42 Days of Pumping

That's how much time I have spent pumping, cleaning and sterilizing pump parts and putting extra milk away in the last 6 months. Yes, that's right folks, in the last 6 months, I have spent a month and half-straight- JUST PUMPING. This does not include how many times I have washed cloth diapers, changed diapers, put Penelope to sleep, played with her, fed her, etc. This is the time I spend just being able to feed my child my breast milk.

I got to that number by stopping to think today, that not only is Penelope six months old, but I have been pumping for 6 months. I am very proud to say that I have made it this far. I am now apart of the 12% of mothers who breastfeed longer than 6 months.

Here's the breakdown of how I got my number. I was actually pretty conservative. Sometimes my pump sessions can be as long as an hour, especially in the morning. And in the first few months, I would "power pump" sessions in the early evening hours to simulate a "cluster feed" like a newborn would do.

month 1: 12 times a day for 25 minutes: 300 minutes (5 hours)=9,000 minutes (150 hours) a month
month 2:10 times a day for 30 minutes: 300 minutes (5 hours)=9,000 minutes (150 hours) a month
month 3: 8 times a day for 35 minutes: 280 minutes (4.6 hours)=8, 400 minutes (140 hours) a month
month 4: 6 times a day for 40 minutes: 240 minutes (4 hours)= 7,200 minutes (120 hours) a month
month 5: 4 times a day for 45 minutes: 180 minutes (3 hours)=5,400 minutes (90 hours) a month
month 6: 4 times a day for 45 minutes: 180 minutes (3 hours)=5,400 minutes (90 hours) a month

740 hours. 31 straight days of pumping. 44,400 minutes

all 6 months: 1.5 hours a day cleaning/sterilizing pump parts and putting milk away: 270 hours.

Total: 1,010 hours. 42 days.

Having a fat and healthy baby who has never had a drop of formula: PRICELESS!


oh and all that pumping yielded an average of 35 ounces a day, so total in the last 6 months, I made 6,300 ounces of milk!!