Pumping struggles at 1 yr, when/how to offer other milks?

[MEcatlady17]

My DD is 11 months old.  For the past month I have struggled to pump enough milk for her while at the babysitter's house.  I work 3 days a week.  When she is with me she only nurses and eats solids (no bottles) and still nurses 1-3 times a night.  I try to pump at least once on days I do not work and 2-3 times on Mondays before I return to my 3 day work week.  I have used a lot of milk from my freezer stash :(  I started off with oversupply and could pump so easily, but never got into a pumping routine and only pumped until I had what I needed for the next day of work  (....if I could go back and do it all again I would pump, pump, pump right from the first month or so.  And rather than single pump when returning to work (could pump a whole bottle on one side as I always just nursed one side at a time), I would double pump and not worry about stimulating even more milk.  I long for the days that I sprayed milk everywhere ALL.THE. TIME.  :)  ).  I wish I had anticipated that my pumping output would eventually decrease as my supply regulated, but I can't turn back time.... My DD took to solids with gusto at 6 months, AF soon returned, and I have a hard time pumping as frequently as I need to at work.  Now I can typically only pump .5-1 ounce per side for a total of 1-2 ounces each session.  I feel for moms who never are able to pump more than this.  I pump before work, aim for 2 times at work (sometimes I only get 1 pumping session in...no space when in office, drive a lot and do visits in people's home....), pump when I get home, and pump 1-2 times before bed.  In the 5-6 sessions I am still falling short lately of the 9-10 ounces she drinks at the babysitters.  Since becoming established on solids she takes just 3 3-3.5 ounce bottles.  I talked to the sitter about cutting to 2 four ounce bottles, but she thinks that DD needs the bottles when waking from her naps and would really miss it.  I tend to agree, DD does like to nurse when she wakes up from her nap.  She is moving to only 2 naps at the sitter's and I am hoping to limit bottles to those times. 

All that being said, I am considering offering a BM substitute after she turns 1.  She is an amazing eater, what every parent dreams of.  She is not a big baby, really petite, so it is shocking how much food she will eat.  She has a very healthy and well rounded diet.  I am not sure how I feel about cow's milk.  If we do offer cow's milk it will only be organic and I would not want her to drink too much of it.  Can anyone point me in the direction of choosing what milks to offer a 1 year old in addition to BM?  I feel like rice milk is pretty devoid of nutrients, have concerns for too much processed soy products (she already eats tofu, edamame occasionally, and we eat some soy based veggie 'meats' occasionally (though she hasn't tried any yet, but will eventually be eating it too). 

I would like to continue to pump and offer her what I can for at least the next 4-6 months.  I plan to nurse her at least until she is 2 and do not want to hurt my supply.  While I am having pumping problems, she does not complain about my supply when nursing, I hear her gulping, feel a strong let down, and she still nurses on only 1 side unless she is really fussy or I've just pumped and I encourage her to drink the other side.  When do you think I could stop pumping at work without hurting my supply?  I could still pump at home to for the extra stimulation, even if I don't extract much milk.

I don't like the idea of putting other milks in a bottle, but don't want to take the 'sucking' time away before she is ready.  I am hoping to pump enough for her to have 2 bottles of expressed BM (3 or 4 ounces each) and then offer a cup of another milk after her lunch.  Does this sounds reasonable?  I am so proud to have nursed and pumped for her for a year without other drinks aside from 1-2 ounces of water a day with her lunch.  She hasn't even had juice and I want to make sure that whatever I offer her in place of BM is good for her and not just a filler.

Thanks for taking the time to read through this and TIA for your responses!

[plantnerd]

I had a similar situation starting around 10 months.  I was not working more than one day a week, but I also had "girls night" once a week.  I was not able to pump much after about 8 months and by then my freezer stash ran out.  I began offering formula in bottles for separations longer then 4 hours.  My son is also a great eater, but he likes the comfort of sucking as well as the milk.  He had no problems with the formula and has never had a problem on the breast since we introduced it.  I chose formula because I felt it was the most complete nutritional substitute when I was not around to nurse.  I know some people have very strong feelings regarding formula, but to me this was a situation where it can be a good thing.  To me cows milk is just not as nutritious for an infant, and at this age baby is still getting a lot of nourishment from milk/nursing.

[CheriK]

As long as your baby is still nursing frequently when you're together, and eating healthy complementary solids, she won't miss out on nutrients if you replace her EBM with a breastmilk substitute.  Typically after a year, cow's milk is recommended, but that's just our society.  Formula has added nutrients (which won't hurt her, but she doesn't need either, and the high iron content can be irritating to young GI tracts).  At this point, it's just a food, not really replacing breastmilk.  I do agree that there are problems with other "milk" substitutes - rice milk is basically flavored water, concerns over long-term effects of high soy consumption.  I don't know much about almond milk.  Is there a reason for your family to avoid cow's milk, like allergies or desire to avoid animal products?  It seems like the easiest choice, and the fat content in whole cow's milk is higher than other milk substitues. 

