When to stop pumping at work?

[Linzie2]

DS is 15 months old.

I work 2 evenings one week, then 4 evenings the next week; alternating like that. I leave for work at 230 and come home around midnight. DS is sleeping by then.

When I went back @ 3 months, I'd pump right before I left and then 3 times during my shift. At this point, I try to get him to nurse well before I leave and then I pump once in the middle of my shift.

Pumping is so not a fun task and I'd like to dispense with it ASAP! Just wondered if it would mess things up?? If I were at home during that time frame he'd probably nurse 1 or 2 mini sessions in the early afternoon and a longer one at bedtime.

I don't need to pump for milk while I'm away, in fact I've got a ton in the freezer that DS doesn't like in a cup with meals but will drink warm in a bottle from daddy.

I think that the answer is that I should just keep pumping for a while longer. If I don't pump at work, and DS sleeps for awhile (yeah right ) at night then it could potentially be 12 hours or more between nursings. Doing this 4 eves. a week could be detrimental, right? I just really, really hate pumping! I guess I'm looking for some input, maybe be able to 'set a date' so I can stand it that much longer! Any input would be greatly appreciated!

[Linzie2]

Just wanted to add that with DD she was 18 mos. old when I got pregnant and I was pumping 1 or 2 times a night then. After I announced my pregnancy a month and a half later then I quit pumping.

No pregnancy planned for the immediate future!

[Baby_Cakes]

If I were in your sitch, I'd pump at least once during my shift to keep my milk up. Twice if I thought that I'd be really late and that LO would sleep through the night.
I too hate pumping and would LOVE to put mine away. But, I want to keep nursing more than I hate pumping, so until I'm comfortable w/her getting an alternate milk, just have to keep on going.

[justKate]

Originally Posted by Linzie2

Pumping is so not a fun task and I'd like to dispense with it ASAP! Just wondered if it would mess things up?? If I were at home during that time frame he'd probably nurse 1 or 2 mini sessions in the early afternoon and a longer one at bedtime.

I think that the answer is that I should just keep pumping for a while longer. If I don't pump at work, and DS sleeps for awhile (yeah right ) at night then it could potentially be 12 hours or more between nursings. Doing this 4 eves. a week could be detrimental, right? I just really, really hate pumping! I guess I'm looking for some input, maybe be able to 'set a date' so I can stand it that much longer! Any input would be greatly appreciated!

No advice, but lots of I'm only at 8 months and asking myself the same questions, so give yourself a pat on the back for getting so far! No matter what you decide you've given your little one a wonderful gift.

[Linzie2]

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes

If I were in your sitch, I'd pump at least once during my shift to keep my milk up. Twice if I thought that I'd be really late and that LO would sleep through the night.
I too hate pumping and would LOVE to put mine away. But, I want to keep nursing more than I hate pumping, so until I'm comfortable w/her getting an alternate milk, just have to keep on going.

Yeah, this is what I thought, don't really know why I posted. Support I guess. Pumping once is fine, it gives me flexibility in time and I don't have to get many bottles cleaned. Now pumping three times was a hassle....but important, I know!

It was much easier to decide last time b/c I was pregnant....guess I'll just play it by ear for awhile.

[Katyajoy]

I pumped till my daughter was about 9 months, she is 15 months now and still nurses some when I am with her but she can go awhile without it. When she wants to nurse she will pull my shirt up but it is not ALL the time, best of luck to you. Pumping is a BIG commitment and really not a FUN thing to do, but we know what is best for our babies

[LisaN]

I pumped 3 times a day until ds was about 10 months and then twice a day until about 14 months. Then I realized that I did not have enough milk to satisfy him in the evening, and we were giving him a bottle of ricemilk after nursing. For what? I stopped pumping altogether. He gets rice milk during the day and when we are together at night and in the morning, we now nurse directly. I don't like to go more than 12 hours though or things get uncomfortable. At least they did. I'm preggers now and milk supply is down to a trickle forcing us to supplement with rice milk even when I'm there. On one hand it breaks my heart, on the other hand, part of me is looking forward to weaning. Wish I could explain better.

You could always try not pumping on a 2 day week and see how it goes.

[Baby_Cakes]

I recently dropped a pumping session at work and feel so free. I now pump twice - right before we leave in the morning, and once around 2 pm. I'm still able to leave one 6 oz bottle of breastmilk and 4 or 5 oz bottle of breastmilk for her during the day. I'm slowly working w/my MIL to phase out that smaller bottle. She also is now getting a sippy cup w/soymilk to drink w/her lunch and in the afternoon. So far, so good.

[rcr]

I quit pumping at just over a year old. No supply problems for me. DS still nurses a lot and he is almost 2. I still have a freezer full of milk, even after donating the second entire freezer full to an adopted baby.

[hotharmony]

At this point your milk supply is established enought that you could wean from the pump and still have plenty of milk for you LO when you are together. Even if you LO wants to nurse on the days you are off work during the times you don't pump he will be able to get some milk.

