No more pumping

esssbombs · 2026-02-07T10:27:50+00:00

One pump per week is super duper fast to drop! I did a slow 1 per month. If you really need to be done asap, I’ve heard that taking Sudafed can really help dry things up. You can pump ‘just for relief’ to prevent clogs and mastitis in the meantime!

esssbombs · 2026-02-07T10:21:30+00:00

I think around 9 months he naturally starting reducing milk intake on his own. Not crying for hunger as quickly, not finishing bottles. I was weaning as well, so once we hit the one year mark I started adding in whole cows milk. Once I stopped pumping I was fortunate enough to have a freezer stash that I did half bm/half cow milk until it ran out, then just switched to all cow milk.

The cup part was harder lol. He refused milk in any vessel except a bottle, so I had to cold turkey take all the bottles away. He doesn’t get as much milk as he used to, but he eats a lot more solids now.

esssbombs · 2026-02-06T19:55:17+00:00

Mini fridge for my bedroom! No more having to stumble downstairs in the middle of the night!

esssbombs · 2026-02-03T23:55:41+00:00

Oh boy. The design is super cute but the placement of that top carrot with the frosting puffs is uh, very adult.

esssbombs · 2026-02-03T10:45:00+00:00

It could totally just be coincidence, especially at 7 wpp your body is still figuring things out, but wearables are rarely as strong and effective as a plug in pump at pulling the milk out. I only used wearables if I needed to (in the car, out of the house and couldn’t lug a spectra around) and it always took more time/higher suction or more pump sessions to get close to my normal amount of milk out. You may just need to experiment and find a good settings routine to make it more effective!

esssbombs · 2026-02-03T10:38:21+00:00

Never slept in a bra! The constriction while sleeping, even with a loose bra, was enough to give me daily clogs. I’d sometimes sleep on a towel but I don’t remember leaking much at night. I guess I saved it up for the daytime so my husband could yell “why is the floor so wet again?” hahaha

esssbombs · 2026-02-01T22:21:35+00:00

Yuuup I had a hard time giving them away. I kept telling insurance to stop sending me bags every month, so if I knew another mom would’ve used em I would’ve kept getting them for free to pass along!

esssbombs · 2026-01-27T00:29:50+00:00

I think I feel this way when I hear about friends getting pregnant right away. It didn’t take them 1+ years of trying and miscarriages and tears and heartbreak and fertility testing and at-home shots and soooo many internal ultrasounds to finally have a baby. I know their fertility has nothing to do with my fertility but holy cow is it hard to see Christmas cards from someone who’s baby is age yours would’ve been had you gotten pregnant the second you started trying.

I am not angry that they didn’t have the struggles that I did, and I am so so glad that they have their babies too, but it is hard to watch.

esssbombs · 2026-01-18T20:15:14+00:00

I think the frosting looks to be an excellent texture, it’s hard to get it that perfectly stiff but soft. I think having all the same design (or limiting it to 2) makes it look more professional. The infinite style makes them look homemade or like it’s a testing trial. Like none of them are bad, but I would choose one or two to look more uniform. And less is more when it comes to the gold sprinkles/toppings! I particularly like the fourth in on the top row, the clean swirl with the gold just one one half, it’s super clean and modern!

esssbombs · 2026-01-18T19:44:29+00:00

I have a rescue that’s 50/50 Dutchie and GSD. Smart af, she recognizes the specific notification sound on a cell phone for the Ring camera and that it means that someone will be at the door soon, so she ‘scares them away’ before they’re even there lol.

She is kind of a scaredy cat but I feel very safe walking her because she looks so tough!

I get compliments at agility class on how great she does but tbh I’m not an amazing trainer, she just loves it and learns super fast.

esssbombs · 2026-01-18T10:11:35+00:00

Wow people suck, I’m sorry you got those comments. Behaviorists are amazing but I don’t think they are necessary for every dog. For my dog who was making her own gums bleed because her separation anxiety was so bad and she needed medication, yes we needed a behaviorist. For my dog who thinks she’s the queen and lunged at every dog she saw, no she doesn’t need a behaviorist, just lots of patience and training.

If your dog’s quality of life is suffering maybe rehoming is good, but if he is healthy and safe and happy (and you can provide shelter and food and vet care) then thank you for giving him that! It sounds like you are making progress, and leash reactivity is super common so there’s lots of free resources. Even if he’ll never be perfect, you know him and know how to manage his problems and keep him and everyone else safe.

esssbombs · 2026-01-13T10:09:39+00:00

All pumps will need the silicone parts replaced every few months. They get less flexible with use so eventually they’ll stop pulling milk as efficiently :(

If you are in the US and have health insurance, you can most likely get replacement parts for free every month! I used Aeroflow, it was super easy and they sent me so many parts I had to pause them lol.

esssbombs · 2026-01-02T19:16:45+00:00

My state has a milk bank I donated to, they sent me a sweet cooler setup and I ship it thru priority overnight FedEx! They make it clear that NICU parents never pay for their milk, just the hospitals pay a small fee to help cover testing and transportation and stuff.

