For Women Only...PART DEUX

Just in case any of you experience mold in your breast pump accessories, the lactation consultants at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, MN recommend discarding your milk from the 7 DAYS prior to when you 1st noticed it!! I about cried when I loaded up the garbage bag and saw all of that hard work being disposed of. For someone who doesn't necessarily enjoy being a walking, talking milk machine, it was painful to think back on all of those sessions in the "Lactation Station" (a.k.a. Quiet Room) at work and realize that I had gained nothing from them........................except some black mold. Apparently, they think the moisture from washing the attachments so frequently and not giving them an opportunity to dry completely is what most likely caused it. Whatever...one more reason for me to add to my list of why pumping stinks! I try to envision Will's little face when I'm angry and ready to load up a shopping cart full of soy formula. It usually calms me down for awhile and reminds me how good this is for him (with the exception of the milk exposed to the mold, of course).

My next pumping issue surfaced a couple of days ago and is not helping in keeping me optimistic about this whole process. The "girls" were doing well, with one producing a little more than the other, but nothing alarming. Suddenly "Hilde" was only producing about 25% of her normal amount while "Georgina" continued producing as she had since the beginning. At first, I thought "Hilde" was just having a bad day. Well, one bad day turned into two bad days...and now we're on bad day # 3. I think "Hilde" might be sick (she's dealing with a little pain too) and of course the very last thing I want to do is to make another appointment with another medical professional about another issue. So, I Googled it and it sounds like there are some things I can try on my own, before I throw in the towel and get some real help. I laughed when I read the first bullet on just about every website though...."Pump more frequently". Ummm...yeah...I guess instead of sitting on my butt all day doing absolutely nothing, I can just add 5 or 10 more sessions into my daily milking schedule...no problem!