My apologies Janice.  After reading your post again, I understand your 
point and completely agree with it.  As Sarah points out, this is truly 
the big obstacle to overcome when EPing. My son was a baby that was very 
scheduled due to necessity- I had to pump so he had to sleep.  Thankfully, 
he thrived on that, loved to sleep, and was very predictable.  But I 
couldn't imagine pumping again with my new baby as she is only happy if 
she is moving so she spends a lot of time in a sling and has yet to 
declare her sleeping "schedule".

One of the reasons I decided to EP was the overwhelming nature of 
breastfeeding/bottlefeeding/pumping and even with this decision, it only 
removed one element from the cycle.  It is still far more work to EP and 
like Sarah, I don't know if I could do it again- especially with other 
young children in the house requiring attention.  Exhaustion was my normal 
for the first year of my son's life.  And I think it safe to say, I was 
not a fun person to live with during that year.  Again, another reason why 
education is so important; not just education about breastfeeding but 
about the realities of EPing so that women do not feel it is a viable 
alternative to breastfeeding.

Having said all that, I do not regret for a moment providing my son with 
breast milk for that first year of his life.  I certainly grieved the loss 
of the expected breastfeeding relationship, but am proud of the fact I did 
not cave to the pressures of many (medical and lactation professionals 
included) to switch to formula.

Stephanie

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