As far as the suckling, she's still getting plenty of breastfeeding which is what is really important for jaw/facial development (bottle is actually harmful in this regard) and for meeting her sucking needs.  I think gradually replacing those bottles with a sippy cup of whatever - water, cow's milk, etc. - is a good plan.  Many nursing toddlers and preschoolers drink and eat a wide range of food when Mom's not available and continue to nurse for a long time!

It sounds like you're pumping a LOT.  That can't be much fun.  Are there sessions where you get more milk than others?  Maybe work toward eliminating the less productive sessions.  If your supply gets lower, your nursling will nurse it back up to her desired level.  Also, have you tried nursing on one side and pumping on the other?  She'll stimulate a let-down and you will probably get more milk.  And it sounds like you're single pumping - with a manual pump?  Do you have a double electric pump?  With a hands-free kit, you could pump while driving (yes, odd, but it saves time).  Could you borrow a pump for a few months if you don't have one, assuming you're aware of and okay with the possible concerns with used pumps (http://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/LV/LVJunJul04p54.html).  Or if you have a second manual pump, could you double-pump with two?  Even try hand expression; with my twins, I eventually stopped being able to let down for the electric pump and switched to hand expression.

Also, if she really enjoys the bottles, what about slowly reducing the amount of milk in each bottle so she's only getting a couple of ounces?  That would really reduce the stress on you to pump more milk.  And as her daycare provider phases out the third bottle, you'll end up only needing 4-5 ounces a day.  Plus, eventually she'll give up her two naps (I wish any of my kids had taken 2 naps at 11 months. . . and 3 naps?!? None of my kids EVER did that!!), which will eliminate another bottle.

Since you're only working part-time, you can probably start to phase out pumping over the next few months without it impacting supply.  With my twins, I pumped until they were two, but that was simply due to my own comfort.  They weren't interested in my milk in a sippy cup and had stopped getting bottles by then (Daddy was caregiver, they never napped well if I wasn't there to nurse them to sleep, and they didn't ask for a bottle unless he attempted a nap).  With my current nursling, now 2, I had a similar situation with oversupply and a HUGE freezer stash.  I stopped pumping at work sometime just after a year.  We still have milk in the freezer, but she never took more than a couple of ounces in a bottle, and now only asks for a bottle if she wants DH to rock her to sleep.  The twins nursed forever and I don't expect DD2 to stop anytime in the near future!  And we did introduce cow's milk at around a year, but they never had anything but EBM in bottles.

[MEcatlady17]

Thanks for the responses.

Formula isn't a something I think she needs at this point.  I will definitely make it to a year with enough BM for her.  I still have 100 ounces in the freezer, so even if I use 10 ounces a week I have a couple of months worth frozen if I don't cut down her bottles until she is a year.  I had hoped to hold onto that stash for down the road when I don't pump or can't, or if she weans early so I could continue to provide her with BM.

When I say she is a good eater I mean it!  She eats more than any 11 month old I know. Beans, whole grains, every fruit and veggie we offer, some meats.  I am not opposed to dairy all together, and DD does get some organic yogurt and cheese now. 

I think I will probably offer her some organic whole milk after her 1 year check up.  Her health care provider is very holistically minded and can help me decide how much dairy is ok.  If I give her 3oz of whole milk at the babysitter's, 3 days a week, that seems like a pretty benign amount of milk to me.

I do have a double electric pump, and Ameda Purely yours.  I used it as a single early on and occasionally now when I want extra suction or to pump the opposite side she nurses on.  I've never really been able to pump while nursing...I am just too short (4'11") and there is no room for the pump and DD, let alone to lean forward and hold onto the baby.

DD nurses 6-9 times a day including her nighttime feedings.  When she goes to the sitter she takes 3 bottles and also nurses in the AM, pick up or supper time, before bed, and through the night so still 5-6 times on top of her bottles.  I think she will take plenty of BM and not need much cow milk until she nurses much less.  I definitely don't want to give her too much cow's milk and have her fill up on that rather than all the good foods she eats and nursing.

If I can just get to the point where I only have to pump a couple of times a day I will gladly continue to pump until she is much older.  Right now I feel like I am pumping all the time and for such a little bit of milk.

[Ravin]

I quit pumping for DD at daycare when she was 13 mo. We went with goat's milk while she was away from me. It's easier to digest than cow's. She still nursed plenty when I wasn't at school, and it was a lot easier on me to not pump.

[Schae]

How about Goats Milk?

I went back to work when ds1 was 11 months, we bf'd in morning and at night. If he wanted milk during the day, his nanny offered him organic cow's milk.

