WOHM: Breastfeeding - Past, Present & Future

[owen&mama]

Hi everyone! I am nursing a 13-month old and working out of the home. We have come to a crossroads in our nursing relationship - he nurses less often and for less time, and I am finding that my supply during the day is tapering off. The simple fact that things are just a bit different these days has started me thinking about all sorts of things...whether to stop pumping altogether, whether he's getting enough nutrients, what does "taking his lead" really mean?..... Most of the breastfeeding boards that I have come across don't have a lot of working moms taking part, so I thought that maybe I could post a little "survey" here. Hopefully, this is information that will benefit more than just me!

Here it is:

# Children?
Ages?
Are you still nursing? If not, how long did you nurse?
How many of your children are nursing?
What is your nursing schedule?
Hours you are away during the day?
EBM/Formula/Soy/Cow while you are away?
Still Pumping? How often?
When did/ When do you plan to stop pumping?
Any plans for weaning?

Advice/Concerns/Tidbits:

I'll answer first:

# Children? 1
Ages? 13 months
Are you still nursing? yepIf not, how long did you nurse?
How many of your children are nursing? 1
What is your nursing schedule? 3 - 4 times a day, 2 - 4 times at night
Hours you are away during the day? ~ 8 during the week
EBM/Formula/Soy/Cow while you are away? combination of EBM and cow's milk. Right now, he seems to prefer the cow's milk from his sippy cup
Still Pumping? yes How often? usually twice a day..only once if I'm crazy busy
When did/ When do you plan to stop pumping? I'm thinking soon, but I'm interested in advice in this area
Any plans for weaning? not really, although I'd like to take his lead, whatever that means....

Advice/Concerns/Tidbits: If I stop pumping, will I have a supply for him during the day on weekends? If he prefers whole milk from his sippy, am I wasting my time pumping? Am I the only one who is afraid to let go of my lactation days?

[chiedza]

Re: WOHM: Breastfeeding - Past, Present & Future

# Children? 1
Ages? 6.5 months
Are you still nursing? yes! If not, how long did you nurse?
How many of your children are nursing? 1
What is your nursing schedule? 5/ day + 3-6 / night
Hours you are away during the day? 5
EBM/Formula/Soy/Cow while you are away? EBM
Still Pumping? yes How often? 0-1/day
When did/ When do you plan to stop pumping? My son drinks almost nothing (sometimes nothing) while I'm away, so last month I stopped pumping. But then over the holidays, when I was home from work, my supply increased because he still nurses alot when I am at home, so when I went back to work I felt engorged. Now I take my Avent Isis to work with me but I only use if I feel uncomfortable.
Any plans for weaning? no way!

Advice/Concerns/Tidbits: I think you can probably stop pumping, as long as you have enough of a stash in your freezer for your son to drink while you're away, or if he is happy drinking cow's milk. As long as you are still nursing when you are home then you should maintain enough of a supply to keep that up. Your body will adjust to not pumping during the day and then you'll just produce enough milk for the few feedings your son is still taking.

[ebethmom]

Re: WOHM: Breastfeeding - Past, Present & Future

[QUOTE]Originally posted by owen&mama
[
Here it is:

# Children? One

Ages? He is 17 months

Are you still nursing? He still nurses 5- 7 times/day

What is your nursing schedule? When we get up, then again about half hour later, then at nap time, usually once in the afternoon, once in the evening, bedtime, and if he wakes in the night
Hours you are away during the day? It varies. When I have rehearsals/concerts, they are usually out of town so I am away for 4 - 11 hours.

EBM/Formula/Soy/Cow while you are away? EBM if I have been away earlier in the week, almond or cow's milk otherwise.

Still Pumping? How often? I only pump now if I have been away all day, and he is asleep when I get home.

When did/ When do you plan to stop pumping? Before we moved, I was away for 4-6 hours 4 days/week. I stopped pumping when he was 10 months old and we moved. I'm home with him most of the time now.

Any plans for weaning? He says when! He is also a truly dedicated nurser. I don't see weaning in our near future!

Advice/Concerns/Tidbits: For me, pumping was the most frustrating part of early nursing. I could never pump enough to keep up with what he guzzled while I was away. I was VERY glad to give up my daily pumping regiment. Although not thrilled to give up my WOH income!

[Ocean]

Hi Owen's Mama, it sounds like we're in the same situation.

