to stop pumping or not?

slepert

I am starting back to work full time in less than a week. I big debate with myself right now is if I should stop pumping and switch to formula or not. I really want to stop pumping, because it is such a hassle and takes up to much time, not to mention the sleep loss which sucks. I get excited thinking about stopping, but on the other hand I get sad thinking I would be hurting my LO by giving her formula and not BM. any suggestions/thoughts?

RissNRuss

I don't mind pumping- at work it's a nice time to just sit and chill away from the crazy a bit. But I'm an odd duck.

I'll tell you my routine so you can get an idea of what one working mom is doing. We get up between 5 and 6 am, and she nurses at wakeup, and once more around 7:10 before we leave. I pump at work at 9:30/12:30/4 for about 15 minutes each time. I pick her up by 6, and she nurses hourly til bedtime (9pm) at which point she STTN. I do look forward to not pumping, but I love nursing so much that for me, the 15- 15 minute sessions a week is worth keeping that out of work connection going.

I think you should choose what would make you the happiest- because a happy mom makes a happy baby. I would only say to not quit on a bad day- I've heard that before and I think it's a good philosophy. The only judgement you'd get from me is if you chose to not feed your baby!

slepert

haha- not feeding her would deff. be a bad thing.

WasNotWas

Stop Pumping. If you are pumping full time now and hate it, it only gets worse when you start working because you just want to go home and enjoy your baby, but you have to think about pumping. And then gosh forbid you have something at work that messes up your schedule...I did it for 7.5 months and I felt such relief when I stopped.

Brady77

You can always combo feed so that you only do one or 2 pump sessions per day and then make up the rest with formula too.

I pretty much have the exact same pump/feed schedule as the previous poster only my little guy only lasts til 8:00 pm and usually eats once around 3:00 am.  If I am not exhausted at 3:00 am sometimes I stay up and pump a couple ounces off the other side.

With DD, I cut back to 2 sessions a day around 5 months and was able to cover all her needs for daycare the next day.  I started supplementing at 8 months b/c my supply dropped and then dried up at 10 months.

My point is, don't think of it as all or nothing there is a whole spectrum in the middle.

KEK1025

Do what works for you and your family.  If you hate it, give it up and be a happy mommy.  And most importantly giving your child formula does not equate to hurting your child.  

Monkeybutt80

you should do what makes you happy.  There's nothing wrong with FF.  Just to give you an idea though, I have days where I hate pumping at work but then there are days where it's awesome because I get to take a break.  I dont answer phones, emails and I just pump and look at pictures of my baby or spend time on here.  I nurse my baby at 6 am then I pump  8:30, 12 and 3.  then I nurse him around 6 and then he snacks to fall asleep at 730

tsaman1003

Pumping is definitely a job in itself. I had to pump in a restaurant parking lot yesterday because I was sent to a training for work and couldn't figure out a private place to pump. I try to pump as much as I physically can that doesn't interfere with my work and sanity. I have formula at the sitter in case I don't pump enough, but haven't had to use it yet. I think allowing myself the option of formula has eased a lot of my anxiety about pumping. You have to figure out what works best for you.

HeartLikeMine3

I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the extra stress and anxiety. When I return to work in January I will not continue to pump but hope I can keep my supply up to do morning as night feedings.

ChristyD6

I've been pumping at work for 2 weeks now. It's not that bad but it is a PITA to wash and prep all my supplies and tote everything back and forth everyday. I'm doing it bc at first BFing was a big challenge but told myself to stick with it and by 4-5 weeks in I was loving BFing. No, I will probably never love pumping but I'm going to stick with it at least the 4-5 weeks that it took me to fall into a routine with BFing.

Knowing myself I'm sure I'll stick with it as long as I am producing milk or until we start to wean. I'm making extra every day so I may drop one session in a month or so and see if I can keep up without using the freezer stash.

lioness13

I wouldn't make that kind of decision without trying it first, but that's just me. Pumpkins is hard (I HATED it so much at first) but it is getting better every day. Being at work pumping is easier than pumping at home. I had no stash at all before returning to work. This week was my first full week back at work and I was pretty worried I wouldn't be able to keep up with pumping and make enough milk. So far I have been doing better than I thought I would. The fenugreek and tea are finally starting to work, my pumping sessions are shorter than I thought and I have even pumped while driving. All in all it is way better than it was 2 weeks ago so I hope it will get a little better/easier. I vowed to take it week by week. It could totally be that way for you. No need to make a decision now.

summer2times

RissNRuss said:

I don't mind pumping- at work it's a nice time to just sit and chill away from the crazy a bit. But I'm an odd duck.

I'll tell you my routine so you can get an idea of what one working mom is doing. We get up between 5 and 6 am, and she nurses at wakeup, and once more around 7:10 before we leave. I pump at work at 9:30/12:30/4 for about 15 minutes each time. I pick her up by 6, and she nurses hourly til bedtime (9pm) at which point she STTN. I do look forward to not pumping, but I love nursing so much that for me, the 15- 15 minute sessions a week is worth keeping that out of work connection going.

I think you should choose what would make you the happiest- because a happy mom makes a happy baby. I would only say to not quit on a bad day- I've heard that before and I think it's a good philosophy. The only judgement you'd get from me is if you chose to not feed your baby!

This is my exact sane schedule!

Brady77

One last piece of advice, pumping is very time consuming and so if cleaning pump parts bottles etc (esp if your baby wont drink from the pump bottles and you have to transfer).  Early on with my first kid washing all the parts and bottles became DH's job.  It makes my life so much easier and I don't feel like I am the only one contributing to feeding the baby.

cynthia2007

do what makes you happy. i personally pump so i can give my LO all BM but I did have to supplement for a while because I wasnt producing enough. I drink a LOT of water, fenugreek and just started the mothers milk tea and so far i'm able to keep up with what she needs. I pump at 5, 9, 12 and 3 and then pump once or twice in the evening. DH helps with cleaning daycare bottles every other day which helps. I cried at first about giving LO formula but what's important is that you are feeding your child!