Pumping logistics are insane

Jan 111 min read

My wife is exclusively pumping because feeding never clicked for us (no judgment intended but we just couldn't get there) and holy shit the time commitment. She's pumping 8 times a day, that's 8 times of setting up, cleaning, storing, tracking supply. It's taking over our lives. Meanwhile I feel useless even though I'm bottle feeding and changing diapers, because she's still got this whole extra job nobody sees. Anyone else dealing with exclusive pumping? Does it eventually get better or is this the new normal?

5 comments294 views

Comments(5)

AAndy T.RegularJan 11

How long are you planning to do exclusive pumping? I ask because a friend's wife did it for 6 months and she said it was harder to stick with long term than actual feeding would have been, mostly logistics wise.

WWill R.RegularJan 12

Real question - how are you helping with the load? Because if your wife is pumping full time AND handling most of the baby stuff, that's a lot for one person. This might be where dads need to step up extra.

DDave K.RegularJan 12

The bottle washing alone would drive me insane. We've got like 20 bottles from our pumping days and I swear I spent half my time just washing and sterilizing them.

KKeithNew DadJan 13

This is something nobody talks about before kids arrive. The infrastructure of feeding, whether it's breast, bottle, or combo, is absolutely massive. Props to your wife for doing the work to make it happen.

LLucas H.New DadJan 13

Pumping is legit one of the most brutal things I didn't understand before becoming a dad. My wife was doing it every 3 hours and I had no idea how much work that actually was until I saw the routine.