Weaning from the Pump ? (Long and rambly - sorry!)
I have read a few articles on this on kellymom and LLL's website, but since my work schedule is so unique, I thought I might ask some of you seasoned bf-ing moms your thoughts on this dilemma.
For several reasons, (including diminishing supply), I want to break up with my pump in the worst way. But I still want to nurse DS when I'm not working/sleeping, and have decided to supplement with formula while he's at daycare or while DH is watching him at night. Trouble is, my work schedule looks something like this: work 2 days, off 2 days, work 3 days, off 2 days, etc... (and when I say "work 2 days", this means I work all night, sleep all day).
I do (will) see and nurse DS every morning, whether I've just gotten off work or I was off the night before. So basically, I would nurse every morning, and also all day/evening when I'm off, which is every 2-3 days. But when I'm working, I want to get to where I don't pump at work at all anymore. I would be okay with pumping once when I wake up in the late afternoon, before going to work, but other than that - I really want to be done with pumping at work. It's just so incredibly hard. (I'm also completely over having to pump before I can go to bed on my nights off.)
So I will (hopefully) get to the point to where I don't pump at all after about 4pm. Only on my nights off (every 2-3 nights for a couple nights) would I nurse in the evenings after 4pm, but only up until 8pm. But then won't express any milk again until I nurse him at 7am, whether I work the night before or not.
Any thoughts on whether this will actually work? Will continuing nursing all day/evening on my days off keep my supply up enough that I'll be uncomfortable and engorged through the night when I'm working? Or will my not pumping at night at all anymore decrease my supply so much that even with trying to nurse all day on my days off, DS won't get enough bm and I'll need to supplement with formula those days too? And would you recommend, to keep it consistent, that even on my nights off, I don't express milk after 4pm and just give him formula in the evenings those days too?
I realize this is completely confusing, and kudos and thank you if you're able to follow it. And thanks even more if you can help me sort out some of this confusion. I've been trying to wrap my brain around how this can work, and right now it's the end of my shift and my brain is mush so any light you can shed will be most appreciated!
Re: Weaning from the Pump ? (Long and rambly - sorry!)
How many times do you pump at work? When I weaned off the pump, I started by eliminating one session and changing my pumping times. I did that for a week or two and then eliminated another, etc until all were gone. I took it slow so that I wouldn't be too engorged, etc. I was able to continue to BF morning and night, but just eliminated the daytime sessions.
I would think you should be fine. However, I think that the idea of having one nursing session every couple days after 4 pm may not work well. I would leave the first pump session after 4 as the last one you eliminate. Then as you eliminate that one, you can see how it goes w/ bfing and see if you need to fully supplement after 4 pm or if your body can adjust ok.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that. I've been pumping 3x during my 12-hr shift, generally every 3.5 - 4 hours. I did decide to wean by doing what you described, and last night I only pumped twice, about 4.5 hours apart (with a pumping before work, and nursing after when I got home). I plan to eliminate another session either this weekend or next week, then the last one about a week after that, like you said.
When 3 Became 4