BFing/pumping moms - question re: dropping pumping

southmiamiwifejen · May 2010

Hi ladies...sorry I haven't been around lately. I've been swamped with work, the big move (we finally closed on our new home last week and moved out of our condo this past weekend), and the fact that Emma's baptism is on Saturday. Anyway, I hope to be back to regular Bumping when all the craziness passes...

I have a question for working moms who breastfed and pumped at work regarding gradually dropping pumping. In the last few weeks, I've been having a really hard time keeping up with Emma's milk intake, even despite starting her on solids about a week and a half ago. The pedi had me increase the amount of milk she gets per bottle, and even if I pump 2 or 3 times while I'm at work, I'm still barely breaking even with what she consumes while I'm gone. It's stressful for me to pump at work because the way my schedule is, I need to bill X amount of hours a day/week, so the faster I finish my work, the faster I can go home to my baby. I hate having to stop what I'm doing to get ready for pumping, actually pump, and then get everything cleaned up several times throughout the day (the process usually takes me a total of 20 minutes or so, so it's basically an entire hour of my day wasted that I could be at home). Needless to say, I really don't see myself being able to keep up with pumping at the rate necessary to sustain Emma until she is ready for cow's milk. As much as I would love to continue to offer her breastmilk exclusively, it's just not gonna happen and I know I'll have to supplement with formula at some point. I'm ready for that to happen sooner rather than later to just take the pressure off myself with the pumping.

Having said all of that...I do want to keep breastfeeding her whenever I'm home in the afternoons/evenings and over the weekends. So my goal is to start supplementing her with bottles of formula during the day while I'm at work and gradually wean myself off the pumping without a) getting a clogged duct or mastits or b) losing my supply all together. I know, because I was told by a lactation consultant and because I know other women who've done it, that this is possible...I'm just not sure how to go about it. Should I just cut down on one pumping session per work day for a few weeks at a time until my breasts get used to producing less? Anything else I can do to prevent engorgement or other clogging issues?

Anyway, I'd just love to hear any experience that you could share about doing something like this. My biggest fear is that I will dry up completely...I really want to be able to nurse her until her first birthday. So any tips on how I can keep my supply but still get off the pump would be great. Sorry this was so long-winded (the usual for me haha). Thanks ladies!

Albah · May 2010

It is completely understandable Jen! Pumping at work is not an easy feat and takes time! The biggest recommendation I can give you is to go slow! I did the big mistake and tried to go a bit faster than I could, and I got clogged ducts. What I would do is choose 1 pumping session at a time and don't stop it cold turkey. Decrease the number of minutes you pump gradually. i.e. let's say you pump from 12-12:20. For the first 3-4 days pump 15 minutes, then decrease gradually. Your body will tell you if you are going too fast or not. When you bring that session down to 0, then you work on the next session. Just a warning though, if you stop the day sessions, you will not produce much during the day so breastfeeding during the weekend will be very hard and you will just produce more and predispose to clogged ducts during the week. But it is completely possible to still BF at night and morning as long as you continue either BFing or pumping at those particular times on a daily basis. Good luck Jen and if you need anything let me know!

JennLovesJason · May 2010

Hi Jen. I haven't really posted much at all since i had my baby but this has been my experience with pumping. I ended up being an exclusive pumper due to low supply and was pumping about every 2 hours to try to increase my supply to keep up with my baby. Eventually I started making more and this schedule became exhausting so I wanted to stretch out my pumping sessions. What I did was just increase the time I waited to pump again a little bit each time until I was able to drop a session completely. For example, lets say you nurse at 6am, pump at 9, 12, and 3 while at work, and then nurse again at 6. I would pump at 9:30, 12:30, and 3:30 for about a week or so, and then increase to 10 and 2 and nurse at 6 only pumping twice at work instead of 3 times and continue that until you drop all or as many of the pumps as you want. I now go at least 4 hours between pumps and since I exclusively pump I know for sure that my supply has not been affected at all because at the end of the day I have pumped the same amount as I was when I was pumping every two hours. During the pumping session though, I still pump until I am empty each time with the hopes that my body would replace all of it again. I don't know what would happen to your supply when you started going a full day at work without pumping but this is what worked for me and maybe you will find it more bearable if you only havve to pump once or something. I know its been a big relief for me! Good luck!

doris03 · May 2010

Albah:

It is completely understandable Jen! Pumping at work is not an easy feat and takes time! The biggest recommendation I can give you is to go slow! I did the big mistake and tried to go a bit faster than I could, and I got clogged ducts. What I would do is choose 1 pumping session at a time and don't stop it cold turkey. Decrease the number of minutes you pump gradually. i.e. let's say you pump from 12-12:20. For the first 3-4 days pump 15 minutes, then decrease gradually. Your body will tell you if you are going too fast or not. When you bring that session down to 0, then you work on the next session. Just a warning though, if you stop the day sessions, you will not produce much during the day so breastfeeding during the weekend will be very hard and you will just produce more and predispose to clogged ducts during the week. But it is completely possible to still BF at night and morning as long as you continue either BFing or pumping at those particular times on a daily basis. Good luck Jen and if you need anything let me know!

This exactly!

