dairy cow

i feel like a cow. yea. don't feel bad for me - it's not my body image (c'mon, 7 lbs from pre-preg weight, what's there to feel bad about!). it's that i really am just like a cow. since gobbles now spends most of his waking hours at daycare eating from bottles, i spend what seems like all my time being hooked up to a breastpump.

ok, it's not really all my time, but in order to keep my supply healthy (and prevent leakage), i'm pumping about 30 minutes every 3-4 hours. i've got about a weeks' worth of milk in the freezer, and almost a days' worth in the fridge. trying to do everyday normal activities, like be out of the house for more than 4 hours at a time, yields some interesting situations. this weekend i had two fun pumping stories.

i pumped while hubs drove us down 95 on the way to total wine - yes i see the irony here. see we were out helping some friends move - ok i have to sidenote for a minute. friends of ours, who are expecting their own bundle in a few short weeks (can't WAIT!), just bought the most adorable house with these built-ins in the dining room i could die for! i just want to rip them out and take them for my own china. between them, the little nooks / bookshelves in the living room, and the soso cute nursery, they definitely did good. i'm just so happy that so many good things happening right now. ok, where was i? oh yea, the milk!

so we were at the house for a few hours and i felt that all familiar tingling - yikes, gonna leak if we don't do something about this! meanwhile, hubs and i had plans (while gobbles was with his grandma and aunt) to make a total wine run while we were free. hence, the car ride pumping.

this past sunday was super soccer sunday. a 90 minute outdoor game, then playoffs, tournament style, for indoor, with about 45 minutes to spare (and 30 minutes to commute) in between. by the second half of the game, as i was trucking down the field (no subs + outta shape gobbles mom = trucking, not running), i could feel my boobs getting heavier. oh lordy, here we go. no sports bra in the world is a match for boobs that actually engorge as you're moving. i finished out the game running, er trucking, with one arm around my chest. oh what a site. somehow the goalie still commended me on shutting down their right wing. yea she prob didn't want to get splashed.

between games was my free time to get a little relief. i got in the car, moved it to the far end of the parking lot, and got to what i do best, my milkmaking. as the parking lot cleared out with the rest of the team heading to the indoor complex, i watch the clock and realized i wasn't going to make it. so i switched boobs, made sure my shirt was covering me, buckled my seatbelt, and off i went, holding the piece in place with one hand while driving with the other. i've done many things while driving in my life - text, email, gotten changed, ate, drank, filled out bank deposit forms. now i just have one more thing to add, and pray my insurance agent does not read this.

i understand no one really wants to read about my adventures with boobs. but i guess it's my little way of whining about how inconvenient it is breastfeeding. i know, wahhh wahh. but really, it's a lot harder than i had anticipated. probably one of the hardest things i've done - i'd say this commitment was harder than training for a triathlon. if i want to go somewhere, i need to time it out so i express right before and right after i go (sometimes in between); if i want a beer, i need to time that as well, then test my milk to make sure it's useable. i'll be working on something and all of the sudden realize - oh crap i gotta pump. and in order to keep the supply ample, i have to make sure i stick to the schedule.

breastfeeding has its great points too - the money we have saved from not buying formula, as well as the health benefits for the baby. i feel kind of selfish even cutting it short before my body says i'm ready. but, in order to not get a size 20 bridesmaid dress (yes, that is what my chest was measuring at when we tried some on) for the fall, i have to start weaning soon. i have exactly 7 weeks until gobbles is 6 months old. that is my goal, to make it another 7 weeks. then i'll have another 12 or so to dry up, shrink up, and smile for pictures that will be on someone's wall for an eternity.

in the meantime, this kid definitely does not look like he's going hungry. in fact, quite the opposite!

I've got my daddy's belly...

...and my momma's thighs!