UGH! Pumping!! What would you do?

TheAnalyticalMommy

Can I say just how much I dislike pumping? It's not that it's hard for me (in fact, I'm very lucky to respond well to it) but it makes breastfeeding feel so mechanical...

anyway... My question is, if you were pumping 1+ bottle extra a day, would you continue pumping the same amount and freeze the extras or would you cut back the time or frequency so you pump the same amount LO drinks?

If you pump a lot extra (and you're not EPing), did you see any downsides? (for example, i feel full all weekend)

My LO is nearly 14 weeks and I pump about 1+ extra bottles a day that go straight into the freezer. LO is STTN for nearly 2 weeks and I haven't seen AF yet. I've been told it's still too early to cut back to 2 sessions but if there's a downside to getting this much extra, maybe i'll cut back to 10 or 15 minute sessions.

Thanks!

musicalsilver

At 14 weeks, I'd keep up the pumping routine you have.  LO had a big increase in how much he ate as he approached 4/5 months, and having my supply already ready to meet that demand really took the stress off pumping.

I routinely pumped quite a bit more than I needed (on the order of a bottle a day) for LO for the first 6 or so months, and then broke even for a while, and now that LO is about 11 months (nearly 12!), I'm pumping a bit of a deficit.  Thanks to the initial over-supply though, and rotating my freezer stash, I'm not stressed about it at all.

I didn't start tinkering with altering my pumping schedule until LO was more like 6 or 7 months, as I was worried about messing up a good thing.  If you've got the freezer space, I'd keep up what you're doing until LO is a bit older.

TheAnalyticalMommy

Hi casey78! Thanks for the response!! Yeah i'm not expecting LO to STTN for long... At about 4 months my first decided he didn't wan to sleep ever again and it hasn't changed since! He's now 4 LOL

musicalsilver - I'm thinking of doing the same. If i have to pump 3 times a day anyway, pumping an extra five minutes each time doesn't really make a difference and then I don't need to worry about not having enough when my supply dips or he needs more (or both happen!). 

If all goes well, I'd like to do something similar and be able to drop pumping when he turns one but continue to give him BM. So long as there's no real issue with mainting that oversupply for months on end.

SouthRNComfort

We are in the same boat. I respond well to the pump (even though I hate pumping) and think the pump has created a bit of oversupply for me. I pump about 6 oz in 8-10 min. I pump for volume so once I get what I need I stop. But LO takes 4-5 bottles while I work not 6, so, I freeze at least one bottle a day. But I need to keep up the number of times I pump (3x per day) or else I'm so uncomfortable. I'll keep a small stash in case I get sick/stressed causing my supply to drop. I've only dipped into the stash without replacement when I was only able to pump 2x at work due to a crazy busy day.. Keep up the good work!

TheAnalyticalMommy

Same here! it would be so uncomfortable to drop to 2 (though i'm looking forward to the day that becomes a problem I have to tackle!)

At exactly 3 hours every day (whether pumping or BF'ing) i get a let down and then it becomes really uncomfortable if i don't pump or feed him lol

Not complaining though, i consider myself lucky!  (I'm less lucky in other areas... like he's really fussy and refuses to be put down even for a second so it's nice to have one less thing to worry about!)

bethughknee

I would keep pumping but I'm a milk hoarder and always want to stash more. I also didn't notice a down regulation until ~17 weeks where most BF moms on my BMB noticed it beginning around 13. I pump about a bottle extra each day but plan to continue that until we start relying more on solids. So I have a few more months of this to go.

eggmankate

I debated what to do with a slight oversupply when I returned to work at 12 weeks and decided to keep it up and build a solid stash. I'm glad I did because I started developing insomnia and my supply took a hit from all of the stress it caused. As I work to increase my supply right now I'm sure having a bit of oversupply helped make the supply dip not so drastic. If it were me I'd keep up with the pumping routine a few more months just in case ant unforeseen health issues arise. My goal is to BF a year though.

TheAnalyticalMommy

Thanks everyone! I'm hoping to get to a year too. I'm now planning to keep pumping 20 min 3 a day and let my stash grow. Might change around 6 months but I'm far away from that still! Thanks for the advice everyone!

CLLDLL

Just wanted to add I agree with your decision. I was in a similar situation, but had supply decreases at 6 months and 9 months. It was so nice to have enough in the freezer that the supply dips didn't totally stress me out. Good luck to you!!

rm2013

I agree with keeping up the pumping. Personally I wanted that safety net of a good stash. I found that when AF came back my supply nosedived, and if I didn't have about a 200oz stash from extra pumping we wouldn't have made it through that. I also ended up needing to have unexpected surgery which again the stash saved the day.