Possible to not pump for 8 month old?

aveeh · October 2014

I have an 8 month old daughter and work full time. I've been pumping 2-3x a day since she was 5 months and I went back to work.

My normal day is nursing at 6, pump at 8, 12, 2, and back home to nurse at 5 and 7. I am a teacher, so my pumping times are right before school, during lunch, and during my plan period. The schedule isn't flexible since I obviously have students the rest of the time. I started very vigilant about keeping my 3 pumps but as the school year has settled in I've skipped a pump here and there because of a meeting or emergency sub situation...just something I felt I couldn't miss even though I know technically and legally I have the right to. I'd say my norm is now twice a day, always lunch and either the before school or afternoon.

At this point I feel like I need my lunch back to talk to my coworkers. We've had staffing and student issues like crazy so far this year and lunch is the one time that we can't have meetings scheduled for us so we can just sit and talk about what is going on and what needs to happen. I feel very isolated and like pumping is hurting my ability to be a good teacher and cooperate with my coworkers and work with the kids. The problem is that lunch is the middle of the day pump that I have never skipped.

I want to get my lunch back but I also want to keep nursing on the weekends and at night. I know people commonly do that with toddlers but is it possible to do that with an 8 month old?

Any experience would be great to hear!

JulyMumma · October 2014

Are you open to being a combo feeder? This line really struck me:

"I feel very isolated and like pumping is hurting my ability to be a good teacher and cooperate with my coworkers and work with the kids."

Maybe combo feeding would be easier and give you the time you need? Just a thought.

mommatotwo2 · October 2014

At 8 months I changed jobs and had no real place to pump and didn't feel right about taking 3 breaks while training, and I dropped to two pumps. It definitely had an effect on supply, not immediately, but with a month I'd lost at least 4 to 6 of my 12 to 14 ounces. I had to start relying on my tiny freezer stash and squeeze in pumps at night and we just barely barely made it to our year goal, at which point I stopped pumping completely and we are successfully at 16 months, still nursing nightly and then in demand in weekends with plenty of supply.

I think you could possibly get away with two pumps a day once or twice a week to allow you lunch with your colleagues and possibly add an evening session in those days without seeing a huge supply dip, but it is unfortunately different for everyone. Just 4 months longer, I know it seems far, but it'll go fast! Don't forget you will have a big chunk of time off at the holidays too!

Lena122 · October 2014

Could you do before school and 2 pm pump? There are days that I go about 5-6 hours between pumps and I make out okay. At 8 months I wouldn't drop both afternoon pumps every day. Too risky if you want to keep your supply up.

73jewels · October 2014

Like you, I typically only pumped 2 X per day and as work got crazier I had trouble finding time for that second pump. I waited a bit longer than you, but at just under 10 months I went down to 1 pump per day, and that lasted about 2 weeks, then I stopped pumping all together.

It has only been 2 weeks, but we still BF morning and night and on weekends without problem. However, I also have never had any problems regulating when things changed (like sleep through the night, missed feeds, etc.), so I don't know if that helps. I do (now) feed him formula during the day since my stash is long gone.

When I did make the decision, I knew I had to be "ok" with the fact that I might have problems, and we might have to stop BF all together. I am hoping I am able to continue for a few months, but if not, I know this is what was best for us.

flcl · October 2014

OP: Thanks for your questions. My LO is about a month younger than yours and I'm still pumping 3x/day (2x at work and 1x before I go to bed.) I've also been wondering about when I'm able to start dropping my pump sessions. While I love my BF relationship, pumping is just no fun. When we first started out, I just wanted to give BF a go and see how things went. As each month passes, I'm hopeful we'll make it to the 1-yr mark, if not longer.

The question is, what's your goal? Is BF working for you and your LO (besides feeling like you're missing out by missing lunch)? Like @mommatotwo2 suggested, maybe you can switch one of your pumping sessions to the evening to help keep your supply up.

aveeh · October 2014

Thanks for all the advice and experience ladies. I think I will try the 2 pumps in the morning and afternoon and try skipping lunch. The other two were the ones I would skip from time to time, but if I make more of an effort to definitely do those I think I will be okay.

I actually already to combo feed. I've never been a good pumper, only get like 4 oz a session so we've been combo feeding for a few months already. I know my supply when she nurses is a lot higher so hopefully that won't change too much.

Thank you, I know I don't want to stop bf so hearing some of the not successful stories really did help.

mommatotwo2 · October 2014

For the record, 4 ounces a session is completely normal. Baby should take approximately one ounce per hour that you're away, so if you were getting 12 oz a day, that should cover your typical work day and commute. Ultimately you have to do what's right for you and your family, but I didn't want you to think that's low supply. Good luck to you!

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