Comments on: Pumping for Stay-at-Home Moms

By: Lucy

Lucy — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:20:33 +0000

Thank you for writing this article. With my first son, I had to pump for lots of reasons such as my son’s prematurity, baby blues from staying at home, my returning to work, to increase milk supply, etc. I always felt bad because there has always been an emphasis on exclusively breastfeeding. Pumping really helped me out during those times. But once I was able to quit my job and stay at home, it took me months to get the supply and demand in balance with my son and first I had too much milk that I gave some to the local milk bank then I had too little by decreasing pumping too quickly. Even though it is useful, pumping is hard work and really throws a wrench into the natural breastfeeding relationship. With my newborn who had no breastfeeding issues, I still pump once in a while to get a break or to take my toddler son on playdates but learning what I did with my first one, I am able to use the pump more wisely and to avoid all the problems I had the first time around.

By: Sonya Feher

Sonya Feher — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:24:52 +0000

Stephanie, I’m so glad you enjoyed the article. I wrote it because I had such a hard time with pumping and gave up, which caused so many difficulties for my family. I figured that once my son was eating solid food (at six months or so), my husband would be able to feed him and it would mean I could get more of a break to go to the eye doctor, have a long nap, or go to the gym or take care of myself in other ways. The problem was that my son only wanted to be fed by me, whether it was breast-milk or solids. The effects of stopping pumping are still felt in our household and my son is almost three. I just wish there had been someone around to tell me why and how pumping could work for me as a SAH AP mom.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:53:43 +0000

This is such a wonderful, important, informative article. Even though I’m nursing a 14 month-old, I still found a wealth of information here. Thank you to Sonya for writing it, and thanks to all who contributed.

The part about storing milk in case of an emergency really hits home. A local mom was killed in a car crash along with her 2 year old, but her husband and 4-month old survived. I don’t know if she had a stash saved, but thankfully many, many nursing moms have stepped forward to pump and donate to her baby boy.