Mamas of older babies who pumped at work - ? for you!

[Baby_Cakes]

How old was your DC when you were able to stop pumping at work? I'm wondering when I will be able to nurse DD in the morning, have solids hold her throughout the day, and then nurse all night. She is obviously too young now, but I'm thinking it's somewhere around 15 months? What was your experience?

We have a wonderful nursing relationship, I pump enough milk for her while I'm WOH, but I'm just curious as to when solids start making up more of her daily food. FWIW, I only WOH 3 days a week from 9-5.

Maybe I'll X post in Bf'ing.

TIA!

[roxemama]

DD is 15 months and I am still pumping once a day. I think I'll pump until 18 months because she is drinking 5 oz a day which is what I pump while at work. It's still nice to take a break. I tried to stop pumping a couple weeks ago and had a problem with a plugged milk duct so I started back again. Now I don't mind as much because I almost gave it up.

[gabry]

With ds1 I quit pumping at work at about 12 months (gradually reduced number of pumping sessions) and he kept nursing til he was almost three. (ds2 was a whole different story, quit nursing early for various reasons)

[Seasons]

I pumped until she was 2yo,* at which point we moved to just nursing IMMEDIATELY upon daycare pickup (right there at daycare), then bedtime, midnight/early morning, and at daycare dropoff in the morning. After another 3-6months we moved to just bedtime/wakeup nursing, and that lasted almost two years. HTH.

*I celebrated the end of my pumping! I despised it. Diligently did it, but ugh!

[lawschoolmama]

I was going to try to pump until DD turned 2, but over time, my supply at the pump (although not evidently at the breast) was dropping, and DD was happily drinking organic whole milk while I was at work--so it just seemed like my boby and baby were telling me it was time to stop! So, I pumped until she was 17.5 months old. By that time, I was only pumping like 2 oz in one pumping session a day, and it was being mixed with her cereal. Now, we nurse in the morning before work (sometimes once, sometimes twice), right when I get home, at bedtime, and then a couple times during the night (we co-sleep). She eats plenty of solids and some whole milk while I'm at work. And we tend to nurse more on the weekends when we're together all day, and she never complains about my supply (except when AF comes--ugh). HTH!

[jeliphish]

12 months

[PiePie]

stopped pumping during the work day at 16.5 mos. nursing still going strong at 22 mos., no supply problems.

[nina_yyc]

I stopped at 18mos. I pumped and supplemented with organic whole milk from the time I started working at 12mo and after 18mo I was no longer worried about DD weaning too early. I wanted to BF until at least 2yo and I knew DD was interested enough that a little bit less milk wouldn't be the end. She started eating tons of solids as soon as she was at daycare all day so I knew she was well nourished. DD is still nursing at 2.5.

[Elecampane]

I stopped pumping at 14 months and we are still nursing around the clock at not-quite-3.

[Baby_Cakes]

Thanks for all these positive stories!
Right now DD is just shy of 9 months. I'm figuring at around 12 months, depending on her solids intake, we'll start by dropping 1 of her 3 bottles that she gets while I work, letting her eat more solids. Is this what you guys did? Eventually, dropping all bottles (or giving bm in a sippy cup)?

[ShwarmaQueen]

10 months.

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

I was pretty much "pumped out" by the time she turned 1. Meaning that I was still pumping but getting very little results. So I stopped pumping and she switched to cows milk for daytime milk needs. However, we continued to nurse until she was about 3 1/2. For about a year after I stopped pumping we would nurse when I got home from work, at bedtime and first thing in the morning. On weekends and days when I didn't work she would often nurse mid-morning and mid-afternoon as well. We dropped daytime nursing at about 2 or 2 1/2 and just did bedtime and mornings until after she was 3. Unfortunately we had to wean suddenly at that point because I had a systemic poisen oak infection that resulted in open sores on my breasts and it just wasn't possible to continue. Otherwise, I'm not sure when we would have stopped.

I confess I was very glad to stop pumping, but also glad that it didn't end our nursing relationship at all.

[almadianna]

I have been pumping for almost 3 years straight... it gets exhausting after a while.

WIth my first I became pregnant at around 11 months so I had to keep it up to keep up my supply. My second is 11 months old and I think that I will stop when he is roughly 15-18 mos depending on how he is doing with solids. We we still nurse until he is 18 years old I am sure but we can do that at home...

[starlightsound]

DS is just over 1 year. I pumped 2x a day at my 9-5 job until he was about 10 months and loving lots of solids, then began pumping just once. I'm still getting about 6-8 oz from the one pumping session (pumping both boobs at once), and DS still loves nursing whenever we're together.

Our nursing schedule is pretty consistent: nurse in the morning pre-sitter, then once immediately when I get home, after dinner, then nurse down at night, and a couple of times during the night (not really awake enough to count), then a good nurse about 4-5am, then repeat.

HTH!

[Eben'sMama]

I have a flexible schedule and usually try to be home for naptime so I won't have to pump. Occasionally, though, on a busy, busy day, I still pump--maybe once every few months. DS will be 2 next month. He still nurses 2-3x per night, sometimes more--it's the only thing that seems to help his teething. I can go 5-6 hours without nursing or pumping, but that's about it before I start getting engorged, tingly and milk-brained.

[MacKinnon]

I stopped at 12 months and we are still nursing at almost 2 1/2. Until about 2 we nursed in the AM, nursed as soon as I got to the sitters after work, then again when we got home, and before bed (and often over night a couple times). Around 2 I stopped offering at the sitters and now it's just bedtime and morning time.

[PiePie]

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes

Thanks for all these positive stories!
Right now DD is just shy of 9 months. I'm figuring at around 12 months, depending on her solids intake, we'll start by dropping 1 of her 3 bottles that she gets while I work, letting her eat more solids. Is this what you guys did? Eventually, dropping all bottles (or giving bm in a sippy cup)?

i gave her just EBM to drink at sch until 16.5 mos., when i stopped pumping but still had a stash. at 18 mos. i asked them to give her cows milk except for pre-nap. so we didn't go cold turkey. but it would have been fine if we had.

[Elismum]

13 mos. And then nursed 2-3 times before and after work for a couple months. We've pretty much stopped nursing all together now which is a little sad and not my plan but that's the way it worked out.

[lorijds]

I worked 12 hour shifts. I stopped pumping around 10-12 months, I think. DH would bring her up during lunch for me to nurse, so that helped. We nursed until she was two. I had so much milk and such a great supply, I could have nursed 10 babies without pumping to keep my supply.

When our frozen EBM milk ran out after I stopped pumping, dd just drank whole, fortified soy milk with a tablespoon of black strap molasses added. She also drank watered down juices and whole milk, and she ate finger foods. But when I was home, she'd just nurse and nurse. When we weaned, she was still nursing every two hours or more frequently. She's 11 years old and grazes all day, sometimes even gets up during the night to eat. It's just how she's wired, I guess.

[Baby_Cakes]

Originally Posted by lorijds

When our frozen EBM milk ran out after I stopped pumping, dd just drank whole, fortified soy milk with a tablespoon of black strap molasses added.

Oh, thanks for this! This is really helpful. We don't want DD to have cow's milk since we avoid all animal products, and I worry what to give her during once my frozen stash runs out. That is a huge concern of mine, so thanks for that info.