NO, not the pumping because somehow I’m still not done with that. I mean the whole motherhood thing. This is my third time around and somehow it is going even faster. I know a year from now I won’t be pumping anymore and I’ll be ready for a new amazing stage, but I’ll also wonder how my baby became a toddler in the blink of an eye.