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Giving up before ready

Carmen101613Carmen101613 member
in Breastfeeding
Is anyone else giving up before they are ready? Any advice would be good! LO is 5 mo and was EBF until he was 4mo. I work, and couldn't keep up with him so we intro some formula last month.

I absolutely love BFing, I hate pumping. I'm going to have to stop BFing for various reason:

1. I'm a business owner of a private practice. I'm the only female of child bearing age and I'm not pulling my weight because of the pumping.

2. Pumping is hard to fit into my day.

3. My supply is dwindling despite all of my efforts to enhance it- more milk plus caps, SNS, lots of water, Gatorade , more pumping. I'm so frustrated because one day I will feel like these things are helping, and i get 4-5 oz in 20 min, the next day I'm back to pumping 3oz or less in that time. LO drinks 6oz or sometimes more.

4. We have a vacation coming up away from LO for almost a week. I cannot believe I agreed to this. A long time friend of ours is getting married. I know that being away for that long likely means that he will start rejecting the breast. I also don't want to pump every 3 hours while we are at the beach. Nor do I want to transport the milk back home- or worse, dump it.

So this means that I am reaching the end of breastfeeding. I'm so ready to be done pumping, but I don't feel ready to stop breast feeding. I know there is no going back when I start taking steps to stop, and I'm so nervous about that. I find feeding my LO to be really special and I'm really sad that it's coming to an end. I wish that I could feed him and not pump, but I know with my supply issues that is not an option.

I guess I just wanted to write my feelings down and see if there is anyone else out there in a similar predicament.
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Re: Giving up before ready

  • ILMommaILMomma member
    edited March 2014
    1: You have a right to feed your child. Nobody should make you feel guilty for that, nor should you make yourself feel guilty.

    2: Yes pumping is hard and pretty damn annoying but totally worth it if it means continuing the breastfeeding.

    3: You are pumping a normal amount. It sounds like you are over feeding your LO. My 7 month eats 4 maybe 4.5 oz every 2-3 hours.

    4: I would bet that your LO would still take the breast after your trip.

    Also, supplementing is only going to hurt your supply. Honestly, it just sounds like your over it and that is totally fine. You gave it a good 5 months and did what you could. Don't beat yourself up.
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  • BootsOrHeartsBootsOrHearts member
    If it helps I have a hands free pumping bra and I work while I pump. Is there desk work you can do on your pump breaks so you don't feel like you are missing out on work? You gotta do what is best for you so stop BFing if you want to but understand its a decision that is difficult or impossible to reverse. Are you really ready?
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  • cinderincinderin member
    I spent many a day, night, week, month... Crying because I wanted to bf but felt like I was failing. It took a lot of effort and guts to get to where we are (DS is almost 8 months old and bf).

    If it is important to you, you show it through your actions.

    It sounds to me like you are ready to be done.

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  • Carmen101613Carmen101613 member
    But I'm not ready to be completely done. It makes me really sad actually. Do think I could start to wean off, but maintain maybe 2 feedings? That way he is still getting some BM, we still get that special time, and I'm not a slave to my pump? Is that even possible?
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  • ILoveRunningILoveRunning member
    Carmen101613 said:
    But I'm not ready to be completely done. It makes me really sad actually. Do think I could start to wean off, but maintain maybe 2 feedings? That way he is still getting some BM, we still get that special time, and I'm not a slave to my pump? Is that even possible?
    You can try.  It worked for me, but my son was 18 months when I did it and did not rely on my BM as a major source of nutrition.  I imagine that he was getting 2-3 ounces during each nursing session.  If you are set on no longer pumping, then I would give this a try rather than giving up all together.  If it works, then you can enjoy your BFing relationship while no longer dealing with your pump.

    FYI, for your trip, you will have to bring your pump and pump the same number of times a day as you plan on nursing.
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