[Annie21]

It was great to ready your posting, because I am in a very similar position. My DS is one year old, and goes to day-care 5 days a week. He usually drinks 3 four once bottles a day, and I am mostly able to keep up with this through pumping at work, but I don't have enough to ever leave him when I'm not working (though, to be honest, I am selfish with my non-work time and love to just spend it with him!).

Have you started to give her two bottles a day instead of three? How has that worked? I want to make sure I'm meeting his nutritional needs -

Thank you!
 

[motherhendoula]

When my son was 1 i stopped giving him formula (we weaned early at 9 months)  in lieu of breastmilk OR formula i used oat milk, almond milk, rice milk - whatever was on sale that week.  I was anti- dairy, i think it contributed to my kids having many many ear infections.  He was also a terrific eater and i think its important to remember that these LO's are getting so much of their nutritional needs met during meal time.  PLUS your LO is still getting breastmilk - so if one bottle a day was rice milk or something sort of not fully packed with nutrition, its not like it would hurt - and it would extend your stash of frozen BM.

Also - have you seen hemp milk?  My LO is only 4 mo old so i am not facing this decision just yet - but again, i am going to avoid dairy for the first two - three years.

[MEcatlady17]

I definitely would like to conserve as much of my freezer stash as I can for after  I am unable to pump much or at all.

I haven't cut her bottles down yet.  Because of the holidays I've been able to stop in and nurse her or pick her up early a few times to help take the pressure off pumping enough.  I talked it over with her babysitter- a close family friend really.  We both agreed that having 2 bottles would be important to DD right now and she would save them for after her morning and afternoon nap.  After she turns 1 and I have her 12 month WCC I will introduce another milk at lunch in a cup.  I am going to look into goat's milk.  I am leaning towards organic cows milk as it will only be a few ounces 3 days a week and when she is with me she nurses throughout the day so I wouldn't be giving her any milk in a cup, just water.  Her health care provider is fantastic, so I know I can have a great discussion with her on what milk to introduce at that time.  I am thinking that this week I will switch to the 2 bottles of BM.  Probably 4 ounces.  If I pump more than that I will send it for her cup at lunch to get her in the habit of a cup of milk at lunch.  I notice that even when she is with me she can go hours without nursing.  DH had her Friday and I only expected to be gone a couple of hours- turned into over 4. Ugh.  She didn't complain or ask for milk at all, and she even took a nap.  I think that the hard part will be changing up her routine at the sitter's.  Nutritionally I think she will be fine with less pumped milk

.

[averlee]

I think going to cow's milk, or another animal milk, would be ok. Many moms like goat milk, in other parts of the world people drink milk from sheep, deer, camels, yaks, etc. Also, there are many non-dairy milk products available now. Besides soy, rice, or almond, there's hemp seed milk, oat milk, many more, just check out the soy milk asile at the health food store. 

At about a year, putting anything in a bottle isn't really recommended.Cow's milk, juice, water, any other beverage should be in a cup. I think bottles of breastmilk past 1 yr are probably ok, but even then, many people would recommend a cup instead.

[plantnerd]

Originally Posted by averlee 

I think going to cow's milk, or another animal milk, would be ok. Many moms like goat milk, in other parts of the world people drink milk from sheep, deer, camels, yaks, etc. Also, there are many non-dairy milk products available now. Besides soy, rice, or almond, there's hemp seed milk, oat milk, many more, just check out the soy milk asile at the health food store. 

At about a year, putting anything in a bottle isn't really recommended.Cow's milk, juice, water, any other beverage should be in a cup. I think bottles of breastmilk past 1 yr are probably ok, but even then, many people would recommend a cup instead.

My boy just started refusing bottles at 13 months.  He will drink anything out of a sippy and nurse at the breast fine.

[MEcatlady17]

So this week we went down to 2 bottles and she is fine with it.  She also gets the extra ounce or 2 I might have pumped in a straw cup at lunch.  At home she doesn't get bottles at all.  I definitely wouldn't put other milks in a bottle :)  We aren't in a rush to take her 2 bottles away at the sitter's. I understand all the issues with bottles, but don't feel it applies to breastmilk like it does to bottles of cow's milk, juice, etc. She just drinks from it a couple times a day, 3 days a week when away from me...not all day every day and going to bed with it.  I don't see an issue with seeing how long she wants the bottle or if she decides to use her cup.  I don't plan to replace the nipples, and they will be wearing out eventually since she uses latex nipples.  I don't really want to take away all of her sucking opportunities when I am at work and have her wake more at night to make up for it...

She has been using a straw cup at home since we introduced little bits of water this past summer.  She LOVES her cup.  And I love that she uses a straw rather than a sippy because we can order a water for her at restaurants, never have to worry about having her special cup on hand. It is also good for oral motor muscles.  She also drinks from an open cup with help, but is a ways away from handling one on her own.