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XP: Started back at work and pumping...need a pep talk

AJM796AJM796
in Working Moms

I started back at work and I am finding myself avoiding pumping like the plague. I really wanted to go to six months with feeding E, and she's 5 months now, but I really want to quit. I know this is the BF-ing board but how bad is it if I start her on formula now? I mean I know formula isn't horrible but I am really feeling guilty about all this.

If I were to wean, how do I do it? Can I still BF in the morning and night and not pump? I don't have a great supply and can barely pump her full bottles as it is. Gosh, I didn't think I would be so bummed about this but I really am. I want E to get the best but don't want to be miserable to pump (the place they have set up for me is practically in the open).

Help me not feel horrible...need the pep talk bad :-/

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Re: XP: Started back at work and pumping...need a pep talk

  • *sparky**sparky* member

    When I stopped pumping at work (because I hated it and I could not keep up with my DS either), I dropped one session one week and dropped the second one the next week.  I kept feeding him in the mornings and in the evenings for a while.

    He was getting bottled BM at DC, so when I transitioned to formula, I mixed formula and BM in his bottles and slowly increased the ratio of formula to get him used to it.  I had a freezer stash and I used up a lot of that when I was transitioning too.

    Babies do fine on formula - don't beat yourself up over it - especially if you are still going to BF twice a day. 

     

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  • eb2277eb2277

    I would say don't make any decisions when you are having a bad day. I went through a similar situation around 5 months but was bound and determined to make it to six months.  Six months came and went but around 7 months I was going crazy with pumping at work.  Two weeks ago I dropped one pump at work - going from three to two.  It has helped tremendiously.  Of course that meant that I had to start sending formula to day care.  What helped me get passed that was having my husband give her formula one Saturday when I had to be away from her.  It didn't bother her at all so I thought why am I beating myself up over this if she is okay with the formula.

    I only say this to warn you but then the first day I sent formula to day care, she threw it up all over.  But it has been going fine ever since.  She gets 1 -2 bottles of formula then the rest BM.  Then we nurse when we are together.  Like I said it has only been two weeks but I think this change will extend the time we BF because i wasn't ready to quit all together.  I just hate pumping!!  I almost feel relieved a little bit that I don't have to stress about how much I am pumping and/or how can I ever be apart from her if I don't have milk ready for her.  I am not sure how long I will keep up this schedule - she will be 8 months this weekend.  I think eventually we will get to the point of not pumping at work and nursing together for as long as my supply holds up.   

    I think people make you feel like you have to do full time nursing or full time formula.  I read somewhere (Kellymom) that nursing does not have to be full time and part time options do exist. 

    Working and pumping and nursing is not an easy job and you should be proud of what you have accomplished!  Keep it up and good luck in whatever decision you make. 

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  • skittles_123skittles_123 member

    Need a pep talk to convince you to not give up, or reassurance that your child will be okay on some formula during the day? Either way, you have to do what you think is best, and not let anyone try to discourage you either way (this is coming from someone who has BF/pumped for my ds, who had one bottle of formula day due to supply issues and did this for 12 months and have exclusively BF my dd-she goes to my work daycare and I can BF her since she is so close, she has never had a drop of formula, and hope to do that until she turns one next month).

    Of course BF is best, but you also have to consider your sanity and mental health. Your child needs a confident, happy mom more than she needs BM. Good luck with your decision.

    Now of course, don't rush into a decision because you had a bad day like the pp said. Think it over, give it some time, that way you won't sit back and regret your decision later.

     

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  • jellybean529jellybean529 member

    I remember those days so very clearly...I don't have my own private office, but I was fortunate that my company reserved an empty office for me. It resulted in me trekking over to an office 2-3 times a day, plus people asking me what I was doing over there (I'm a pretty private person so that was kind of embarrassing). I had planned on going until DD was 4 months, and I made it a week shy of that. I also EPd before returning to work (which was already a pain in the butt) and then supplemented after returning (DD refused to nurse) so by the time I hit that point, my supply was shot.

    However, like a PP said, don't make the decision on a bad day. Every time I hit a road block I'd tell myself that if I still felt that way in a week, I could quit. And when I did, that's when I quit.

    And don't feel bad if you decide to switch to formula either. It isn't poison :) DD has been healthy and happy and so far has hit her milestones well ahead of the curve, despite being on formula since just before 4 months. You just have to do what's right for you...a happy mom = a happy baby.

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  • jellybelly03jellybelly03 member
    Can you do something intermediate, like pump 1x per day?  That will keep your supply up somewhat so that you can keep feeding morning and evening (if you want to).  Plus, I found that I got almost as much pumping for one long session as I did pumping for 2-3 shorter sessions.  But whatever you do, don't beat yourself up.  I wanted to make it 1 year and ran out of breastmilk literally at like 51 weeks, so we supplemented with formula for a few weeks and transitioned him onto regular milk.  He did totally fine and now, looking back, I wonder why I was so stressed about giving ebm.  Good luck!!!!
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  • flyer23flyer23 member

    Don't feel horrible! Pumping is hard! I did manage to pump at work for DD all the way until 1 year old, when we started transitioning her to regular milk... but I hated it. Seriously, I'm not even pregnant, but the thing that I dread the most about having another baby is having to pump at work again. I'm not even 100% sure that I will; I may just pump as much as I can, whatever that is, and supplement the rest. And I am a huge breastfeeding advocate, so trust me when I say it's OK if you don't want to pump!

    You can definitely BF AM/PM and not pump. The longer you can pump at least a little, the better it will be for your supply... but if you're just done, that's OK too. My daughter and I have been nursing AM/PM now for about 10 months. Of course, she was much older when we started, so my supply was firmly established and her needs were smaller, but we're doing fine with it. The key is to be consistent -- it'll be easy to say, "Eh, we're going out with friends, I don't want to hassle with nursing. Let's just give a bottle instead." But that will hurt your supply over time.

    There's lots of great information on partial weaning here: https://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/weaning-partial.html

    Good luck! Please don't feel horrible, no matter what you do -- as long as you're feeding her something, she'll be fine! Remember, only something like 20% of babies are still breastfed (and I think that includes partial breastfeeding) at 6 months of age, so you've given your daughter an amazing start already!

    Mommy to DD1 (June 2007), DS (January 2010), DD2 (July 2012), and The Next One (EDD 3/31/2015)

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