[Baby_Cakes]

Nora has officially dropped down to just 1 bottle during the day w/her DCP. MIL uses that bottle to get her to take her nap midday. I'm still pumping so that I can give her this bottle, not so much for my supply.

I'm just not "ready" to give her a bottle w/anything other than breastmilk. I know a lot of other mamas switch their babies to cows/goats/soy/rice milk but I just *can't*. I know it's not as good for her as mama's milk and I have incredible guilt over it. :-(

She does get a sippy w/water or soymilk but that's more for hydration than anything else. Am I being insane? Why do I worry so much about this?

[caemommy]

I stopped pumping at work when my DD was 13 months old. She is now 35 months and nursing well! It really renewed our breastfeeding relationship when I was able to put the pump away. I didn't mind nursing, but was really hating the pumping. I would pump when I went out of town for work (did that until she was two) From two years on, I didn't pump even if I was away for several days. Upon my arrival home, she has always started nursing again, and getting milk back.

[PiePie]

i pumped 3 x a day until 12 mos. then gradually reduced to once a day. stayed at once a day until 16.5 mos. i had the same fears you had re it messing up nursing when i was not at work. no problems there! she is nursing a lot at age 2.

[RoViMama]

I stopped pumping with both DDs at 1 yr. I did give DD whole milk after that when I was not home but as long as your child is getting his calcium and hydration needs met, they don't need anything else. DD makes up for missed sessions when I get home. I couple times I have worked late and DD was already in bed and STTN. When I woke up, I was sore but my body adjusted. If you do not have supply issues, I don't see a proble stopping pumping. I do have a hand pump at home just in case.
Sue

[RRfromR]

at 16 months I stopped pumping

[monkey-lamb]

My DD is 14 months old. Once her demand dropped from 20 oz to 15 oz a day, I continued pumping 3 times a day at work because I was so afraid her demand might shoot back up and I wouldn't have enough milk. I had great supply and was freezing a ton of milk each week.

Then all of the sudden, she would drink all 15 oz and her nanny would have to thaw 5-10 more oz for her. So, I picked the 3rd pumping session back up, but I can still only get around 15 oz even with the added session.

This increase in demand may not last forever, and I do have a freezer stash, but knowing I am not pumping the same amount of milk she is consuming each day is really scary for me. So, I don't have any advice per se. I just wanted to share my similar experience. Draw your own conclusions.

[Baby_Cakes]

Originally Posted by monkey-lamb

My DD is 14 months old. Once her demand dropped from 20 oz to 15 oz a day, I continued pumping 3 times a day at work because I was so afraid her demand might shoot back up and I wouldn't have enough milk. I had great supply and was freezing a ton of milk each week.

Then all of the sudden, she would drink all 15 oz and her nanny would have to thaw 5-10 more oz for her. So, I picked the 3rd pumping session back up, but I can still only get around 15 oz even with the added session.

This increase in demand may not last forever, and I do have a freezer stash, but knowing I am not pumping the same amount of milk she is consuming each day is really scary for me. So, I don't have any advice per se. I just wanted to share my similar experience. Draw your own conclusions.

I just want to say wow, that is a ton of milk! Especially with a 14 mo old! You are a milk making MACHINE!

It's always scary and hits me weird when all of a sudden, I'm not pumping the same amount that I was. It usually happens the week before AF comes, but every month I panic.

[Skippy918]

I stopped pumping around 11 months because I had 1200oz in the freezer. He's 15 months now and I nurse him when I get home from work and before he goes to bed. He gets a sippy of EBM in the morning since I leave before he wakes up. Pumping was a lot of work, but it was worth it.

[tigermiep]

I have had the same question, as DS is 11 months, and I am only able to pump 1x while at work (I leave at 7:45 and get home at 1:30). I have never been a great producer for the pump, and my freezer stash from this summer is down from 60 oz to around 12. Most days, I am able to get around 7 to 8 oz total from pumping before I leave plus the at work session, and DS eats a lot of solids, but I am getting really tired of the stress of worrying whether he has enough milk while I'm gone. it's been like this since I went back to work last spring. I'm a teacher, and last year I had 2 sessions at work and 1 at home, and struggled to leave 12 oz for him (I worked a longer day last spring). I can't even imagine having enough milk to donate or even to leave for him without stress. Probably, after he's a year, we'll see how it goes with other milks, and maybe drop the before work pump.

sorry to hijack the thread.

[2lilsweetfoxes]

My baby is 7 months old. I stopped pumping at work a couple months ago (although we moved to where we are 5 minutes away from my office) and just pump before PT and nurse directly when I'm home for breakfast and for lunch. Between the two-three bottles I get early morning (depends on whether she'd nursed right before the pumping session) and solids and direct nursing, she does pretty well.

For my oldest, I went back to work when she was 14 months old. I never pumped, but continued breastfeeding her for 5 more months. I would have gone longer, but was bullied into weaning due to my pregnancy with my second.