On pumping

This post will deal with a somewhat personal, or at least biological, issue. As Mom and I were mentally preparing for a preemie during the nearly four weeks, we thought about and discussed a number of topics. We were ready for having our baby in an incubator, and spending many hours each day at the hospital. But we were not ready for how much our lives - and especially Mom's - would be complicated by breast pumping.

Although we were born during the time when breast feeding was discouraged, it is now strongly recommended, particularly here in the NICU. The trick is that the capacity to produce is "use it or lose it." So beginning the first day of Loki's life, Mom began to pump. She now does it about seven times per day. This is every two to three hours during the day, and once in the middle of the night. The entire session takes 1 to 1 1/4 hours. It comes out to about 1/3 of her waking hours.

This means that Mom can't do anything that takes more than two hours. And she can't venture too far from our home and hospital. While the gear and supplies could be moved, with some effort, we've not tried this. Thus, there is no going out for a movie, running several errands, or a long dinner, or a hike, or an evening at a friend's house. I can get away more, and do. But it is a fundamentally unfair aspect of gender and biology. This is one more way in which Mom has been a hero.

Our freezer: