How long BFing?

CP0979

How long do u plan on breastfeeding LO? Anyone quit once returning to work? I'm afraid all that pumping will be wearing. My short term goal is 6 months but ideally would prob like to do 9 or the full yr but I doubt that will happen.

STMs, do they require less milk after six months when they start eating foods or no? 

AbuDhabiMommy

With DD1, I bf for 14 months I returned to work when she was 6 weeks. I'm planning on the same for this LO, but I do hate pumping. What motivates me is the fact that I'm still feeding her while I'm at work.
It has been too long between my girls to answer the stm question...

musiclover0007

I'm the same. Right now I'm just focused on making the 6 month mark. At least I got bronze boobs lol. However, I would love to go for the gold. 

Bronze 3 months breast feeding
Silver 6 months
Silver with gold nipples 9 months
Gold 12 months
Platinum 18 months
Diamond 24 months+

panarama99

I made it to 14 months when DS1 selfweaned. Stopped pumping at a year. That's my plan this time too. BF babies milk intake does seem to level off typically around 6 or so months. You don't have to keep increasing their intake because the composition of the milk changes, as opposed to formula. DS1 never went above 6 oz bottles.

Wally3

I bfed my ds1 until 20 months. Though after a year I only nursed morning at night and no longer pumped. It does get easier but I always hated pumping. At 6 months they eat about the same but more less often.

nealbl

My plan is a year. I didn't have a goal with dd1 and we had issues that led me to EP. My supply quickly decreased and we were supplementing formula. By the time I returned to work the amount if time I was spending pumping and getting not even a whole bottle became pointless to me and I quit. This time everything has gone so smoothly I am able to pump enough for the next day and I pump only three times a day, once at work. Once they start eating solids the amount of breast milk needed will decrease so I figure it will get even easier as time goes on.

Rachelilly23

I am still BFing and hope to make it to 1 year, but I SAH now. It's possible I could start working again, but I don't have a current job and haven't since March of last year when we moved and I had to leave my job.

Working really messed me up with BFing after DS1- I went back to work when he was 5 months old, and he didn't gain any weight from 5 months to 6 months, so my pedi pressured me to supplement. My supply just ended up tanking and I couldn't pump enough for him. So from 6-9 months we used formula during the day and nursed first thing in the morning and before bed. 9 months I stopped completely because DS1 just preferred the bottle and wouldn't really nurse anymore.

The pump became my biggest enemy as a result of all that. It stressed me out and I absolutely despised pumping. If I do go back to work, I don't suspect we'll last much longer BFing, but I will at least try to keep nursing him like I did with DS1, morning and night.

If I continue to SAH, there's no reason we shouldn't be able to make it until 1 year, unless DS2 self weans, but that's unlikely. I want to make it at least as long as I did for DS1. If we do make it to 1 year, I will probably try to wean as soon as possible so I can really focus on my running and training for my half marathon/possibly a full marathon.

Starry Again

My original goal while pregnant was 6 months. I went back to work at 12 weeks. I now want to go for a year but plan on cutting to 2 pumps at work a day at 6 months and 1 a day at 9 or 10 months. I am cool with using a bit of formula supplementing at 6 months if I make it that long. We are doing BLW so I am not counting on her getting many calories from food for quite some time.

irish city girl

I quit bfing DS1 when I went back to work. I was working as an in home therapist/case manager so I spent my days driving to different people's houses. I would have had to pump in my car and couldn't guarantee I'd always have time.
My goal is to ebf until 6 months this time and then just nurse a couple times a day as long as my supply allows.

Elli143

nealbl:

My plan is a year. I didn't have a goal with dd1 and we had issues that led me to EP. My supply quickly decreased and we were supplementing formula. By the time I returned to work the amount if time I was spending pumping and getting not even a whole bottle became pointless to me and I quit. This time everything has gone so smoothly I am able to pump enough for the next day and I pump only three times a day, once at work. Once they start eating solids the amount of breast milk needed will decrease so I figure it will get even easier as time goes on.

This makes me feel so much better about my chances of BFing my second child. This is my first and I had to switch to EP because we could never figure out the latch and I was having a lot of trouble bonding with DD as a result. Before she was born my goal had been to BF for a year, now I'm counting down the days to 6 months when I will stop pumping - I hate pumping so much!!! (I'm pumping as I write this, hah.) 

Sillygirl85

My goal is to make it to one year.

nealbl

Elli143:

nealbl:

My plan is a year. I didn't have a goal with dd1 and we had issues that led me to EP. My supply quickly decreased and we were supplementing formula. By the time I returned to work the amount if time I was spending pumping and getting not even a whole bottle became pointless to me and I quit. This time everything has gone so smoothly I am able to pump enough for the next day and I pump only three times a day, once at work. Once they start eating solids the amount of breast milk needed will decrease so I figure it will get even easier as time goes on.

