On Sun, 10 Sep 2006 13:01:51 -0600, Janice Reynolds <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >So with direct bfing, these emotions were totally in-line with my baby's >needs: First total attention to baby and pushing away everything else, then >sleepiness to entice me to sit (or lay down) and nurse long and leisurely. > >I can't imagine how this would all be jumbled when letting down for a pump. >I would think moms would probably end up pumping while baby is either happy >or sleepy, so they would not be interrupted. And she'd probably force >herself to get back to chores after pumping rather than having a nap, as her >hormones would be telling her to. After baby signals to be fed, Mom would >still be left in the alert and aggitated phase after feeding bottle. Baby >would then be sleeping and she'd get back to doing chores etc. When would >she rest. Ah yes, one of the logistical issues of exclusive pumping -- WHEN to actually sit down and pump? I remember *one* time laying my crying baby (but just-fed, changed, and cuddled) on the bed in our bedroom so I didn't have to hear him cry while I sat in the living room and pumped and cried myself. Pumping was usually quite painful after the tissue damage I'd incurred in my early attempts to nurse, and I needed to be in the right frame of mind in order to deal with it. Luckily, my son was for the most part an easy-going little guy who was happy to lay right next to me while I pumped and I never again needed to try to sequester him away while I extracted his next meal. But I honestly don't know if I'm willing to pump like that again for my next baby if it proves necessary in order to provide breastmilk. It was physically and emotionally excruciating -- one nipple and both areolae are visibly scarred, I continue to have vasospasm even a year later (though thankfully just uncomfortable, not painful), and I *still* regret not being able to nurse my active 2-year-old. Lara's and Stephanie's posts were eloquent and insightful and I am so happy to see this subject getting attention here. At the LLL Physicians Meeting last year I was met with looks of disbelief and outright disapproval when I admitted to a group I was dining with that I needed to exclusively pump for my son. Maybe it was just that particular group of women, but wow, that HURT. (And to compound my feelings of alienation, when I inquired at the information booth about where I could pump during the meetings I was told -- twice -- that I could use the bathroom.) Yeah, still a little bitter... Sarah Reece-Stremtan (former EPer until 13 months, and now finally anesthesia resident who looks forward to being able to comment on anesthetic practices at birth in a few months) *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html