Who's still pumping?

jlsimon56 · August 2012

I can't let go of it. I am scared that if I don't pump at work, that I won't have "enough" to satisfy LO on weekends. She still nurses a lot. I do not want to stop nursing, so I don't want to stop pumping. Irrational? Maybe.

Who else is still pumping, and why?

If you recently stopped, why? And how was it?

boogerbearoriginal · August 2012

Sadly me. I was hoping to hang up the horns at the one year point but I tried one day and ouch. I was not comfortable at the end of the day. I am scared to stop because I don't want clogged ducts or mastitis.

I'm pumping at lunchtime only, hopefully by the end of the month I can drop that session. We shall see. But once a day down from the 4x a day is a big improvement.

FWIW I don't think it's irrational, it's hard to switch our mindset from "pump whenever the baby eats" to skipping. I've heard a lot of women stop at 1yr and are fine for weekends. But I can certainly understand keeping it up. Have you been dropping any pumping sessions?

jlsimon56 · August 2012

Yes. I am down to 2, from 5 (4x at work, 1x at my bedtime). I also thought I'd be done at 1yr, even before!

I don't see my LO before work since I leave the house at 5 and she's still sleeping. So I pump kind of when I get to work - I've been pushing this one later and later.....currently my booked timeslot is 7:30-8. LO goes to bed at 8 so that's 12 hours later. Do you nurse your LO before work?

Then I pump again around 12:30 or 1. I have the room booked 1-1:30 but no one has it from noon-1 so sometimes I go in a bit early. So that's 5 hours later.

Then I nurse LO at 4pm when I get her from daycare, and again before bed ~7:30.

She's taking three 3oz bottles at daycare. Today I pumped 12oz (6.5 and 5.5).

What do you think I should do, based on this insane amount of info?

I also want to nurse her at least through another winter. She got RSV last year and ugh. I was glad to have that nursing/comfort for her.

Thanks!

boogerbearoriginal · August 2012

jlsimon56:
Yes. I am down to 2, from 5 (4x at work, 1x at my bedtime). I also thought I'd be done at 1yr, even before!
I don't see my LO before work since I leave the house at 5 and she's still sleeping. So I pump kind of when I get to work - I've been pushing this one later and later.....currently my booked timeslot is 7:30-8. LO goes to bed at 8 so that's 12 hours later. Do you nurse your LO before work?
Then I pump again around 12:30 or 1. I have the room booked 1-1:30 but no one has it from noon-1 so sometimes I go in a bit early. So that's 5 hours later.
Then I nurse LO at 4pm when I get her from daycare, and again before bed ~7:30.
She's taking three 3oz bottles at daycare. Today I pumped 12oz (6.5 and 5.5).
What do you think I should do, based on this insane amount of info?
I also want to nurse her at least through another winter. She got RSV last year and ugh. I was glad to have that nursing/comfort for her.
Thanks!

LOL I have no idea - but I know if I wasn't nursing before leaving I'd definitely need to pump before work. Does she nurse overnight? I've heard that is a big help in maintaining supply when quitting pumping at work. Probably I would keep pumping, especially since she doesn't nurse before you leave (btw you are up super early!)

DS will nurse when he wakes up, at ~6:30a, and then again when I get home at 5p so a little less than 12hrs. But I am always quite full even with the noon pumping.

I guess it just depends on how much pumping is a pain/or not for you. If it's NBD I'd just keep it up for now and change it if it becomes an issue. I also like the idea of keeping nursing especially through next winter to help with illness. Plus my LO is so attached to nursing I cannot imagine it would be fun to force weaning at this point.

Pretty much I'm in the same boat lol so if nothing else I can commiserate!

AmandaP678 · August 2012

I only do if I have to.

Instead of going cold turkey try holding off as long as you can between pump sessions and decrease the volume you pump. It might take while but it's not as painful

Teresa1896 · August 2012

I quit as soon as DD turned 1. My supply had been dropping steadily so I dropped a session a week and didn't notice any fullness,etc. I assume my body is just winding down on its own. DD has lost interest and will only nurse consistently when she wakes up in the morning. Otherwise, she bites me most of the time.