Are you still nursing? yes

How many of your children are nursing? just one

What is your nursing schedule? nurse before work, SAHD gives dd 1-2 bottles of EBM while I'm at work, nurse right after work, nurse to sleep, then nurse anywhere from 2-8 times at night.

Hours you are away during the day? 11 hrs per day, 5 days per week.

EBM/Formula/Soy/Cow while you are away? exclusively ebm, plus solids, some water.

Still Pumping? How often? 2x per day

When did/ When do you plan to stop pumping? We're trying to get dd down to one bottle per day so that I can pump only once per day. I don't have any real plans to stop pumping all together, but I had thought that I would stop pumping at 12 months, and here I am pumping 2x per day at 13 months!

Any plans for weaning? I'd like to nurse to at least two years and see where it goes from there, but I would like to nightwean (boy am I tired!)

Advice/Concerns/Tidbits: I went back to work when dd was just 7 weeks, and I had lots of milk supply problems initially and again a few months later when work became extremely stressful. So I'm very concerned about my milk supply dropping if I stop pumping during the day. I still have times when I'm really stressed at work and I can't let down at all. I totally agree with you that the vast majority of information that's out there about breastfeeding assumes that you stay home with your baby or that you have six months at home to firmly establish your breastfeeding relationship and milk supply. My dd became a reverse cycler when I went back to work full time. That was good in that my milk supply had dwindled to almost nothing and I think it saved our breastfeeding relationship. She had been sleeping 5-6 hours at night straight, then nursing once and sleeping a couple more hours, but since she became a reverse cycler, she is up at least once an hour, which really wears me out! I worry that my working is getting her into bad eating habits of not eating during the day then wanting to eat all night long.

[BensMom]

# Children? 1

Ages? 23 mos

Are you still nursing? If not, how long did you nurse? yes

How many of your children are nursing? just one

What is your nursing schedule? On days off, nurse around 7am, before nap, sometimes after nap, sometimes in the evening, before bed and usually 1-2x during the night. On work days - around 6am, as soon as I get home (around 4:30pm) and before bed.

Hours you are away during the day? I leave at 6:30 and pick up DS around 4:00pm, 3x/week

EBM/Formula/Soy/Cow while you are away? Mostly water and some juice now. DS never aquired a taste for cows milk. He drank EBM for around 13 mos. Oh and he eats table food like a lumberjack!

Still Pumping? How often? nope (yay!)

When did/ When do you plan to stop pumping? At 13 mos, I went from 2 pumping sessions per day to one during lunch. I kept that up for around a month, and then stopped that one. I was worried about engorgement, but my body adjusted well. I still produce enough to nurse on my days off and evenings.

Any plans for weaning? DH would like us to wean soon, but I'm not sure when DS will wean. He is quite attached to his "milkies".

Advice/Concerns/Tidbits: I think your supply will adjust to the new nursing schedule as long as you let your child nurse at will when you are around. I never feel full or engorged anymore, but every now and then DS pulls off with a milky mouth, so I know there is something coming out. Good luck. You are right, though! I found very little info on how to wean from pumping but not wean all together.

[Marlena]

# Children? 1

Ages? 20 mos

Are you still nursing? If not, how long did you nurse? yes

How many of your children are nursing? just one

What is your nursing schedule? When at work, nurse upon waking up, in the evening upon returning, and just before sleep, with an occasional additional session in the evening; 2-8X at night. When at home, nurse upon waking, once in the morning, once before nap, once upon waking in the middle of the nap, once upon waking for good from the nap, once in the evening, and once before bed, with 2-8X at night.

Hours you are away during the day? 10.

EBM/Formula/Soy/Cow while you are away? EBM. She eats solid food like a champ, and is omnivorous.

Still Pumping? How often? Yes. 3X daily (I don't get much per pumping, and the pumping sessions are quite short)

When did/ When do you plan to stop pumping? When dd stops wanting to nurse during the day.

Any plans for weaning? Not really. She's actually nursing far less than she used to do.

Advice/Concerns/Tidbits: It's no surprise that your supply is tapering off, and I'd not be concerned unless there are other issues. I don't know, though, about whether there would be enough milk on weekends during the daytime if you stopped pumping. This is one of my concerns, as well.

[teachma]

# Children? One son

Ages? Soon to be 2.5 years old

Are you still nursing? Yes

How many of your children are nursing? The only one I've got!
What is your nursing schedule? Once in the morning, once after I pick him up from child care and we get home.

