For mamas that pump while at work....

[rachandlily]

DD is 10.5 months old and has only had bm since birth. I pump while I'm work three days a week and she takes a bottle from dh and two grandmas on those days. All other times we nurse. I guess I'm thinking that once she hits a year I'd like to stop pumping and just nurse when I'm with her (before and after work those three days, during the night as we cosleep, and on demand on the days I'm home with her.

I'm wondering about the transition from pumping to not pumping and I guess I'm worried that if I stop pumping my supply will drop and she'll wean?? I really don't know much about this part of our nursing journey...any advice is appreciated.

[Teenytoona]

Well, everyone is different, but here's how it went for me. At about 11 months DD started drinking less and less breastmilk in bottles. DH said she just wasn't interested in it unless it was from the tap, she was eating solids well enough. So I cut the pumping session from 3 to 2 (for a week) to 1 (for the second week), and then none on the third week. I expected to feel uncomfortable and engorged, but I didn't, not even on Mondays after a weekend of nursing on demand. It was easier than I thought. DD nursed overnight and when we're home and on weekends. She's 22 months old now and still nursing about the same, though thankfully, she wakes about once at night now to nurse instead of all the time.

[pacificbliss]

This might not be a popular choice but we introduced cow's milk at a year. DS took right to it with no problems. He was also into solid foods so nutritionally he was ok. Since he was ok with cow's milk and solids I quit pumping. I had to relieve some pressure the first 2 days and then supply regulated so I made very little mid day but had plenty by the end of the work day, through the night and there was plenty in the morning. It did not cause DS to wean. My guess is after a couple of days your body will regulate. Good luck!

[Dov'sMom]

When DS hit a year I stopped pumping at work, mostly because I wanted my fertility back! I didn't really know if my supply dropped or not because DSs are both very aggressively fixated on nursing and have both continued nursing through pregnancies when I know my supply is near rock bottom.

But I do know that I started pumping again three months later for a friend and it only took a week or two to start pumping at the same rate (which was still not quite enough for a newborn because my 1 year old had been eating solids for a while before I stopped pumping).

[rachandlily]

Yeah, I already don't HAVE to pump as much, I'm just doing it to make sure she has enough for 2 bottles while I'm at work. But today for instance, I was working outside and couldn't pump until 1:30 p.m (for the first time since our last nursing at 6:30 a.m.), so I think I'm already starting to regulate. So, if I don't want to introduce cow's milk (which I'm not totally against I suppose), can she just have juice, water, and solids for 10 hours on the days while I'm gone? Do I have to wait until she's a year? I'm so confused by this whole business....

[Teenytoona]

Originally Posted by rachandlily

Yeah, I already don't HAVE to pump as much, I'm just doing it to make sure she has enough for 2 bottles while I'm at work. But today for instance, I was working outside and couldn't pump until 1:30 p.m (for the first time since our last nursing at 6:30 a.m.), so I think I'm already starting to regulate. So, if I don't want to introduce cow's milk (which I'm not totally against I suppose), can she just have juice, water, and solids for 10 hours on the days while I'm gone? Do I have to wait until she's a year? I'm so confused by this whole business....

Just follow her lead, I think she'll be fine. We did just water and solids for DD from 11 months. You're nursing when the two of you are together, she's getting plenty of momma's milk. We give DD cow's milk, she seems to like it sometimes and not like it other times (just like every other food we offer). You'll be fine! Remember she's still getting much more momma milk than your average baby.

[pacificbliss]

I think if she has taken to solids and gets complete nutrition over the course of the day it should be fine to quit pumping. DS got water and milk but not juice. How much breast milk had she been getting during that 10 hr stretch. If it was one small bottle my guess is you could sub in more solids and be fine.

[rachandlily]

She still seems to be in the "experimental" phase of eating solids, so I worry that she won't be getting enough solids to supplement bm if I cut down to 1 or zero bottles...I guess she'll probably start eating larger portions if she's hungry enough and isn't getting bottles? I can probably talk to my pediatrician about this also....he's very supporting of extended bfing, so he can probably help us through this too. I just was so worried today that I didn't feel uncomfortable after not pumping for 7 hours.. started freaking out that my supply was dropping...such a worrier. I've also been losing quite a bit of weight so I worry about whether that'll effect my supply.

[pacificbliss]

PS Congrats on pumping for this long! I don't know how you feel but I was proud of myself and felt like it was quite an accomplishment. I pumped in many airports and parking lots

[rachandlily]

Thank you! You too! Yes, I feel like it was a huge accomplishment and it would have been so easy to give up on it. I'm a geologist and work outdoors with male drilling crews a lot of days. Pumping was quite a committment and sometimes such a hassle...LOTS of pumping in my car in inclement weather days, covered in mud, etc. Oy! That's why I'm SO excited to be able to be done pumping and just enjoy our nursing relationship when we're together.

[lunarlady]

I pumped for my daughter until she was 11 1/2 months old. At that point, I hung up the horns and boy was I happy about it! I said I would make sure she had only breastmilk until one year of age, and at that point I had enough in the fridge to make it through her birthday. Pumping was a pain I was glad to be done with. I did have a couple of days where I was a little engorged, but I think my body figured it out in about 2 or three days.

Putting away the pump did not seem to affect my supply at all. My DD still nursed happily when we were together and is still nursing now at 3 years of age. I think after those first few months, your body sort of figures it out.

I took to putting water in her bottles instead, or sometimes water with a little rice cereal. She was fine with it. Good luck.

[mamanurs]

As background, my baby is 20 months old now and still nursing. I had the same concerns you do and I was afraid to put away the pump. I quit pumping during the day when my baby was 14 months. It did decrease my milk supply quite a bit; however, I am still able to nurse in the morning, nurse when I return from work in the evening and nurse before bed. It was so liberating to be able to use my lunch break for lunch! Once your child is over a year and you do not need provide your baby exclusively breastmilk, then you can give up the pump during the workday. One caveat is that if I travel I will pump. Good luck

[almadianna]

I stopped pumping at around 15 months at work for both babies. I didnt do it cold turkey, but I went from two pumping sessions, to one, to none. They would nurse before I would leave for work in the morning then at night when I would get home and all through the night (both of mine reverse cycled a great deal). It was fine and my supply did decrease but not so much that it was not possible for me to keep nursing.

[kcstar]

We reverse-cycled, and introduced solids about six months. DS loved the solids, so by about 8-9 months he could do solids during the day and milk in the evening and overnight. At 27 months we are still nursing.

[Breeder]

I ditched the pump after his first birthday. I started pumping less and less gradually around 10 months so that I didn't get a clogged duct or anything. I'm still making milk just fine almost 7 months later. Little man still nurses at night and naps.

[mbm]

I introduced cow's milk at about 11 months -- DD was eating all manner of solids by that point. My pumping output had been decreasing over time and, much as I would have liked to go all the way to one year, it was so, so stressful trying to squeeze out those few ounces on principle.

At 14 months she still nurses regularly upon waking and before bedtime (not naps). Once in a while she will nurse in the middle of the night.