ETA. For me it's been more of a mental adjustment than a physical one. I was so used to taking scheduled breaks and thinking of my schedule in terms of "but when can I pump?" that it was hard to get out of that mindset. Now I try to go for a walk or something instead.

LyndseyLC · August 2012

I am! I pump once on my lunch break at work. Although when I work 7-1 I just nurse her as soon as we get home. So I do go about 8 hours then without pumping/nursing. I have no freezer stash, so I pump one bag for the next day.

I feel a little embarrassed that I still need to pump at work..

ETA: She still nurses a lot too. For ever it was about every 2 hours but its maybe 3-4 hours now..I really dont keep track..

SunnyMuffin · August 2012

I don't, my LO won't take a bottle so it's a waste of my time

CABeachMom11 · August 2012

I just stopped pumping at work last week and it has been fine. I am definitely more full in the evenings, but its not painful. I stopped once I knew that LO would drink WCM for his bottles at daycare. About a few months ago I dropped to one pump session at work, and was only pumping 7-8 oz so I would just add WCM to his bottles to make it enough, eventually I decreased the amount of BM in his bottles so now he is fine w/out it. Good luck and dont stress to much about it.

boogerbearoriginal · August 2012

randomosity:
I tried sometime in June and barely pumped out an ounce So I had to quit due to low supply. But I'm still nursing when I can!

FWIW your pumping output isn't a reliable or accurate indicator of what you're producing. Some people, myself included, simply don't respond well to the pump. And often if you just randomly pump you will not get anything since your body isn't "trained" to let-down for the pump.

But I'm glad to hear you're still nursing

aliska · August 2012

I'm pumping as I type. K is still taking 10oz a day at day care. She's had the runs for 3 weeks (not sure why), so I don't want to try cow's milk until she is back to "normal" (I'm worried it might be dairy though...ugh). She has always been slow to start food, so it has just been in the last month that she is even eating regular meals (refused a spoon from us and would throw food). My original goal was to wean from the pump at a year, but now I'm hoping at 18 months.

s00z · August 2012

Today was the first day I didn't bring my pump to work! Yay!

We have been slowly weaning to just morning and bedtime feedings, so the amount of pumping I was doing coincided with that. I wouldn't have stopped pumping if I was still breastfeeding during the day on the weekends. I would have had the same concerns as you.

ksulli · August 2012

It was a great day when I quit. I'd been slowing down for a long time because I used to over produce, but day one without packing all the equipment was freeing. I still pump if I miss a wakeup/bedtime nursing session, but otherwise she's on WCM.

Props to you for keeping at it!

kitkat145 · August 2012

I still pump 3 times per day. I pump for the same reason you listed: irrationally afraid I won't have enough when we are together. I used to pump 4 times and dropped to 3 at 1 year. I produce 8-11 ounces per day and dd drinks it all at daycare. We haven't tried wcm yet so I don't know how she'd respond to it. I have about 200 ounces in my stash and I don't know when I will stop pumping. Glad to know I'm not alone!

boogerbearoriginal · August 2012

randomosity:
Booger+Bear:
randomosity:
I tried sometime in June and barely pumped out an ounce So I had to quit due to low supply. But I'm still nursing when I can!
FWIW your pumping output isn't a reliable or accurate indicator of what you're producing. Some people, myself included, simply don't respond well to the pump. And often if you just randomly pump you will not get anything since your body isn't "trained" to let-down for the pump.
But I'm glad to hear you're still nursing

Yeah, I know But my supply is definitely low due to me not nursing very much! (2-3x a day) I used to pump out several ounces a session a few months ago so I figure it's normal due to where we're at! But it just doesn't seem worth it to pump when I'm only getting 1 oz out each time lol

Ah that makes sense, although you may be surprised at how much LO is getting in those few sessions. But I wouldn't bother pumping for 1ounce either lol.

I am truly looking forward to the day I can quit the pump and not feel horridly engorged.

katiewhompus · August 2012

I quit when I got out for summer (work at a high school) and am not doing it again when I go back in a week. I'm a little worried about DD on the weekends since she currently nurses at least twice during the work time, but I have a good stash.

I got so much crap from coworkers about pumping last year, that it's just not worth dealing with it for another year. I am tempted to use my pump bag as my briefcase/lunchbox and just go read for 30 minutes to screw with them (my boss told me I should do this lol)

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