Weaning from EPing

EricaLee2013 · February 2014

And....

I finally made it to six months, EPing since LO was two weeks, and I'm ready to say good bye to the mother trucking pump. Does anybody have advice for stopping? I'm pumping five times a day, yielding around 35oz a day. I'm not sure if it would be best to drop pumps or amount of time I pump at each session. What if I just pumped when I feel engorged and only pump for relief? I don't know what to do, any advice is appreciated!

sftbllstr87 · February 2014

No advice here, I'm also saying goodbye, to bfing. I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that my body isn't producing enough anymore. But My goal was 6 months, so I am proud of myself! I am cutting out a pump (while at work) and 2 feedings a day (when not at work) replacing them with BM from my freezer stash, when I know my boobs won't hurt too bad I'm gonna remove another pump/feeding and so on til he's only taking bottles, the pedi gave us tons of samples of similac for supplementing so we will start to introduce those once the freezer stash is low.
Congrats momma! 6 months attached to a pump is a long time!

EricaLee2013 · February 2014

sftbllstr87 said:

No advice here, I'm also saying goodbye, to bfing. I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that my body isn't producing enough anymore. But My goal was 6 months, so I am proud of myself! I am cutting out a pump (while at work) and 2 feedings a day (when not at work) replacing them with BM from my freezer stash, when I know my boobs won't hurt too bad I'm gonna remove another pump/feeding and so on til he's only taking bottles, the pedi gave us tons of samples of similac for supplementing so we will start to introduce those once the freezer stash is low. Congrats momma! 6 months attached to a pump is a long time!

Thank you! It's a hard and emotional decision but I know it's for the better. Good for you, too, for reaching your goal!

CupcakecutieRN · February 2014

I am having a hard time coming to terms with stoping EPing. I made it to 6 months but I'm not really producing as much as I used to. And my nipples are raw. I keep getting blisters and cracked nipples. I also only have about 3 weeks of milk frozen. My ped suggested starting to supplement so Emma isn't just shocked by the formula. I will def be following this board for tips and support

EricaLee2013 · February 2014

CupcakecutieRN said:
I am having a hard time coming to terms with stoping EPing. I made it to 6 months but I'm not really producing as much as I used to. And my nipples are raw. I keep getting blisters and cracked nipples. I also only have about 3 weeks of milk frozen. My ped suggested starting to supplement so Emma isn't just shocked by the formula. I will def be following this board for tips and support

Everything associated with breastfeeding or pumping is an emotional roller coaster! I feel guilty because my supply is good and I keep tricking myself into thinking it's not THAT hard to keep pumping. But the truth is that I'm sick and tired of pumping, it's taking a huge toll on me and I want it to end. Mommy guilt is getting me as I'm typing this out! I know my LO will take formula just fine and I did a great job with feeding her only BM for so long. We are doing an amazing job!!!

NikkiD522 · February 2014

Emotional roller coaster is an understatement! As for weaning, we are taking the extreme slow route lol, but I basically replaced one feeding at a time with formula- now we're 50/50 bm/formula. As for EPing, my friend weaned by just dropping a pumping at a time.. A new one once she wasn't feeling engorged and then when she was down to 1-2 pumps, she would just pump to help engorgement. It definitely regulates pretty quickly. I recently dropped another feeding and my boobs only got engorged like a day or two and now I'm all good.

Good luck!

[Deleted User] · February 2014

Lurking from another board. I was an EPer for 6 months and weaned last month. There is little info that I found on how to do it. I have felt the same way as you. It is hard and emotional to come to a decision to stop. I worried about it for weeks. I was pumping 2x a day for the past months. I had great supply. First you need to cut out a pump a day for several days. They suggest night and then daytime. Since I was onlt pumping twice a day I cut down the amount I pumped. I would normally get 10 ozs total I cut the amount to 5 ozs. I did this for several days. Then every couple of days it would be an oz less and so on. Then I cut out a pump and finally I stopped and only hand expressed when really needed. Then I was done. It took several more days until they stopped producing milk and leaking. Now that I am done I feel so much better emotionally.
I do mix formula and bm together so that DD gets used to it. It may take a couple of formulas to try to find one they like. The plus side is formula is way easier to transport. You have all done a great job providing for your LOs. There is no need to feel guilty. I was for weeks and now I look back and think that there was no need. Good Luck. If you have questions let me know.

mz-n-ss · February 2014

I EPed with my son. Basically I slowly dropped one session at a time. It took about a month for me to be done, but I think my body was ready for it. Congrats on making it so far! Pumping and breastfeeding is hard!

EricaLee2013 · February 2014

@joanna2004 and @NikkiD522, when you switched over how much formula did you feed? I'm going to give her a couple bottles of formula a day but have no idea how big to make the bottles. She currently drinks 4.5 oz bottles of BM and totals around 30 oz a day. Would I just continue with the same amount or increase?? Thanks!

CupcakecutieRN · February 2014

EricaLee2013 said:

CupcakecutieRN said:
I am having a hard time coming to terms with stoping EPing. I made it to 6 months but I'm not really producing as much as I used to. And my nipples are raw. I keep getting blisters and cracked nipples. I also only have about 3 weeks of milk frozen. My ped suggested starting to supplement so Emma isn't just shocked by the formula. I will def be following this board for tips and support
Everything associated with breastfeeding or pumping is an emotional roller coaster! I feel guilty because my supply is good and I keep tricking myself into thinking it's not THAT hard to keep pumping. But the truth is that I'm sick and tired of pumping, it's taking a huge toll on me and I want it to end. Mommy guilt is getting me as I'm typing this out! I know my LO will take formula just fine and I did a great job with feeding her only BM for so long. We are doing an amazing job!!!

We are. I know I shouldn't feel guilty. I think it's mostly still associated with not being able to bf (lo's issues, not mine). I am so tired of pumping. I spent a total 20 hours a week pumping.

elvbri · February 2014

No advice here but I want to commend and congratulate you all for making it to your "goal." I was pumping, nursing and taking fenugreek and my supply only lasted 4 months. I was devastated and still am pretty heartbroken about it. It's hard not to feel as though I've let my son down. I will do things differently with baby #2. I am truly happy for all you ladies and can't wait to start this new chapter of introducing solids to our LO's!! Hope the weaning goes well process goes we'll, Party it up!!!

[Deleted User] · February 2014

@ericalee2013 I do half and half bottles. I feed her how much she wants to eat whenever she is hungry. Since I am using my freezer stash I end up feeding her mostly bm still but sometimes she gets only formula bottles.

raesue22 · February 2014

mz-n-ss said:
I EPed with my son. Basically I slowly dropped one session at a time. It took about a month for me to be done, but I think my body was ready for it. Congrats on making it so far! Pumping and breastfeeding is hard!

This exactly! I'm an EPer too and currently weaning as well. LO will be six months next week and I've been dropping one session a day over the last few weeks. I should be done in another week or two. Congrats on getting to your goal momma!

NikkiD522 · February 2014

EricaLee2013 said:
@joanna2004 and @NikkiD522, when you switched over how much formula did you feed? I'm going to give her a couple bottles of formula a day but have no idea how big to make the bottles. She currently drinks 4.5 oz bottles of BM and totals around 30 oz a day. Would I just continue with the same amount or increase?? Thanks!

We've been doing the same amount as breastmilk... No increase in the formula. I know they say formula fed babies normally need more quantity, so I would just start with the same size bottle and see how LO does for a few days.. Maybe even weeks. We just recently added an extra ounce.. But it's tough to explain why.. I just felt like he needed just a bit more. Not sure how helpful that is at all .. Sorry :-)

EricaLee2013 · February 2014

NikkiD522 said:

EricaLee2013 said:
@joanna2004 and @NikkiD522, when you switched over how much formula did you feed? I'm going to give her a couple bottles of formula a day but have no idea how big to make the bottles. She currently drinks 4.5 oz bottles of BM and totals around 30 oz a day. Would I just continue with the same amount or increase?? Thanks!
We've been doing the same amount as breastmilk... No increase in the formula. I know they say formula fed babies normally need more quantity, so I would just start with the same size bottle and see how LO does for a few days.. Maybe even weeks. We just recently added an extra ounce.. But it's tough to explain why.. I just felt like he needed just a bit more. Not sure how helpful that is at all .. Sorry :-)

Somehow, that logic makes perfect sense to me! I will use the same amount to start and use my mommy senses to determine if she needs more. Thanks!

Want a personalized experience?

Weaning from EPing

Re: Weaning from EPing

Choose Another Board

Search Boards