Well, I'm taking the plunge. ?Today is my last 4 pump day--tomorrow I go down to 3 pumps per day! ?I'm worried my supply will take a major hit but I've also decided that for my own sanity I have to drop a pump. ?My goal is to make it to 1 year of breastmilk for Scottie but if I fall short, I'm OK with that. ?It's only about 3 1/2 months to go and my freezer stash would last (I think) about 4-6 weeks. ?
Yesterday and today are transitional days (stretching out time between pumps). ?Wish me luck and send all the anti-clog vibes you can my way. ?I'm looking forward to having some more freedom in my day!!!
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Re: please send anti-clog vibes my way
Hoping for no clogged ducts!
And once again - you're AMAZING for EP for this long. I don't think there's any way I could/would have done that. Big time KUDOS to you!?
Good luck!!! Didn't it go pretty well the last time you dropped a pump? I hope it goes smoothly for you - no clogged ducts! I'm only nursing Liam 6 times a day now (one side per feeding - so the same as 3 pumps a day). I can't tell if my supply has dipped or not, but I guess it's supposed to at this stage once they're eating so much solid food.
You have done such an awesome job pumping for him for this long - anything you get now is just icing on the cake for him!
Yes, the last drop went fairly smoothly but this one is a bigger jump--essentially going 7 1/2 hours between pumps during the day and then 9 hours overnight. ?I just get nervous since I'm so susceptible to clogs to have milk sitting in my breasts that long. ?But so far so good! ?
The solid food issue is also what makes me nervous. ?Yes, he's supposed?to be needing less milk b/c he's eating solids but we're still working on the solids issue. ?Last night he completely melted down but tonight he ate mashed potatoes and some mashed bananas--woohoo!!! At the pedi on Friday they said he weighs enough now that we can really push the solids and not offer milk first anymore. ?They also said it's OK to withhold the milk for about 30 min after a solids meltdown so he won't learn to just fuss and then get the bottle. ?Thank goodness we can start pushing the issue now! I just know he'll never learn until we start being a bit more hard core about the issue.
Thanks for all the encouraging words everyone!?