Where I pumped today

I'm up in Seattle this week, for the same semi-annual technical training conference that I attended back in July, shortly after my return to work. This time, though, Hubby is not attending, so I'm all alone up here -- he's back home with the kids.

Again, the conference kicked off with a Sunday session. Thankfully, this time, they opted to do it at one of my company's offices, rather than at Benaroya Hall. Since all of my company's offices have rooms for pumping, that meant I had a dedicated spot to pump, rather than having to pump in the bathroom.

The setup in this office was similar to the one in most of the other offices I've visited up here, with three cubicles and a curtain for privacy.

Much better than a bathroom! And unlike back in July, when Noob was still exclusively breastfed (no solids) and I had to pump three times during the day to get enough milk for him, I only had to make use of this spot once. I love pumping for a nursing toddler. So easy.

Uncharted territory

Noob turned 1 last week! Normally, a baby's first birthday marks the point where s/he can transition to cow's milk instead of breastmilk or formula. With Littles, I was so sick of pumping that I stopped when she was 11 months old, and used up my freezer stash while we transitioned her onto milk.

But since Noob was at home for the first 11 months of his life, I haven't really had to pump much at all -- he mostly nursed directly. Also, my current job is much more conducive to pumping than the job I had when Littles was nursing.

So I'm not sick of pumping, and so no reason to stop doing it. Noob also recently had an allergic reaction after accidentally being given peanut butter, so now that we know he has one food allergy, we're a little gun-shy about introducing other high-allergen foods, such as cow's milk.

As a result, Noob is still drinking breastmilk exclusively -- no other kind of milk. He nurses in the morning. His sitter gives him a bottle during the day, and I pump once. Then he nurses when we get home in the evening. It's very manageable!

This is uncharted territory for me, so I'm not sure how things will change over time. Should we transition him towards getting a cup of breastmilk during the day, rather than a bottle? When should we think about introducing cow's milk, and how will that fit in with his breastmilk consumption? Will he drop nursing sessions on his own, or will I eventually need to nudge him towards weaning like I did with Littles?

I'm curious to see what the next few months hold for us!