PUmping not working out anymore

[plantnerd]

My son is 9 months old, he nurses several times a day (and allllll night), and is eating table foods very well.

I stay home with him, so this is not often an issue. My mom likes to take him on Sundays to get her gg time and give us a break, and we are planning an overnight away from the baby next weekend.

I've finally used up my supply of expressed milk and pumping is worthless these past couple of weeks. It's like pulling teeth to get an ounce. I seriously pumped 6 times on Sunday and got 2 oz.

Soooo, we are going to have to
1. supplement with formula when we are seperated
2. supplement with cow's milk (he drinks maybe 1 oz a day out of a cup now with no issues)
3. skip the milks altogether and try food/juice to hold him over

I think the food only approach woul;d work on sundays, but I doubt he would put up with that for overnight.

What do ya'll think?

[LisaSedai]

I dunno... I thought they weren't supposed to have cow's milk till a year old?
If he's been doing ok with the cow's milk, I'd give him all four. Food,juice,milk and what ever you can pump.

[plantnerd]

Originally Posted by LisaSedai

I dunno... I thought they weren't supposed to have cow's milk till a year old?
If he's been doing ok with the cow's milk, I'd give him all four. Food,juice,milk and what ever you can pump.

We've been doing a little cows milk only for the last few weeks. D has been eating cheeses for a few months. and pedi said to give it a shot as he's so far a non-allergic baby (no family allergies either) and I want to avoid bottles if I can help it so I'm not trying to breast wean AND bottle wean.

[GoBecGo]

Would you take donor milk? Maybe someone over in Find your Tribe is local and can spare you a couple ounces. I wouldn't worry about the Sunday, but for the overnight i'd want to have some BM on hand, as it's a long time away from mama (most kids can hold out for a day no probs).

I'm currently pumping for a friend and i just did a nursing break (3 days in the house, taking fenugreek, milk thistle, o'd-ing on oats and nursing and/or pumping every 90mins) and i upped my supply a good bit, i am now pumping 5+oz/day AND feeding my baby fully. your baby is a lot older (mine's 15weeks) but it might be worth a go?

Another thought - have you checked your pump is still working well? Medela might be able to help, my friend emailed them about her pump not working and they sent replacements of all the replaceable parts and finally a new pump unit - it turned out her motor was wearing out after many months of service.

[Amy0417]

Originally Posted by plantnerd

My son is 9 months old, he nurses several times a day (and allllll night), and is eating table foods very well.

I stay home with him, so this is not often an issue. My mom likes to take him on Sundays to get her gg time and give us a break, and we are planning an overnight away from the baby next weekend.

I've finally used up my supply of expressed milk and pumping is worthless these past couple of weeks. It's like pulling teeth to get an ounce. I seriously pumped 6 times on Sunday and got 2 oz.

Soooo, we are going to have to
1. supplement with formula when we are seperated
2. supplement with cow's milk (he drinks maybe 1 oz a day out of a cup now with no issues)
3. skip the milks altogether and try food/juice to hold him over

I think the food only approach woul;d work on sundays, but I doubt he would put up with that for overnight.

What do ya'll think?

Your breasts might be used to his suck and the pump just isn't doing it. If you want to avoid formula and you'd like to rebuild a stash, I'd suggest renting a hospital grade pump like a Medela Symphony. Hospital grade pumps are much more efficient at getting milk out.

Your other options are taking a supp like Mother's Milk Plus by Mother love or any other lactation supporting herbs. Otherwise like a PP said- I would give him all of the things you listed.

How much cows milk does he usually get a day? If it's only a tiny bit I'd be worried about giving him more than he used to.

[Amy0417]

Like gobecgo said.. Medela can help you. If it's an older pump you can send it to them and they will give you a discount on a new pump. They will replace parts if they aren't working properly.

Does your motor sound good? Are you using the correct size flange? Are starting at a faster speed and then lowering it to a slower speed when let down occurs?

... just things to think about!