Goodbye Medela Breastpump, My Old Friend

Three babies in a row and sleepless nights of feedings and pumping had become a way of life for me.  Now, I’m finally moving on with the weaning of my final baby, now four and a half months old.
The Medela breastpump, however, has become so much a part of my life over the last 5 years that I can scarcely imagine my life without it!  The picture below shows how oddly ever-present it is.  Look past my right shoulder.  Back there on the desk.  Next to the laptop. Uh huh, that’s the Medela pump.  Every four hours, morning or night.  It’s in all the pictures.  Wherever I go, it goes (it’s even housed in a conveniently portable backpack).  Scary, isn’t it?
Now that the final weaning is complete and the pumping is done, it’s time to pack away the pump for good.  I even had an extra one that I bought as an emergency backup, just in case at any time my pump decided it had pumped enough.  I never had to use the emergency extra Medela pump, and now I’ll be finding new homes for both of them.
But what a strange feeling, to be moving on from this life stage finally and forever.  I get to have my body back!  Not only that, but I also get to reclaim my time and my sleep.  Long after my baby was sleeping through the night I still had to wake up in the wee hours to pump and store milk for her.  Now I have the opportunity to be a not-pregnant and not-lactating mom, 2 categories I haven’t gotten the chance to be in up until now!
It’s a little scary to leave this life season behind, but exciting to go boldly forward into what the Lord has in store for me next.  How did you feel when you stopped nursing or pumping?  Let us know in the comments below.