I had a rough time with my first go-round and am on here for tips so that I am successful this time (I am 32 weeks pregnant today), so I can't speak to your question directly. However, a good frozen stash can actually be very useful, even if you're not feeding your baby with a bottle. When your baby starts eating solids, you can use breast milk as a "mixer." For example, baby oatmeal, which has tons of iron, should be made with either breast milk or formula.

I hope the second time is successful for you! My baby is actually 9 months old and we skipped spoon feeding and went right for finger foods. Yesterday, I skipped pumping because it was so busy and I leaked though my dress top during a random diapering because I was so full but I didn't pump for the rest of the day and I think I am going to skip it for now. I'm going to work with my stash and pump when I miss a feeding but for now, I think I'll drop the extra pumping sessions.

Congrats on your coming baby!!! How far apart will #1 and #2 be? I want to wait until I've lost 30 more pounds to get pregnant again and I'm hoping to have 6 months off of both breastfeeding and pregnancy, but we'll see!

Thanks! I'm hoping for a better experience the second time around. Lots of crying, guilt, etc., the first time! They will be two years and four months (roughly) apart. I started MFP about two months postpartum last time and lost 82 lbs in a year. Then when my son was about a year and a half we started TTC again. It was hard to face potentially "undoing" all the work I did, but that's how it goes! I can't wait to jump back in this time around, and we plan for this to be our last baby

I agree. I would keep pumping. If you don't use it you can always donate it! :-)

I do not really see the point of pumping regurlarly if you are going to stay home for a while, and only need it occasionally.
I BF my baby on demand , and here and there I need to leave her for hubby for a few hrs maybe once a week Or once every two weeks. The day before the event , I pump after every feeding. I do not even bother with the pump, I just manually pump with my hand right into the bottle.. Because of my lazy method, I only can pump about 1 oz each time. Since I feed my baby about 6 times a day, it ads up to 6+ oz, which is sufficient for one feeding. Breastmilk is good in the fridge for 2-3 days, so I do not even bother freezing it. .

4 yrs ago with my son, I pumped a little bit more and freezed it, but I ended up throwing it out later. It goes bad after 2-3 months even in the freezer!

Pumping is a Great tool for women who has to go back to work early or if they can not feed their babies directly from the boobs for any reason.
However, pumping just for the sake of maybe one point I **** might**** need it is wasting your time and easily mess up the whole demand supply balance.

If you pump , you are sending a message to your body that more milk is needed,, and more will be produced. More milk leads to fuller boobs, which is uncomfortable, so you end up pumping it out again. Since you pumping , your body is getting the message to produce more milk again.. Where is going to end? Usually breast engorgement and mastitis, and that is where many women end up giving up BFing and switching to formula...

I ended up BFing for 2 years with my last baby despite the fact that I went back to work part time when he was 10 months old.
After they eat solid they are ok away from you a half day. You BF them when you are there, and they get the puréed food when you are not there.

4 yrs ago with my son, I pumped a little bit more and freezed it, but I ended up throwing it out later. It goes bad after 2-3 months even in the freezer!

It lasts 12 months in a deep freese and 9 months in a regular freezer. tthe lactation onsultant I used said unless it smells/tastes bad don't throw it away.