Can't seem to stop

Carmen101613

I've battled with low supply since returning to work when LO was 8 weeks old despite pumping like a crazy person. Around 6mo I started to drop pumping sessions and feeding sessions and give formula instead. After a few weeks of this my supply took a big hit once again. About 2 weeks ago I decided it wasn't worth my time to pump a measly 2 oz, so I was going to quit. I made it to 8 mo and felt pretty good about that. I have just been feeding/pumping twice a day bag get roughly 2 oz. I can't seem to make myself stop completely. Tonight all I want to do is go to bed, but here I am pumping. I'm so worried about taking that final step.

VegasGal1978

I've been there! I really struggled with stopping completely. You will overthink it and then when you do stop you will second guess. I got past this by focusing on how long we made it and being happy for that. Hang in there! You will make the right choice and stop when you are as ready as you can be.

88sharonlee

I can understand this. It's hard to let go and to know that once you stop, your done!

I think it's amazing you made it to 8 months, that's fantastic and you should be really happy with that.

I agree now it's time to move on since 2oz isn't worth your time or stress.

Maybe try focusing on something else, like making great healthy solids for LO, or just channeling the guilt your feeling about stopping bf into a positive new goal so you are trading in your time not just losing bf.

Guennie

I've never posted on here before but I had to show some support because I really understand what you're going through. I've had to supplement from the very beginning due to low supply. I actually joke that I supplement with bm rather than the other way around. I made it to 6 months and decided to wean but 48 hours after I dropped my last pump I regretted it and realized I wasn't ready to stop. So now here I am already battling low supply and trying to build back up again so it'll be worth it to keep going. Right now I'm getting 2 ounces in the morning and 1 ounce at night. I know it's not a lot but it still feels right to me so I'm going to keep at it.

I completely tortured myself trying to give up that last pump. It was so confusing and emotional. 6 months had been my goal but I'm not going to set a new goal at this point, I'm going to just take it day by day. Hopefully I'll know when I'm truly ready to stop.

Nobody tells you how difficult this is. My doctor certainly never talked to me about it. I thought I'd be ECSTATIC to ditch the torture device. Instead of being happy I found myself on an emotional rollercoaster. I get it.

Try to take a moment to just listen to your own heart. When I discovered I could still pump and it wasn't too late, I felt the greatest sense of relief and happiness. I knew deep down I wasn't ready to completely wean yet.

If you are just done and it's time to stop, go easy on yourself and don't feel guilty. Give yourself permission to stop. 8 months is awesome, it really is.

If you think you should stop because you have a low supply but you still feel in your heart you aren't ready, this is how I feel about it...who's to say your baby isn't benefitting from 2 ounces? There is no proof your baby isn't benefitting from a small amount of bm. There is still so much research going into breastfeeding. I look at it this way- if one multivitamin a day can be beneficial so can a little bm. So what if it isn't as beneficial as it could be with more, that doesn't mean it's not beneficial at all. If it makes you happy to keep going, by all means keep going, even if it's just one pump a day.

I hope you can let yourself stop if you're ready and keep going if you're not. I'm sorry it's so confusing. Be good to yourself and celebrate the fact that you've been doing the best you can for your baby!

Aubs0009

I told myself that I would make it 9 months . . . .  only two more weeks.It's been a battle but it's so hard to finally give it up and stop.