I am almost 7 months post partum and I am not quite sure if I am ready to be done breastfeeding. There is this back and forth that goes on every moment of the day of wanting to just let my supply go and wanting to bust my butt again to get it back up.
What I didn’t know with breastfeeding, especially as a woman with a demanding job, is that it doesn’t just impact me. It affects my whole crew. While everyone was so supportive and nourishing my child takes priority, there is still a mental toll that comes with it.
There’s a mental toll when the tones drop for the third call in a row and I haven’t been back to pump in six hours but every med unit is out.
There are so many “well you should.. XYZ” but all of it comes with a mental tax. People have zero idea how much of a physical and mental toll it actually takes
Truthfully, breastfeeding my child has been wonderful despite how hard it can be. I almost gave up like 500 times and here I am at almost 7 months feeling sad that we may be nearing the end
But after storing 1300+ ounces, I feel good about the work I put in.
Here are some things I did during this time..
1. Gross or not, I pumped in the bathroom. I got my own bathroom every shift that I cleaned and disinfected. I had 2-3 sets of pumps parts so while I pumped, I washed the other set so I always had a set ready to go. I use my hospital grade pump, not a fan of portables
2. Milk chiller and pump bag. I had those ready to deploy at any time. It was basically part of my gear drill 😂
3. Pumping bra
4. Brought my own bowl from home for washing parts
5. Fixed my oversupply. I went from making 60oz a day to 30oz and let me tell you, it’s a WORLDS difference.
6. Good bras. I have night time bras, workout bras, and leisurely bras. For work, @shefit and Amazon brand were the clear winners
7. Sunflower lecithin. Clogs are no joke with firefighter hours. I avoided mastitis completely though
8. Talked to my crew and kept open communica
3 months agohappilyeverhealthy
I went back to work after six mos pp and pumped for an entire year using my porta-pumps. All three shifts were great and actually made it funny which made it easier on me mentally. There were cartons of cows milk they’d label “Liquid gold” or “Boob milk” even though I stored my actual milk in my own mini-fridge in my bunk room lol There were times I’d be mid-pump when tones dropped and would keep the show moving and just throw on a baggy jacket or my bunker coat and then use the fridge on the rescue to store until we got back to the station. I had a love/hate relationship with pumping. When i did finally decide to stop pumping 8 months ago, my supply never went down and we are just now almost weened at 2.2 years. Fed is best regardless of how you choose to feed your baby or what works best for your family. The only right way is your way and I hope that anyone out there reading this realizes that. It’s not for the faint of heart and Mom-guilt coupled with intrusive thoughts is no joke, but we’re all out here doing the best we can in an environment that can make us feel a bit alone at times. Find your tribe and hopefully you’re able to find the humor in it all! You’re literally keeping everyone around you alive and that’s some superpower craziness to be proud of!!
3 months agoerinfeirsonwellness
This is what I’m worried about as I return to work in the coming weeks. A busy 24 hour schedule and I’m terrified it’s going to kill my supply.
3 months agonhodiak
So far my department has allowed me to remain on light duty due to pumping. Not only for the schedule, but to reduce the PFAs that I am exposed to since PFAs go to baby through breastmilk and accumulate higher in baby than in mom.
3 months agokutestuf
Mom of three and Career firefighter here. 3 C-sections. I returned to work at 12 weeks postpartum. I breastfed all three and my first was by far the most challenging. I was the only female on my department and we shared a common bunk room for 48 hour shifts. We didn’t have gender specific bathrooms and even if we did the station was old and run down. I was told by my chief to use a bathroom to which I looked him in the face and asked him to prepare his lunch in the bathroom. He then gave me a key to an office he occasionally used. I would bring my pump on every call as if it was my gear. I had an alarm to wake up and pump every three hours to maintain the same schedule as my baby. I pumped in the back of rigs, on the floor of the engine and always had a cooler to keep my stash. I put my cooler in the fridge of whatever shift was not on duty at the time. Most of the crews were very supportive and helpful. My husband would bring my baby to visit in the evenings and if I could I would nurse during the visit. I nursed her for 13months. My second was harder cause we moved an hour from my station. She nursed for 10 months. My third was a little bit premature and she nursed for 11months. I think it’s amazing if you can do it but if not that’s ok too! A fed baby no matter how is the most important.
3 months agomommy.scrubs
Just here to cheer on my fellow mamas 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 Y’all are the real MVPs! @driabrownn_ 💪🏾💪🏾
3 months agodeniseallene
Just wanna say to all the other FF moms that you are all doing great! I was so lucky to be able to breastfeed and pump for a whole year. I too wanted to quit so many times but just kept taking it one day at a time. The first 6 months were the hardest with how often I had to pump while I was at work but it got better over time. I ended up buying multiple bottles so I didn’t have to wash as many at work and I had extra in case I got stuck on a longer assignment. I also really took my time with stopping my supply and very slowly dropped nursing/pumping sessions until it mostly went away without any mastitis or other health issues. However long you can continue to pump and breastfeed while working full time is an achievement and you should be proud! And when you are ready to stop, you will know. I was very lucky to have a supportive department who gave me the time and space to figure it all out.
3 months agosafe_infantfeedingteam
We should connect! Our team is dedicated to policy advocacy, education, training and implementation of infant and young child feeding in emergencies (IYCF-E). We formed in response during Hurricane Helene in WNC. Safeinfantfeeding.org
3 months agoaloha_ashleytaylor
Thank you for posting this. So important. I too pumped in the bathroom many times lol
3 months agoidaho_jones
What a hero! 😍 thanks for sharing your learning for current and future pumping moms! ❤️
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