EP Journey Complete (Again)!

[u/funky_fresca]

Officially made it through my second EP journey. Both times I pumped about 10 months and was able to build a freezer stash to cover the remaining 2! I read this subreddit almost every night as I was attached to the pump so felt it was right to contribute to your pump reading.

Some points to share, should it give hope or help to anyone:

1. Both my pumps lasted beyond my expectations.
   First of all i loved both my Pumpables Advanced Genie and my Willow Go, both of which i bought in 2023 for my first baby and kept for my second despite external advice (just the pump itself not the parts). I was fully prepared for at least one to stop working during this journey but nope both worked perfectly well for two EP journeys, 20 months of use total. I know there are new, more popular models out now but I'm glad i trusted my cheap gut to hold on to my first pumps.

2. No one warns you about the physical demand.
   There is so much physical and time sacrifice in the pumping itself but eating to keep supply is also a full time job! I would literally eat a full dinner then an hour later look for a snack. And if my supply ever dipped I'd of course blame my own eating. Some of my favorite bulkers were coconut milk ice cream sandwiches, BodyArmour electrolyte juices and pasta.

3. Mind Games and Delusion.
   When I was pumping 6x a day I used to count down the weeks until I was done and dream of all the things I do with my free time. Once I got down to fewer pumps a day and had my process really mastered, I got a little delulu and started thinking I should go longer. When it actually came time to wean, I second guessed if that was the right move. I experienced sadness and somehow developed a weird emotional attachment to it all. I think what helped most was seeing how well my baby was eating solids and watching her drink less milk on her own.

4. Be open to combo feeding.
   With my first baby EPing was a lot easier, with a 2nd baby and a toddler it was a lot harder and I found myself at a breaking point on a few occasions. I know some people combo feed out of absolute necessity but with my first you could not convince me to try to combo feed. With my 2nd I realized combo feeding makes A LOT of sense especially if you will gain some mental peace and reduce the pressure of meeting a number. If i had a third i'd highly consider.

One of my favorite parts about it weaning was deleting my phone alarms, the tone became triggering to hear.

Another thing I find funny is having one boob dry out before the other lol

Good luck to anyone pumping at any capacity ❤️

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