Hours you are away during the day? about 7.5
EBM/Formula/Soy/Cow while you are away? Cow (non homogen., organic)
Still Pumping? Nope!
When did/ When do you plan to stop pumping? He was about a year old.
Any plans for weaning? I plan to wait til he wants to.

Advice/Concerns/Tidbits:
Ugghh! I hated pumping with a passion...but it was SOOOO worth it to maintain this wonderful nursing relationship!

[mama2m&m]

Re: WOHM: Breastfeeding - Past, Present & Future

[QUOTE]Originally posted by owen&mama
[B]

# Children? TWO
Ages? ALMOST 4 AND ALMOST 2
Are you still nursing? If not, how long did you nurse? YES #2DID NOT NURSE #1 AT ALL
How many of your children are nursing? ONE
What is your nursing schedule? EARLY AM, EVENINGS, NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS
Hours you are away during the day? FROM 7:15 AM TO 6:45 PM
EBM/Formula/Soy/Cow while you are away? COW'S OR SOY
Still Pumping? How often? NO, NOT SINCE DD WAS ABOUT 14 MOS.
When did/ When do you plan to stop pumping? ~8 MOS AGO
Any plans for weaning? CONSIDERING NIGHT WEANING WHEN DD TURNS 2 IN MARCH BUT NONE OTHER THAN THAT

Advice/Concerns/Tidbits: I TOO WAS AFRAID OF LETTING GO OF THE PUMP. I WANTED TO B/F AT LEAST TIL 2 AND I WAS COVETOUS OF MY SUPPLY. BUT WHEN DD WAS DOWN TO 3 OZ OF EBM A DAY I FINALLY HUNG IT UP AND WE'VE DONE GREAT! MY SUPPLY HAS ADJUSTED SO THAT WE NURSE FIRST THING WHEN WE GET HOME IN THE EVENING, BEFORE BED (AND ANYTIME IN BETWEEN), AT LEAST 1X DURING THE NIGHT AND FREELY ON WEEKENDS. UNLESS SHE'S GOING THROUGH A MARATHON SESSION, THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING THERE FOR DD.

My concern is that sometimes I'm so ready to be done but I'm afraid that when dd does wean I'll be so sad. I suffer from infertility so even though I'd hope to have another child, there's no certainty that I'll be able to. I also never imagined nursing a preschooler and am just not sure how I'll feel during the upcoming year after dd turns 2. but it's been a wonderful experience.

[MamaDeLiana]

# Children? --one

Ages? --six months

Are you still nursing? --yes

How many of your children are nursing? --one

What is your nursing schedule? --about 8 times a day

Hours you are away during the day? --5.5 hours + 2.5 hours (I work 8 hours per day, but DH brings DD to work for a nursing session in the afternoon)

EBM/Formula/Soy/Cow while you are away? --EBM only

Still Pumping? How often? --I used to pump 2-3 times a day but now pump once a day. DD will take a bottle but will only take a couple of ounces from it, so on most days I'm pumping more than she needs even with just one pumping.

When did/ When do you plan to stop pumping? --I don't want to give up pumping until DD starts nursing less often at night. I think she could get by with just the one nursing session during the work day (and no bottle) if we stretched out times between daytime feedings, but I expect I'd pay for that with more frequent nighttime wakings. For now, I'm thinking I'll keep going and donate some of the stash I'm building up to a friend who will soon adopt a six-month-old.

Any plans for weaning? --no plans at the present

Advice/Concerns/Tidbits: --We have lots of allergies in the family, so I want to go as long as we can exclusively on breast milk. But I worry that I won't be able to meet all her nutritional/caloric needs as DD gets bigger--at least not without exhausting myself.

[Indigomama]

I don't know about anyone else, but it's nice to hear from so many working moms that continue to breastfeed


# Children? 1

Ages? 27 months

Are you still nursing? YES!!

How many of your children are nursing? 1

What is your nursing schedule? Nurse in the morning before work, IMMEDIATELY once we get home...off and on throughout the evening, and a couple times at night

Hours you are away during the day? ~ 8

EBM/Formula/Soy/Cow while you are away? None of the above....
We have done cow milk, but stopped due to allergies. He won't drink any soy or alternative milk options I've tried... so it's h20 only when mama is away.

Still Pumping? How often? I've NEVER pumped! How weird is that?

When did/ When do you plan to stop pumping? I went back to work when ds was 11 months, and I switch nursed (more at night.. to make up). It was a rough month transition as he nursed all night even though when I went back it was only part time and he was only missing maybe one nursing. I actually have an aunt who had to go back unexpectantly to work due to her dh dying when her youngest was 4 months old. He refused to take a bottle, and she just ended up switch nursing (that's where I got the idea), never pumped.