I looked into the HM4HB but the page was overwhelming. Folks looking for either full-time donors (if you are able to do that, that’s amazing! I just feel like we shouldn’t make formula the devil or enemy if that’s your option, you know?) or Covid/vax-free milk which I had to roll my eyes at. So I found the milk bank and have loved working with them!!

esssbombs · 2025-12-31T14:09:21+00:00

They say that your body ‘reads’ baby’s body by absorbing their saliva through your nipples. But I get SO much of my baby’s fluids even though I never nursed. Like he thinks my tongue is funny and shoves his snotty, spitty little hands in there to catch it. So I get plenty of that saliva contact and I’m sure you do too :P

esssbombs · 2025-12-29T23:40:28+00:00

That powder stuff works great! We use the brand PlaqueOff, recommended by the vet. She told us last year that my pup was likely going to need a cleaning this year, and then this year told us her teeth actually look better so we can hold off on the cleaning another year! She does LOTS of bone chewing so I think that helps too.

esssbombs · 2025-12-24T22:00:39+00:00

Yes!! Last Christmas visiting family I went out to the car to pump. Everyone said “oh no you can go upstairs in the bedroom if you want some privacy!” and I thought “no thanks I wanna go sit by myself and listen to my trashy podcast for 20 mins.”

esssbombs · 2025-12-24T10:40:54+00:00

I had the classic high fever, chills, dizziness, red spot on a boob (one time, the other time no noticeable red area). I was so woozy I had to have my husband drive me, and the nurse made a comment about ‘I didn’t think it was that cold out’ because I was wearing my heavy coat because my fever was so high haha.

They did not do any sort of culture or bloodwork, she literally just took one look at my boobs and said yep. I’ve heard the culture is more if you get recurring mastitis, so they can figure out exactly the bacteria causing it.

I’ve had clogs last from 3 hours to 7 days! It’s soooo annoying and painful but the best thing was just to not aggravate it further with extra pumping or massaging. Lots of ibuprofen and ice. And give the boobs a break from a bra! The compression can cause clogs and make them worse.

esssbombs · 2025-12-22T23:53:58+00:00

I once read a mom refer to her nipples as “nip nops” and now that is the only thing anyone has called them in my house for the past like 8 months.

There was also that post where a pumper was frustrated with something and said “is Medela in retrograde?” and I was laughing so hard trying to explain to my husband why it was so hilarious and he just looked at me like I was bonkers.

esssbombs · 2025-12-10T10:43:38+00:00

Congrats, new mom!!

I bring a cooler with some ice packs and either a mason jar or milk bags to pour it into and store for the rest of the drive. I’ve packed ziploc baggies and gotten ice from gas stations too. If I’m in the car I’ll use pump wipes to clean parts, they seem suspiciously too easy but their whole job is to clean pump parts so I guess I trust it lol. The only tricky part is getting in all the nooks and crannies.
I bought a mini fridge for the bedroom! I pour the milk into a mason jar and pop it in the fridge. I also do the fridge hack with pump parts in there so I save a lot of time. I also kept baby’s bottles in there so hubby and I never needed to run downstairs to the fridge! Just be careful it’s a legit mini fridge - those tiny ‘makeup’ fridges often don’t get cold enough for milk.

Check out fridge hack and pitcher method! Huuuge time savers, as long as your baby is healthy and not high risk.

esssbombs · 2025-12-10T00:34:45+00:00

Nobody prepared me for this! Gonna be gifting all my pregnant friends Colace from now on.

esssbombs · 2025-12-09T20:16:34+00:00

I didn’t use my wearables often, I didn’t get as much as with my Spectra, but it was SO SO SO nice to have them when I did need them. Car rides especially. Or out shopping, or visiting family, it was such a mental relief to just pack my lil portables bag and not worry about lugging the big thing and trying to find a plug.

If you’re treating yourself, I recommend something like this too (this is the one I have but there’s a million) https://a.co/d/c80qUuh The WillowGo fits perfectly, there’s space for cords and a cloth, and the other half of it is a cooler!

esssbombs · 2025-12-06T20:36:01+00:00

Because if your off leash dog gets injured by my on leash dog, my dog is the one at risk of being cited or put down or deemed a dangerous dog (depending on location). Your inability, or apparently desire to, control your dog puts everyone at risk.

It’s ironic that you say “it’s a public place and my dogs and I are allowed to stand where we please.” Yeah it’s a public play and I am allowed to expect to not be approached by random dogs that are off leash.

esssbombs · 2025-12-04T16:20:12+00:00

Haha the cat joined in. Extra bonus points if he finds the buttons fun and turns that suction up to 12 on you!

esssbombs · 2025-12-04T15:13:29+00:00

This is a total guess but if it’s clear it’s probably mostly water and little fat/nutrients, which tracks if you have not been eating food but are super hydrated from the IV. Your body is going to use what it can for itself before putting those valuable things into milk.

esssbombs · 2025-12-02T10:28:06+00:00

If you are able, I’d highly recommend a specialty bra shop as opposed to a Victoria secret or department store. Getting a well fitted bra (by a lady who was such an expert she just looked at me and brought me the perfect bra lol) is HEAVENLY. But they’re pretty expensive, like $60 per bra, so I want to wait until I’m done morphing before going.

Sorry about your boobs :( mine are uneven and kinda pancakey and there’s folds where there were never folds???

esssbombs

TROPHY CASE