I was pumping twice at work when I first went back and after 3 months it was too stressful - I started cutting down the time I spent pumping at each session, then I cut one out completely and then the 2nd. I still had enough to nurse him at his last night feeding and then on the weekends I also would do his first morning feeding. Then about a month ago I stopped the morning weekend feedings and continued with the nightly one. Good luck :-)

mrsjessnjorge · May 2010

I was going to ask a similar question as soon as I had a chance. We are planning a week long trip when Nico is 10.5 months old (he will not be going). I do not have any problems now keeping up with his demands while pumping at work an dI don't suspect any other issues coming up. However, I think it will be almost impossible to pump 6 times a day while I'm on vacation (I'm not always going to be somewhere I can plug in my pump). Plus I don't think I will have enough frozen milk for every one of his feeding for that week. So, this brings me to the agonizing (for me at least) decision that I will have to start weaning a little bit earlier than planned. By the time of our vacation, I want to have stopped pumping during the day and only nurse him in the morning and night. That way I only have to pump 2x a day while I'm on vacation and still hopefully be able to make it to his first birthday with some nursing. I'm curious to read the responses to your post Jen!

mrsjessnjorge · May 2010

doris03:
Albah:

It is completely understandable Jen! Pumping at work is not an easy feat and takes time! The biggest recommendation I can give you is to go slow! I did the big mistake and tried to go a bit faster than I could, and I got clogged ducts. What I would do is choose 1 pumping session at a time and don't stop it cold turkey. Decrease the number of minutes you pump gradually. i.e. let's say you pump from 12-12:20. For the first 3-4 days pump 15 minutes, then decrease gradually. Your body will tell you if you are going too fast or not. When you bring that session down to 0, then you work on the next session. Just a warning though, if you stop the day sessions, you will not produce much during the day so breastfeeding during the weekend will be very hard and you will just produce more and predispose to clogged ducts during the week. But it is completely possible to still BF at night and morning as long as you continue either BFing or pumping at those particular times on a daily basis. Good luck Jen and if you need anything let me know!

This exactly!

I was pumping twice at work when I first went back and after 3 months it was too stressful - I started cutting down the time I spent pumping at each session, then I cut one out completely and then the 2nd. I still had enough to nurse him at his last night feeding and then on the weekends I also would do his first morning feeding. Then about a month ago I stopped the morning weekend feedings and continued with the nightly one. Good luck :-)

Doris and Albah- How long would you think it will take me to stop pumping all together?- Right now I'm pumping 3 times a day for 20 minutes each while I'm at work and then I pump one extra time before I go to bed (after I nurse Nico) also for 20 minutes. This pumping output usually goes to freezer stash. I want to cut out all pumping by mid August and only be nursing morning and night)- that is 3 months away. I want to go as slow as possible cutting down. Should I start already? I also don't want to find that I somehow affect my supply too much and then I find that I don't have enough to nurse him. I don't know whyt this is such a dilema for me. I guess I just really hate that I'm changing my plans for a trip. I really don't have any other reasons to start weaning so early. I'm feeling selfish.

Albah · May 2010

It's not easy to be BFing or pumping on vacation so I can see why you would want to wean a bit prior. I went to Mexico last summer and was still BFing so I know it's not very convenient! But to be honest, if you want to continue pumping despite the trip then it's worth to go through the trouble since you don't want to regret it later. But, if you do decide it is time and you want to stop, you have plenty of time to do so! It took me about 1.5 months to completely stop. So if you want to go extra slow you have some leeway and start sooner. Everyone's body is different so it may take someone more or less depending on their supply. I had a very good supply so when I finally stopped pumping during the day, it did not affect my morning and night feedings which I did continue for a while longer. Good luck Jess! I know the process can be stressful, I definitely felt it as well. But do know that I found it to be a bit easier than expected.

Something I forgot to mention earlier, once I was done weaning the day pumping and I was ready to wean off BFing in the morning and evenings, I found it to be easier to start feeding the baby the breastmilk out of a bottle during those times and just pump enough milk to feel comfortable. The problem I found with trying to wean with actual nursing is that milk supply is increased much more easily than with pumping. You have control over the pump, so this made things easier.

doris03 · May 2010

MrsJessNJorge:
doris03:
Albah:

It is completely understandable Jen! Pumping at work is not an easy feat and takes time! The biggest recommendation I can give you is to go slow! I did the big mistake and tried to go a bit faster than I could, and I got clogged ducts. What I would do is choose 1 pumping session at a time and don't stop it cold turkey. Decrease the number of minutes you pump gradually. i.e. let's say you pump from 12-12:20. For the first 3-4 days pump 15 minutes, then decrease gradually. Your body will tell you if you are going too fast or not. When you bring that session down to 0, then you work on the next session. Just a warning though, if you stop the day sessions, you will not produce much during the day so breastfeeding during the weekend will be very hard and you will just produce more and predispose to clogged ducts during the week. But it is completely possible to still BF at night and morning as long as you continue either BFing or pumping at those particular times on a daily basis. Good luck Jen and if you need anything let me know!

This exactly!

I was pumping twice at work when I first went back and after 3 months it was too stressful - I started cutting down the time I spent pumping at each session, then I cut one out completely and then the 2nd. I still had enough to nurse him at his last night feeding and then on the weekends I also would do his first morning feeding. Then about a month ago I stopped the morning weekend feedings and continued with the nightly one. Good luck :-)

Doris and Albah- How long would you think it will take me to stop pumping all together?- Right now I'm pumping 3 times a day for 20 minutes each while I'm at work and then I pump one extra time before I go to bed (after I nurse Nico) also for 20 minutes. This pumping output usually goes to freezer stash. I want to cut out all pumping by mid August and only be nursing morning and night)- that is 3 months away. I want to go as slow as possible cutting down. Should I start already? I also don't want to find that I somehow affect my supply too much and then I find that I don't have enough to nurse him. I don't know whyt this is such a dilema for me. I guess I just really hate that I'm changing my plans for a trip. I really don't have any other reasons to start weaning so early. I'm feeling selfish.

I'd say it will probably take about a month or so.

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BFing/pumping moms - question re: dropping pumping

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