[themamamama]

My DS is coming up on 11 months and I'm proud to say we're still breastfeeding after many, many difficulties along the way. I plan to continue nursing him until he's ready to stop, but I'm not sure if I will continue to pump at work after he's a year old. I'm worried that if I don't, however, I'll lose my supply and DS will wean before he's ready -- I have low supply as is. On the other hand, I'm a full-time grad student and it's hard to pump 2-3 times a day.

Anybody have any BTDT stories to share?

Thanks!
- Melanie

 

[yogamama]

I pumped at work until my oldest was 18 months old. I was gone from home 10 hours on work days (Mon-Fri) and I was down to pumping once a day during the time he was 12-18 months old to keep my milk supply strong and to send some of my milk to childcare. He didn't drink dairy or formula, so I wanted him to have more than solids and water during the day.

He nursed until he was past his third birthday. I felt because of the length of my work day and commute that I wanted to keep pumping for a little while longer, but I know that most moms stop pumping by 12 months and kids keep on nursing!

Good luck.
Kathleen

 

[crazydiamond]

I'm a low supply mama and I struggled with this very thing. You know what? All my worry was for naught. I stopped pumping at 11.5 mos and here we are at 15 mos, still nursing away.

I was afraid my supply would completely diminish and while it is lower than before (with good reason, she's only nursing 2-3 times a day!), I still have plenty of milk for her. She tends to nurse more often on weekends when we're together all day and that revs up my supply for the rest of the week.

The other advantage is that since she's off bottles and eating table food primarily, I don't need to make a certain amount of milk. Nursing for her is more about comfort at this stage, not filling up her tummy completely. But as it stands, it's been 4 months and I've made enough milk to keep her plenty interested in nursing and I haven't thought yet that she might be weaning.

Also, are you taking anything to boost your supply? If you are, you can continue taking it even if you're not pumping. I've been taking domperidone for almost the entire time we've been nursing. After I stopped pumping, I cut my dosage way down (only 20mg/day) and I've found this perfectly sufficient to maintain my supply. I've even forgotten to take it for days at a time and I still had enough milk. It's my safety blanket, though, and I don't know if I could go off of it for good. At any rate, any time I feel that my supply might be dwindling, I just increase my dosage for a few days to help boost it. So if you're taking anything, keep on taking it for a bit more piece of mind.

 

[themamamama]

Thanks for your stories, Kathleen and Leila. It's good to hear other working mamas have been able to make nursing work for them. Maybe I'll be able to at least cut down my pumping sessions.

Leila -- I'm not on anything for my low supply. I thought about it a lot but I just never felt comfortable taking prescription drugs for it. I'm glad Dom worked for you, though. Did you have to supplement with formula? Did you add cow's milk after a year?

It's so hard to find information for supplementing moms -- seems like everything is aimed at either formula feeders or exclusive breast feeders. I never know what I'm doing. (Maybe that's just me...

)

- Melanie

 

[maxmama]

I skipped a pumping or two, and then the next thing I knew I wasn't pumping at all anymore. We nursed for another year and a half.

 

[carouselrider]

With both my older girls I was able to stop pumping during the day but continue nursing at night and on weekends for many months. I have never had a problem with supply though.

 

[crazydiamond]

Quote:

Originally Posted by themamamama Leila -- I'm not on anything for my low supply. I thought about it a lot but I just never felt comfortable taking prescription drugs for it. I'm glad Dom worked for you, though. Did you have to supplement with formula? Did you add cow's milk after a year?

That's okay if you're not on anything! I just thought I'd throw that out there just in case. No, I've never supplemented with formula. Usually I made just enough to squeek by or use up most of the freezer stash (which was small to begin with). When DD was 11 mos or so, she started getting one cup of cow's milk a day at daycare. She still gets about one cup or so a day and the rest of the time water. Children don't need nearly as much calcium as the US Dairy industry would have us believe so I think her one cup of milk and her twice a day nursings is plenty! Not to mention what she gets from the foods she eats.

If you're supply starts taking more dive, how about trying some oatmeal? It's natural, obviously, and boosts milk supply in a fair number of women. Just a suggestion

 

[turtlewomyn]

I just got on here to ask about this, we are eight weeks away from 1 year, and I cannot wait to pump wean at work, it is just getting harder and harder to find the time.

I had a question as well, what do mom's send to child care when they pump wean for their child. Cow's milk? DD currently drinks two bottles of EBM at daycare, each is 6-7 oz (12-14oz total/day). When I pump wean, I think I might send cows milk, but should I send it in bottles, or wean her to a sippy cup by that time?

 

[hannahnc]

Melanie- I stopped pumping at work when DD was 13 months- luckily my supply never suffered & we are still nursing! Hopefully you'll have the same experience!

Kristen- At DD's daycare, they switched the kiddos to sippy cups around 10 months. We send organic milk to school with her (the center provides milk, but we wanted her to have organic).

 

[wawap]

I was down to pumping once a day at one year. I stopped pumping shortly after he was 14 months old & continued to breastfeed until he was well past 2.5 years.

 

[KalamazooMom]

I guess I am the exception here. I stopped pumping at 14 mos with DD and she weaned within a few weeks of that. I stopped pumping at 17 mos (because I was going on a 10 day international trip) with my DS and he really never nursed with much interest after that. We continued until he was almost 2 but he almost never initiated nursing, but I continued to offer. So in both cases I regret stopping pumping when I did.

 

[orangefur]

I stopped pumping at a year with my DD. I always had a hard time pumping enough for her but I always had enough for her to nurse whenever she wanted until she self-weaned at 17 months. It was such a relief to not be attached to that pump anymore! I even went on a 3 day business trip, didn't pump, and was still able to nurse when I returned.

 

[Basylica]

I pumped for 15m, DS stopped taking EBM around 14m.
But he'd weaned down to a single 5-6oz bottle at daycare (eventho I worked like 12+ hours) prior to that on his own, though.

He weaned (on his own, much to my sadness) at 23m.

 

[themamamama]

Thanks for all the responses! Sounds like most people have had no problem with stopping pumping and keeping nursing.

KalamazooMom -- that's exactly what I'm afraid of. Since my supply has always been shaky, I worry that I won't be one of those lucky ones who are unaffected.

DS has been supplemented (even when I was around all day

) since he was two weeks old. I think I better keep pumping as long as I can to make sure he still gets the good stuff a little longer. I'm hoping to make up for lack of quantity with longevity...

- Melanie

ETA -- Meant to say, I've tried oatmeal and unfortunately it does nothing for me. I eat it for breakfast anyway, just in case

Also tried fenugreek -- nothing; More Milk Plus -- helps a little but nothing dramatic; hospital-grade pump, 10-10-10 pumping, feeding, pumping, feeding some more... I've just made my peace with the fact that I'll never have enough for this baby. Still have hopes for the next one though

 

[KalamazooMom]

Thanks for all the responses! Sounds like most people have had no problem with stopping pumping and keeping nursing.

KalamazooMom -- that's exactly what I'm afraid of. Since my supply has always been shaky, I worry that I won't be one of those lucky ones who are unaffected.

DS has been supplemented (even when I was around all day

) since he was two weeks old. I think I better keep pumping as long as I can to make sure he still gets the good stuff a little longer. I'm hoping to make up for lack of quantity with longevity...

QUOTE]

Yes, that's why I always try to speak up with my experience on this. With MOST people it seems they can stop pumping after a year and continuing nursing for a while. That's not what happened to me. From my perspective, there is a risk involved in stopping pumping. So I think it's best to be aware of that.