To Pump, or Not to Pump!

stellcorb

Hey Ladies... wanted to post a question to you all. My daughter is now 10.5 mos old and just about 2 weeks ago I had to start supplimenting her with formula at her daycare as I ran out of my frozen supply and do not get enough day over day from pumping at work. Since then, I had continued pumping once a day at work, but I'm getting no more than 2 oz all together which is making the 35 minutes I have to step away to do this seem not quite worth it. I was planning on continuing pumping for another 2 to 3 weeks, but since I have been producing so little, I'm contemplating quitting now. Mind you, I'll still be breastfeeding her when I'm home mornings, nights and weekends until she's 12 months, but I feeling very ready to be done pumping at work.
What do you guys think? I'd say its just a temporary drop in production, but it's been like this for over a week now. Should I continue for another few weeks anyway?

RBXChas

Please take what I say with a grain of salt (never had a good supply, BF'd and pumped for three months (on days when I'd pump exclusively I'd get *maybe* 3 oz the entire day, on a good day), so was supplementing with formula and finally gave up on the pump/BFing when I got my period at 3 months), but I wonder if taking out your workday pump will mess with supply/demand and thus mess with BFing.

I mean, I appreciate that it's a lot of setup/breakdown + time for so little output, but I'd worry that you're not "working" your breasts at all during the workday.

Do you know why your supply has dwindled? If so, I would try to remedy it first before you cut out pumping.

rainysue34

Can you break your 30 min session into two 15 min sessions? You might also try herbal teas for nursing mothers, made with fenugreek and fennel (and some other stuff). That's whats helped me when I've seen small dips in production.

J3nnyV

What were reasons behind your initial plan of pumping for 2-3 more weeks? Was it just bc your daughter would reach a round figure of age (ie 11 months old as opposed to 10.5 months old)? If so, I would stop pumping at work now and not worry about lasting another two weeks. I have always had oversupply issues, so didn't have to pump to keep my supply up, but I bf'd #1 until he was 18 months old. For many of the later months, it was twice a day on my work days (morning and night) and three times a day on my non-work days (I only went back to part-time work).

I ask about your reasons bc sometimes I find myself holding onto pre-determined dates bc of the round number thing. For example, I've been holding off trying solids with #2, bc he is only 5.5 months (Cdn guidelines are to wait for solids until 6 months). Yesterday, I very spur-of-the-moment decided to give him some mashed banana. Much to my relief, it didn't cause the world to end!! I've got to loosen up a bit.....hahaha

If you are ready to be done pumping now, let yourself stop and don't feel guilty. You're done an amazing job providing her with so much milk! Yay you Momma!

stellcorb

Yeah, my production started going down when my husband and I went out of town overnight for our anniversary. I pumped while I was away... but not enough. That was back in mid April, and my production just isn't really coming back up.... at least from pumping. It seems fine when I nurse Nora directly, but my pump just isn't as effective. I'm also debating on whether I want to get my production back up as I'm hoping start weaning her as soon as she's able to drink cows milk. Also, my work schedule is rough b/c I'm at work for an average of 10 hours and I tend to have solid meetings mid-day when it is prime time to pump... plus our pumping facilities are crowded (5 stalls for a building of over 10 thousand people and there are alot of new moms) and there are times you have to wait for a stall to open. This was similiar with my first Max, but I had to suppliment him much earlier as he was alot bigger and ate more... he completely weaned himself at 15 months. I think I'm just ready to stop and maybe looking for excuses... who know.

RBXChas

Sometimes when you're done, you're done. Pumping under such difficult circumstances with little output can be incredibly frustrating! Galactagogues didn't work for me at all, which I found even more frustrating! If she is ok when she is nursing and you have enough of a frozen stash to last you to 12 months (when she can have cow's milk), then continuing to pump might not be the best thing for you. Your comfort and sanity are worth something!

mlssdl

I'm in the same boat as you. I've gone down to twice a day and take my lunches for much deserved 'me time'. I hope you reach a good solution. I'm weaning off the pump myself.

(N.B. My son is 9 months old.)

beckajw

Like Rbxchas, I never got a full supply. I breastfed and supplemented since week 2 (when we found out she was losing weight and wasn't getting enough during a feeding). I started breastfeeding, bottle feeding and pumping in an attempt to increase my supply. It didn't work. After about a month and a half I gave up the breastfeeding because it was just becoming too stressful and I was spending my whole day on the feeding issue instead of enjoying time with my daughter. Exclusively pumping gives me about 6-8 ounces, so I'm continuing that just to supplement the formula.

However, when I go back to work (when she's 3.5 months old), I'm going to stop pumping. It's not worth it to me to be continually tired and pumping instead of holding my baby.

So, if it was me, I'd stop pumping at work if I felt I wasn't making enough. That said, will that decrease your supply overall? It would mine.

RBXChas

Like Rbxchas, I never got a full supply. I breastfed and supplemented since week 2 (when we found out she was losing weight and wasn't getting enough during a feeding). I started breastfeeding, bottle feeding and pumping in an attempt to increase my supply. It didn't work. After about a month and a half I gave up the breastfeeding because it was just becoming too stressful and I was spending my whole day on the feeding issue instead of enjoying time with my daughter. Exclusively pumping gives me about 6-8 ounces, so I'm continuing that just to supplement the formula.

However, when I go back to work (when she's 3.5 months old), I'm going to stop pumping. It's not worth it to me to be continually tired and pumping instead of holding my baby.

So, if it was me, I'd stop pumping at work if I felt I wasn't making enough. That said, will that decrease your supply overall? It would mine.

That BFing, pumping, and supplementing with formula is TIRING! You're basically working on three different feeding methods. I drove myself nuts with it, which is why I quit BFing/pumping at 3 months (plus I got my period, so I was like, "Why am I losing my mind over 2-3 oz/day if it's not even staving off my period?"). Sometimes you just have to do what's best for your sanity to do best by your baby.

NeekoM03

This is exactly what I've experienced this time around! Starting supplementing 1 bottle a day at 10.5 months because freezer stash was gone. Four weeks or so later, I'm pumping 3 times a day just to give her one bottle. I'm about over it. I've started to cut out the pumps at work and just feed her morning and night. Sometimes I have to give her a bottle of formula after she finishes nursing at night, which I've never done before. So I would say that cutting out the pumping during the day could affect your ability to nurse her when you are home with her. If you are okay with that possibility (I am at this point) then by all means stop torturing yourself with that darn pump!