Any plans for weaning? Hopefully, though the way ds nurses, sometimes I think he'll be nursing until he's 10.

Advice/Concerns/Tidbits: I definitely think you could easily give up the pump and maintain supply. As long as you are taking care of yourself (diet... water) and am allowing dh to nurse as often as desired on the weekends and during the week when you're home, you're body and dh will adjust.

I also don't think you necessarily have to replace bm with another type of milk. I know I've struggled with this as I grew up on a dairy farm... imagine my ds NOT getting cow's milk... THE HORROR! I imagine he's getting a lot of nutrition from other sources.


GOOD LUCK!

[owen&mama]

I'm so glad to see all of these responses and that so many working moms are breastfeeding! Thanks again for all the information. I think every one of you mentioned something (if not everything : ) that I can relate to.

DS probably drinks 2 - 3 ounces of milk (whether it be EBM or Cow) when I am gone. And this has been the case since about 6 months - I think he peaked during growth spurts at 9 ounces of EBM. Since then, it's been close to nothing during the day, and marathon sessions at night. I probably could have gone without pumping too, Indigomama, if I had only known. As it is, I have dumped gallons of liquid gold down the drain .

Thanks again everyone....I really like having this group for support and occasional reality check...

[mama2m&m]

Sometimes it helps to just know that others are experiencing the same things we are

[comet]

# Children?1
Ages?16 months
Are you still nursing? Yes
What is your nursing schedule? Whenever she wants it when I'm home! - Usually once an hour or so
Hours you are away during the day? 3 hrs on average
EBM/Formula/Soy/Cow while you are away? EBM, Soy, Cow while I'm away, depending on how big my stash in the freezer is (I can hardly pump anything)
Still Pumping? How often?3 times a week, yield about 5 ounces
When did/ When do you plan to stop pumping? Not sure - maybe this summer
Any plans for weaning? No, she is still very interested. I'm thinking of going until she's 2 yrs old and then seeing how I feel about it.

[Chi-Chi Mama]

# Children?1
Ages?15 months
Are you still nursing? If not, how long did you nurse?yes
How many of your children are nursing?1
What is your nursing schedule?all night then before leaving for work... then as soon as I get home.. then nurse to sleep and usually 2-3 times through the night
Hours you are away during the day?about 9
EBM/Formula/Soy/Cow while you are away?just EBM - well, solids/water, etc.. but just EBM as far as milk
Still Pumping? How often?yep.. once or twice a day
When did/ When do you plan to stop pumping?probably keep pumping once a day for a while
Any plans for weaning?it's up to dd and I don't think she has any plans to wean any time soon

Advice/Concerns/Tidbits:
Sounds like you're doing great! pumping can ge tiring and I think your body will adjust fine.. the thought of not having enough milk scares me, so I'll probably keep pumping once a day for some time.. but probably not necessary

hope this helped!

[hulamama]

# Children? 1
Ages? 18 mos

Are you still nursing? Yes

How many of your children are nursing? 1

What is your nursing schedule? Pretty much before bed and when she wakes up

Hours you are away during the day? 9

EBM/Formula/Soy/Cow while you are away? Maybe one cup a day of soymilk. When I was nursing exclusively she got about 2 5 oz bottles. I usually had to supplement with @2 oz of formula a day.

Still Pumping? How often? No, I quit when she was 11 mos. old. I was going to be home for the summer and when I returned in Sep. she had cut down on her nursing sessions quite a bit and just drank soymilk when I was gone.

When did/ When do you plan to stop pumping? Same time

Any plans for weaning? NOt sure. We want to ttc in 6 mos or so and so I am thinking of weaning if that becomes difficult to do.

Advice/Concerns/Tidbits: I HATED pumping with a passion. But am so glad I did stick with it. Even now, she is rarely sick and kept the nursing relationship up I am sure because it kept my supply up. Kudos to your for doing it this long!

[CollegeMama]

# Children? 1

Ages? 5 mo.

Are you still nursing? If not, how long did you nurse? Yes

How many of your children are nursing? n/a

What is your nursing schedule? Wake up at 4:30 or 5 a.m. and nurse- go to work, pump 8, 11, 2- home at 4:15 nurse- nurse on demand the rest of the night, usually 3 more times until bedtime 7 p.m., nurse at 2 a.m. sometimes earlier.

