soooo i gave up pumping two weeks ago and i won’t lie, it feels gooood! earlier in my pregnancy, i told myself i didn’t want to pump at work. later on i was like, k let’s try for two years. and then downgraded a bit to 18mo. reality is that i stopped at 16mo~
and no regrets, well, not much. i battled with low/“just enough” supply when pumping. alhamdulillah somehow Watermelon didn’t seem to have issues when latching, so my stresses was only when pumping.
when Watermelon turned one, we introduced fresh milk to her as a supplement. she didn’t finish her bottles whenever we served it at home, but she seemed to be doing fine in school, at least that’s what the teacher assured. i’m guessing peer pressure and a feeding schedule both have a part to play 🤷🏻♀️
at first i dropped from 3 to 2 pumping sessions and felt so free. then i noticed that my yield was getting reaaaally poor so i dropped further to 1 session per day. i discussed with NG who agreed that the low yield didn’t seem to be worth the effort (he was in charge of washing my bottles and flanges every night, hehe) and so i planned to stop in Ramadhan.
then work got really busy in the week before, and one day i ran into problems with the pump’s suction and felt so lazy and unmotivated to troubleshoot. that was when i knew it was my unplanned, last sesh ever. i took a good look at the nursing room and thanked it before leaving. lol dramatic eh? but really, i’m blessed that my small office set aside a decent nursing room for us mummies. in its hey days it even had an exclusive fridge, but it’s since broken down and been removed, and we are waiting for the new one to be purchased.
anyhoos, i found a pumping set up that worked for me. before i forget — and i’m sure i will — thought i’d record them down here for future reference. coz i wish for another squish in the distant future, and would want to also breastfeed and pump at work. but this time i think i’ll try pumping even when on maternity leave to build up a stash and help increase milk supply.
lastly, i’m ever so grateful for my two friends who generously passed me their frozen milk supplies and effectively become Watermelon’s ibu susuan-s. having their stash took off a lot of pressure from me to increase my production. i’ll always be indebted to them. may Allah swt reward them with abundance and grant them the highest of Jannah, aamiin!
pump stuff
– pump in office: spectra s2+
– pump at home: spectra s9
– flanges: maymom 21mm
– storage bottles: medela, because the maymom flanges are narrow neck
– storage bags: philips avent, but next time consider lansinoh’s for better design
bag stuff
– pump bag: jujube fuel cell (yay for “thinsulation”)
– ice pack: bought a thin plastic pack from qoo10 that i filled with water and froze overnight
– work bag: a small backpack from pierre cardin that fits the fuel cell nicely
– inside the fuel cell: 2 flanges, ice pack, 4 bottles for 3 pump sessions, and a spare storage bag for emergencies.
misc
– hands free bra: from simple wishes. two sets used in rotation. kept in a pouch, together with a permanent marker for writing on storage bags, and brought home every friday.
– small towel to lay on the table
milk management
– LIFO (last in, first out): on weekdays, that day’s yield would be served the next day. friday’s yield gets frozen in bags and then thawed on sunday night for monday’s feed.
a modest room which i sometimes looked forward to so that i could be left alone 😅 at its peak, there were 7 of us sharing it and all of us had to be on time. thank you for the memories, even if i’m so happy to graduate 💕
