SO. My 3 part series is about to become a 4-part series, and then it’s going to be over. Because after copious (over)analysis I am pretty sure that my ability to feed Cameron/pump enough WAS impacted by my short adventures with MyFitnessPal and being a little too careful with my intake. And while I don’t think there would be anything wrong with throwing in the towel and just not worrying about pump volumes and supply, I just don’t feel like that’s the right choice for me right now.
The thing is: I like breastfeeding. This is likely to be the last time in my life I’ll ever do it. And even though I find the whole “breast is best” mentality a little narrow-minded and frustrating at times, I would like to give my milk to Cameron for a while longer. I also want to be able to breastfeed on weekends, evenings, and mornings without having to freak out about whether I am able to do so. I don’t have a great reason for wanting this, but it just feels right.
This is not a body image victory. I cannot truthfully say that I LOOOOVE how I fit into my clothes right now, and I’m not likely to ever embrace my current size (which is completely normal and healthy, but just not my preferred version of normal). But I can just suck up my vanity temporarily and just eat without attempting to lose anything and try to even (gasp) enjoy it over the next 6 months or so. And when I’m done and ready to throw the pump out the window (okay not really, it’s a rental Symphony and that would be quite a costly statement), I will celebrate by perhaps ramping up the intensity of my workouts, being more conscious of my eating, and then going on a REALLY well-deserved shopping spree.
Okay, I’m done with this topic for a long time — promise! Here’s a teaser for the upcoming planner post:
(If you didn’t think I was crazy before . . . I’m pretty sure I have you convinced now 🙂 )
7 Comments
Oh Sarah, you should totally have entered that data into Excel. It would have been so much easier to do statistical analyses and create pretty graphs.
😉
Love your blog! I am eagerly anticipating the upcoming post about the planner because the Erin Condren planners officially go on sale June 12 and I can’t decide if I should get one or not. I don’t think that I would love the structure of the weekly view being broken down into morning/afternoon/ evening sections for each day, but I suppose I could get used to it.
C is adorable, by the way!
Yayyy! I have been stalking your blog since you mentioned that you were going to do a planner post! Can’t waiiit!
Yeah, that’s been my conclusion as well. And counting calories when you don’t know for sure how much is coming out in terms of milk (whose caloric consistency varies with the weather, even if you’re only pumping and not feeding the baby directly) doesn’t seem like a useful exercise. I don’t know how a person would even go about doing appropriate calorie counting, because the "average" calories out for nursing isn’t going to be accurate for any specific day.
I also dislike using weight as a measure of health when one is in the "normal" range. (Especially because I know some of that weight is my extra cup size!)
Girl, enjoy that shopping spree! Also I wanted to say these have been hands-down my favorite postpartum clothing purchase: http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/prairie-underground-g…
As a fellow working mom of 2 in a demanding profession who tends toward the obsessive with things like freezer stashes and planning, I love your blog! I am actually really glad you posted about this issue because I’ve been tracking calories for the first time in years (since pre-kids) since the pounds haven’t seemed to fall off quite as effortlessly with #2 (I’m 11 weeks postpartum). I have only been doing it for a week and haven’t noticed a drop in my supply yet but since I’m still out on leave and only pumping once a day in the morning to build my stash at this point, I will definitely keep a close eye on supply because I would come to the same conclusion you did that it’s not worth it to lose the pounds right now if it means having to freak out and deal with supplementing (because I know it would make me freak out). Although I WANT to fit into my bridesmaid dress for my sister’s wedding next month, it’s not the MOST important thing, I suppose…:)
Thank you for posting about this! I am breastfeeding and pumping. My is baby is 3 months old, I have only Ben back to work for 3 weeks part time, will go back to full time in a week. I have a similar job to yours. I was just considering counting calories with Lose It!, but was scared to do this around the same time I go back to work full time because of how they both could impact my supply. I have 10 pounds left and my clothes mostly don’t fit well. I work long days with a commute and end up having to pump 5x’s/day at work. I decided to hold off on Lose it!, focus more on my workouts and food quality instead. Your post just really helped me feel like I am not the only one struggling to figure all this out. I just don’t know many people who work full time and are breastfeeding still after 2-3 months.
I have a question about your ounces log. What are the reasons/advantages for doing this?
This is my first baby, so pumping is very new to me. I already have a good stash, it has taken over the freezer and I think we might have to get a separate freezer. I have no idea how much I have.
Thank you again for taking about all this, so hard to find good and REAL info about this.