if you're a guy, this post won't interest you.

i must clarify, i wouldn't wear this shirt, i just thought it was funny :)

micah's 6 month update is coming, but until i get that post together, i thought i'd write about something that i've been thinking about a lot recently.

when micah was born, i was fully planning to nurse him. he did great the first day. literally needed no help whatsoever through the first night. once the next day hit, we had all sorts of hurdles, but primarily he had a poor latch. then, he got frustrated, and stubborn! we saw multiple lactation consultants, but before we left the hospital, they had me pumping and syringe feeding. to make a long story short, i ended up decided to go the route of exclusively pumping for micah. we just couldn't make nursing work, so i set my sights on pumping.

one thing i found out quickly was that the general assumption is that your milk won't come in if you're pumping or that it won't last past a few weeks. i was told over and over by lactation consultants, doctors and friends that i couldn't do it. i had a few cheerleaders (who i am very thankful for), but mostly i found a lot of negativity.

i found an online forum for "exclusive pumpers" and for those first 12 weeks, I was on that board during almost every pump trying to figure this whole thing out, and those women are AMAZING! i found so much information and support on that online community, and had no supply issues at all...in fact, we had to invest in a deep freeze just to store my milk!

as we hit the 6 month marker of micah's birth, i can proudly say that my baby has been exclusively fed breastmilk for 6 months! He is healthy and growing beautifully! Pumping has not been an easy road...there are bottles to wash, midnight pumping sessions after feeding the baby (only did that for 10 weeks, but still!), pausing life 4-8 times a day for 6 months to make sure that micah has milk, and trying to find outlets (that one is REALLY fun;) ). I have pumped at the orange county fair, disneyland, in nordstrom, and of course in the car. even though the road hasn't been without it's fair share of bumps, the thing i want people to know is that it is possible to pump milk for your baby for an extended amount of time.

i am proud of myself and looking back at the last 6 months makes the next 6 months seem doable!