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Sometimes I have to just give props when props are due. Bow down. Give a mom her well-earned moment in the spotlight. Supermom Alyse Ogletreebroke the Guinness World Record by donating 414 gallons of breast milk to the Mother’s Milk Bank of North Texas. Nope, 414 gallons is not a typo. She pumped out enough breast milk to feed a small army of hungry babies. Give that woman a cape!
Alyse, I am not worthy. Honestly. I couldn’t manage to exclusively breastfeed my one baby. I screamed obscenities at the dreaded breast pump every single time I had to saddle up next to it at night. I always tap into my inner drama queen when I recall the hours I spent squirting and measuring and storing. It’s impossible for me to wrap my head around generating 414 gallons of breast milk.
Alyse averaged about 130 ounces a day. I am in udder (sorry, couldn’t help it) disbelief that she produced that much ... and had the time to do it.
More From The Stir: Exclusively Pumping Breast Milk: 7 Tips to Guarantee Baby's Bottles Will Be Filled
While I celebrate Alyse’s accomplishment, it does make me feel just a tad inadequate. She breastfed ... and she helped babies in need. She shattered the previous world record of 16,000 ounces. Maybe I could have tried harder, bitched less. Gave my breasts a pep talk that they, too, could deliver. If I looked at the pump differently, just maybe ...
Nah. I really hated that thing. Loved breastfeeding my son, the bond it reinforced, but it was on my terms. So grateful there are women like Alyse to compensate for moms like me. And hey, maybe other moms will look at the pump differently now?
How did pumping go for you? Any good tips for other moms?
Image via Bliss Baby Charity/Flickr
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