BF morning and night, but no more pump ...

tosababy

Hello all.  I'm down to pumping once a day and breastfeeding in the morning and at night.  I'm just a little nervous about the next step.  I know many of you have been there, so I'd love some advice.  I'm so looking forward to not carrying the pump every day!  It's been over 10 months of pumping at work and, admittedly, I'm tired of it.

So ... I've been pumping once a day for two weeks now.  Next week shoud I limit (or perhaps even decrease incrementally) the amount of time I pump (rather than pumping until empty)?  Right now it takes about 10 mins ... maybe 8, 6, 4 ... help!  I'm just not sure what to do.

Thanks!

skittles_123

I just dropped an entire session each 3-4 days, starting with pumping sessions during work first. I don't know if that is the "right" way to do it, but it worked for me. I was ready to be done. However, once I was completely done, I actually missed it.

tosababy

That's what I've done so far (dropping sessions) from 3 to 2 and then 2 to 1.  I guess I'm just nervous about this last one.

MrsAmers

When I was down to one session, I just pushed it later and later in the day.  I was prone to clogged ducts and mastitis, so I didn't want to make my session too short and risk a problem.

At first my last session was at lunchtime.  Every few days I pushed it an hour later.  And at the end it was at 4pm, at which point I dropped it since I was able to nurse DD at 5:30.   I had minimal engorgement and no other issues.

Taylor44

Have you had issues with clogged ducts and engorgement?  While BF, I never had any problems with that so I just dropped the sessions as I was ready.  I BF mornings and nights for a while because I enjoyed those feedings.  Then my son self-weaned, and we are FF entirely.  If you have had problems with clogged ducts or engorement, I would suggest a slower schedule.  Or just carry the pump for a few days just in case.  I miss BF, but I don't miss pumping.

flyer23

I did something similar to MrsAmers. Not quite as slowly because I'm not prone to clogged ducts, but same basic idea. I think I was pumping mid-morning and mid-afternoon when I was at 2 sessions. Then I dropped the mid-morning session, and initially started pumping a little earlier in the afternoon, but gradually moved that session back. And then dropped it completely.

I was also prepared to start pumping again if I got engorged (but I didn't). I didn't officially say that I had "hung up the horns" until I made it through a full week with no daytime pumping.