I'm reporting to you from a chair in the sky, as I fly to Miami to pitch to several animation producers (including Amazon and Corus).

Oooooh, best of luck.

One of my friends had her first last year at 45. The thought of a kid exhausts me, but they were/are thrilled!

One of my co-workers had her third child at 52, and had another one two years later. She and her new husband are very happy about it. She has tons of energy though. I've never had enough energy to keep up with a kid in my life.

I am 42 and a) I am pretty sure I am in prei-menopause and b) I don't think my body could take being pregnant!

I was just at askamanager, and someone in the comments referenced tvtropes, and I was filled with rage.

TCG is 48.

After complaining about the lazy neighborhood kids the other day, two teens showed up at my door asking to shovel. Of course there is almost nothing out there. So, I sent them away.

I didn't realize that my crock pot turned off when the electricity blinked a few hours ago. It's soup with ham and pancetta and chicken broth. If I put it on high for several hours can I still eat it?

Today is a day off for me. I really need to get out and run errands but there is a cat sleeping on me. Do you think she'd get up if she knew I need to buy cat food?

Just ate lunch and somehow managed to go from way too hungry to way too full and forgot to stop in between. oops

sj, as another pump experience, I'm with flea. Give it a bit more time and fussing with the parts to see what works. And be willing to adapt to your own circumstances and not let that get you down. Let down wasn't generally a problem for me, but I rarely got much volume when I pumped, so I had to pump twice to get enough volume for a single feeding. For me that meant that early on (basically once I went back to work) I was subbing in 1 or 2 bottles of formula in addition to the pumped milk bottles so that my babies had enough to eat.

One piece of advice is to time the pumping for the same times that the baby feeds. Your body will get used to production on a schedule, so to speak, and it makes everything easier.

Thanks everyone for the pumping advice. I'm going to give it a rest today and try again tomorrow. I've never had that strong letdown feeling that some women talk about, though I'm sure ltc is getting plenty of milk.

That strong feeling comes when you are separated from your child. It's a weirdly instinctual feeling: my baby needs me RIGHT NOW! At least that was how I experienced it.

If I put it on high for several hours can I still eat it?

I would. If you have a thermometer you can stick into it and verify that it gets above 165F I think you are good from a food safety standpoint, but even without that it sounds like everything that's in it is already cooked and/or cured so I wouldn't worry.

Do you think she'd get up if she knew I need to buy cat food?

No. You should be able to figure out how to do that without disturbing her. Or so my cats tell me regularly.

Somebody brought in pizza and put the leftovers out for the rest of us to scavenge so I did have a slice. Making up for Jesse.

sj, what got things going for me physically was having correctly sized flanges & using the Lansinoh 3-in-1 breast pads warmed up & sitting on top of everything as I pumped. Good luck, & don't beat yourself up if it's difficult for a while.