Hours you are away during the day? 9

EBM/Formula/Soy/Cow while you are away? EBM and formula when I'm out of EBM

Still Pumping? How often? 3 times a day (when I'm good, when I'm bad only 2 times)

When did/ When do you plan to stop pumping? I plan to pump for at least another 7 months.

Any plans for weaning? My original goal was 6 months, now I'm thinking I'll see how it goes, and try to self wean.

Advice/Concerns/Tidbits: We've battled thrush for a long time- almost quit bf'ing over it, but came to my senses.
I have bad headaches often, and I sometimes think about weaning to get better medications for them- for now I'm trying a change in diet instead of changing to stronger meds.

HTH,
Marcy

[owen&mama]

Marcy74- I just wanted to post to let you know that I also get bad headaches - mine are migraines, do I assume that yours are too? Anyway, I struggled with them until Owen was about 9 months old. In other words, I took nothing and stayed in bed for two days. They were getting worse, and I assumed that it was because my cycle was attempting to regulate, so I started doing a bit more research. The headaches were disrupting my family and work life and I was frustrated to tears. My husband was ready to insist that I wean him just so I could be normal again. I bought Medications & Mother's Milk by Thomas Hale and discovered that the med I was taking before I got pregnant might be worth a try. I took the book to my doctor and she felt the same. What happens now is that I take it when I develop a headache and don't nurse for six hours. It works out fine when I am at work, but on the weekends it can be a struggle. Although, now that he is a light nurser during the day, it has gotten easier to distract him. I still deal with the headaches if they hit late in the day or at night, but take the med first thing after his morning nurse. It saved my sanity, if not our nursing relationship. It might be worth a try for you, too. PM me if you want more info!

Good luck.

And thanks to everyone...this is great!

[delighted.mama]

Hi! Glad to see there is another WOH mom that is hanging in there with the nursing and the pumping. My dd is close in age to yours (turned 12 months on Jan 2003) Here is our routine.

I nurse about 4-7x in a 24 hour period: morning, lunch, after work, bedtime and 2-3x at night.

DD never drank too much EMB from a bottle while I was gone at work, so I stopped pumping in the last month. It just kind of tapered from 2 pumping sessions, to one and then to none. I go home to nurse her during lunch, however.

My milk supply seems to have adjusted to her needs. I feel full if I don't make it home for lunch to nurse her and then she really nurses.

During the day, she gets water and some cow's milk. She is not crazy about cow's milk, so I make sure that she has other forms of calcium and vit d....lots of whole, natural cheeses.

Just like you, I was scared that not pumping would somehow ruin our nursing relationship. But, its amazing how your body adjusts to what your baby needs. As long as you are nursing at least 4x a day, your supply should still be sufficient for the baby. When you add night time nursing to that, it is more than enought, even if you are not pumping during the day.

Good luck and keep up the good work!!

Libby

[MinnieMouse]

# Children? 1

Ages? 18mo

Are you still nursing? If not, how long did you nurse? Yes

How many of your children are nursing? only have one :-)

What is your nursing schedule? Around 5-6am, when I get home from work and nurse to sleep. On weekends we "may" nurse to sleep for nap, but not always. Depending on the night, dd may wake 1-2x to nurse but that has thankfully gotten rarer as time goes on.

Hours you are away during the day? 8am - 6pm (10hrs)

EBM/Formula/Soy/Cow while you are away? Cow

Still Pumping? How often? No

When did/ When do you plan to stop pumping? Stopped on her First birthday.

Any plans for weaning? When one of us wants to.

Advice/Concerns/Tidbits: I was a very low volume pumper. I had to pump 3-5x at work plus sessions first thing in the am, and last thing before bed. Thankfully with all my extra sessions we were able to make it to 1yr w/o supplementing.

There is a great resource at parentsplace.com in their Working & Pumping support board. Lots of good ideas and caring moms trying to do the same for their kids. I wouldn't have made it w/o them.

Dd seems to be fine with the switch to milk. We stopped her bottles at the same time and went to sippy cups with the cow's milk. My supply seems fine for her needs at night and in the am...and on weekends, it seems to work w/o a problem.

Occasionally if she nurses an extra long time, she'll "tell" me that there isn't much there...but for the most part it's fine.

I think you're doing great! I'm so glad to see this thread, it's so nice to see other moms doing the same as us. :-)

HTH

Christine

[Quirky]

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