This makes me feel so much better about my chances of BFing my second child. This is my first and I had to switch to EP because we could never figure out the latch and I was having a lot of trouble bonding with DD as a result. Before she was born my goal had been to BF for a year, now I'm counting down the days to 6 months when I will stop pumping - I hate pumping so much!!! (I'm pumping as I write this, hah.) 

I hate pumping so much, which is why I keep it at 3 times a day and Friday after I get home I put the pump away for the weekend. Dd1 we both got thrush when she was 2 weeks old and I started pumping bc we were not getting better. We finally got better and then i landed in the hospital with mastitis. At this point I was getting use to knowing how much she was eating with bottles that it was hard for me to go back to bfing and not knowing. I never got a chance to get comfortable bfing so it just didn't work. This time has been easy peasy.

melodramatic26

We had latch issues with DD1 and so I EP'ed for 5 months and had enough frozen to make it with just breast milk until 6 months.

This time with DD2 I was able to breast feed and as much as I enjoy it, I despise pumping. I only pump twice a day at work and it's just not enough to keep up with her at daycare. My job is too demanding for me to find more time to pump and I refuse to do it at home.

When I went back to work we started supplementing a bottle of formula for her first motn feeding so I could get more sleep. I LOVE that we do this.

I plan on making it 4 mths with our current system and then weaning her completely off before 6 months.

I'm training for a1/2 marathon and seriously trying to lose weight, neither of which are helping my supply so I do what I can for now and slowly back off. I think formula is absolutely a fine subsitute for bm so I have no problems saying I'm done with breastfeeding.

CP0979

Starry Again:

My original goal while pregnant was 6 months. I went back to work at 12 weeks. I now want to go for a year but plan on cutting to 2 pumps at work a day at 6 months and 1 a day at 9 or 10 months. I am cool with using a bit of formula supplementing at 6 months if I make it that long. We are doing BLW so I am not counting on her getting many calories from food for quite some time.

 

blw? 

Ziegeficker

I'm like you -- I'm planning on doing six months, then I'll re-evaluate.  A year is about the maximum I'd do.  While BF-ing is sometimes a pain, formula is probably even more of a pain (and expensive), so I'll BF as long as I can.

Pumping at work absolutely does suck.  If you can, buy yourself one of those goofy pumping bras, shut yourself up somewhere private in your office, and use your two free hands to do something entertaining.  Otherwise, it will be absolutely maddening.

RayT1

My goal is 12 months and after that just before bed and morning. As long as I can keep up to his needs since 3/4 feeds is on the right side due to a under productive left breast.

danienross

I'm a SAHM so no experience there. I BFed E for 22mos. She weaned only a month and a half before I had the baby. I expect to nurse Z past a year but hopefully she self weans before 2 as well.

danienross

CP0979:

blw?

Baby Led Weaning

Alaskamom1

I hate pumping with a passion and have completely stopped it all togethher. My LO only takes the boob and has refused the bottle every time we tried so I gave up. Luckily I'm a stay at home so I can feed whenever ...also I totally love to BF and never want it to end!! I am looking forward to DH being able to feed her solids hes stoked too. I'm trying for 1 years

Starry Again

CP0979:

Starry Again:

My original goal while pregnant was 6 months. I went back to work at 12 weeks. I now want to go for a year but plan on cutting to 2 pumps at work a day at 6 months and 1 a day at 9 or 10 months. I am cool with using a bit of formula supplementing at 6 months if I make it that long. We are doing BLW so I am not counting on her getting many calories from food for quite some time.

 

blw? 

 

baby led weaning. here's a link to a short pamphlet on it:

https://www.rapleyweaning.com/assets/blwleaflet.pdf

a big part of it is you assume the primary source of nutrition for babies until they are 1 is BM / formula so you don't push solids and let them eat them when they are ready.  

wonderwallflwr

My goal is at least one year. I'm having supply issues and work long hours at night, so there are spans when I'm away from LO for over 14 hours (and that's not including the 6-7 hours when I go home and sleep while he's at daycare). 

I HATE pumping at home but I really don't mind it at work. I have a really supportive work environment (the mother-baby floor!) and I usually watch videos of LO on my phone. It's kind of nice to be forced to take a break and relax by watching how adorable my child is and how quickly he's growing.  

cardiganmom

musiclover0007:

I'm the same. Right now I'm just focused on making the 6 month mark. At least I got bronze boobs lol. However, I would love to go for the gold. 

Bronze 3 months breast feeding
Silver 6 months
Silver with gold nipples 9 months
Gold 12 months
Platinum 18 months
Diamond 24 months+

I made it 6 weeks, no medal for me?

musiclover0007

cardiganmom:

musiclover0007:

I'm the same. Right now I'm just focused on making the 6 month mark. At least I got bronze boobs lol. However, I would love to go for the gold. 

Bronze 3 months breast feeding
Silver 6 months
Silver with gold nipples 9 months
Gold 12 months
Platinum 18 months
Diamond 24 months+

I made it 6 weeks, no medal for me?

Not that I know of but I could be wrong. I read about on anther post awhile back.