Hilary Duff has opened up about her decision to stop breastfeeding and pumping milk for her six-month-old daughter, Banks.

The actress shared a lengthy Instagram post about providing breast milk for her baby and the toll it’s taken on her as a working mother.

Hilary shared, “Pumping at work sucks. I had zero down time and am usually pumping in a hair and make up trailer while four hands work to get me ready for the next scene with lots of other people around.

“Even if I had the luxury to be in my own room, it’s not even considered a “break” because you have to sit upright for the milk to flow into the bottles!

“Plus you are having your damn nipples tugged at by an aggressive machine that makes an annoying sound, that echoes through your head day and night (I swear that machine and I had many conversations at midnight and 3 am)! Ttttthen having to find someplace to sterilize bottles and keep your milk cold (ok I’m done with that rant lol)!

“Anyway, I didn’t know this because with Luca I didn’t work until he was about nine months old, so I didn’t pump very often. Your milk supply drastically drops when you stop feeding as often and lose the actual contact and connection with your baby. So I was eating all the feunugreek goats butt blessed thistle fennel cookies/drops/shakes/pills I could get my hands on! It was maddening. (Does fenugreek make anyone else smell like maple syrup and rubber gloves?…not chill)

“With all of this complaining, I want to say I enjoyed (almost) every moment of feeding my daughter. Felt so lucky to be so close to her and give her that start. I know many women are not able to and for that I am sympathetic and very grateful that I could. For six wonderful months.
“But I needed a break. I was going to break. With the stress of a dropping milk supply and a baby that was getting bored or not caring about nursing when I was available to. I was sad and frustrated and feeling like a failure all of the time.

“When really I’m a bad ass rock star. Moms get high on feeling like superwoman…because we are! Doing too much, because we can!

“But somehow stuck on the feeling we can always do a little more! We are strong as hell over-achievers.

“I am amazed at all that we can do in one single day! That goes for myself, my mom friends, my mom, or my sister! I’m talking to you too mom, I don’t know who’s reading this.

“I wanted to share this because deciding to stop BFing was so emotional and hard. I thought about it ALL day everyday. It was a constant loop in my head. Weighing the pros and cons. And half of the time I wasn’t making any sense. It was about me, and not Banks at that point. I cried many times and felt so depressed while weening. I wasn’t myself at all.

“Something scary was hovering over my brain and my heart…the part of me that I know is smart and rational. The lows felt horrible. I was missing good time with my baby. But I was really missing that natural oxytocin high. Those chemicals are powerful hormones and no joke.

“I am happy to say that I haven’t fed or pumped in three days and it’s crazy how fast you can come out on the other side. I feel fine and happy and relieved and silly that I even stressed on it so hard. Banks is thriving and I get even more time with her and daddy gets to do more feeds! And mommy gets a tiny bit more sleep!

“Whether you are pre or postpartum. Or just a busy mom, You are a rockstar everyday for all that you do. Always putting yourself last and running a mile a minute…while carrying all of the bags lol

“Love you all and hope this helps anyone struggling! See you nursing bras until next time!”

View this post on Instagram

THIS ONE’S FOR THE LADIES Just a few thoughts that I wanted to share on Breast-feeding. Last week was my last week nursing Banks (my six month old) I am a working mom of two. My goal was to get my little girl to six months and then decide if I (and her of course) wanted to keep going. Let me tell you. Pumping at work sucks. I had zero down time and am usually pumping in a hair and make up trailer while four hands work to get me ready for the next scene with lots of other people around. Even if I had the luxury to be in my own room, it’s not even considered a “break” because you have to sit upright for the milk to flow into the bottles! Plus you are having your damn nipples tugged at by an aggressive machine that makes an annoying sound, that echoes through your head day and night (I swear that machine and I had many conversations at midnight and 3 am)! Ttttthen having to find someplace to sterilize bottles and keep your milk cold (ok I’m done with that rant lol)! Anyway, I didn’t know this because with Luca I didn’t work until he was about nine months old, so I didn’t pump very often. Your milk supply drastically drops when you stop feeding as often and lose the actual contact and connection with your baby (????). So I was eating all the feunugreek goats butt blessed thistle fennel cookies/drops/shakes/pills I could get my hands on! It was maddening. (Does fenugreek make anyone else smell like maple syrup and rubber gloves?…not chill) With all of this complaining, I want to say I enjoyed (almost) every moment of feeding my daughter. Felt so lucky to be so close to her and give her that start. I know many women are not able to and for that I am sympathetic and very grateful that I could. For six wonderful months. But I needed a break. I was going to break. With the stress of a dropping milk supply and a baby that was getting bored or not caring about nursing when I was available to. I was sad and frustrated and feeling like a failure all of the time. When really I’m a bad ass rock star. Moms get high on feeling like superwoman…because we are! Doing too much, because we can! KEEP READING in the comments below ????????♥️

A post shared by Hilary Duff (@hilaryduff) on May 7, 2019 at 4:27pm PDT

Hilary has been praised by her followers for her very honest and open description of the struggles of breastfeeding.

Quit shaming mums for their choices!

Pinky McKay recently jumped on the band wagon after Jessica Simpson shared her pride at producing some epic milk supply.

The mummy shamers soon jumped on Jess accusing her of implying that those who didn’t breastfeed were not successful.

View this post on Instagram

This is what success feels like ????

A post shared by Jessica Simpson (@jessicasimpson) on Apr 2, 2019 at 11:36am PDT

Pinky pointed out that one thing (breastfeeding) is not covertly shaming another (formula feeding) – and she’s bang on the money.

Pink added, “No mother should be shamed for using formula if they need or want to for any reason. But a mother who has fought hard to get as much breastmilk into her baby as possible? Can we please for the love of God let her celebrate?

“A mother who shares her breastfeeding success deserves that moment because she worked her butt off to get there. And she is motivating other mothers to do the same. For so many mothers, it’s other nursing moms who keep them going – even more so than their doctors, family, or friends.

“And besides breastfeeding, can we please – as women – start to understand that sharing in someone else’s success does not detract from our own success? It’s enough that we have to fight the patriarchy each and every damn day; if we are fighting each other too, no one wins.”

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