weaning from the pump?

533 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by wombatclay, Mar 31, 2006

wombatclay

Discussion Starter · Mar 27, 2006

Heyla mamas!

So, dd is turning one next week and while I plan on CLW somewhere down the road, I would love to wean my pump...especially since my work place has just decided to close the lactation room (meaning I'd be hand pumping in a bathroom stall).

I work 30 hours a week and my work day schedule is to nurse in the car when my dh drops me off, work 3 hours, pump, work 3 hours, then nurse in car when dh picks me up. While I'm at home dd nurses every hour or so during the day and 3-4 times at night. However, she's become less and less interested in her cup of EBM and prefers a variety of solids while I'm away. These days her EBM generally goes into some cereal or is used to rehydrate some dried fruit since she just isn't interested in "drinking" it anymore. And no, we don't give her water or juice...her only beverage is the EBM.

Any advice or BTDT on weaning from a pump? Would it impact my supply significantly to lose that pumping session (I'm still leaking, and spraying all over the place when dd pauses during her snacks, so I think my supply is actually on the generous side right now)? How could I avoid engorgement during the day if I skipped that session? I don't want to do anything to jeapordize our nursing relationship, but I'm not too excited about spending my lunch break sitting in a toilet stall if she's not interested in EBM anymore!

Thanks mamas!

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artgirl

· #2 · Mar 27, 2006

my ds is 13 months and I work 25 hours a week.
I just stopped pumping at work and I feel FANTASTIC. I couldn't be happier about it and it was easy. My ds had also lost interest in the EBM I was leaving home for him so I figured it was safe to skip the pumping as well. I hated coming home and finding that bottle still full... but more than that I hated cleaning that [email protected]*# pump EVERY DAY!

I was initially pumping 2x a day at work. I started pumping just once in the middle of my day for awhile. Then I eliminated that session as well and I'd nurse ds as soon as I got home. My breasts felt full the first two days maybe but after that I felt fine.
I figured my supply wouldn't be in jeopardy since ds wasn't using the milk at home anyway. Your body only needs to produce as much as the baby wants.

I am soooo happy now to still be nursing but NOT pumping. Woohoo! Good luck!!!

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JustVanessa

· #3 · Mar 29, 2006

Hi wombat~

When I went back to work with Byron I didn't pump at all, and after the second day I didn't even have breast fullness at all. It hasn't seemed to affect my supply in the morning or at night.
The public health nurse here told me that my body would get used to not needing milk at that time and just make less during the day.

HTH! Good luck

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Hawkeyemama

· #4 · Mar 31, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by wombatclay
especially since my work place has just decided to close the lactation room (meaning I'd be hand pumping in a bathroom stall).

Well that is crappy! Write a letter telling them how often you use the lactation room and I'd suggest pointing out how disgusting it is to make your child's meal while listening to the person one stall over use the facilities

:

I can echo artgirl's response. I work 32 hours a week and dd is 12 mo. I stopped pumping last week and am quite happy about it! Dd refuses milk out of a bottle or cup, so it was a battle getting her to take my measly 4 oz during the course of a day, so that made the decision to quit pumping easier. I took about two months to go frompumping 3x day to 2 and then 1. I dropped my afternoon session last because I never really produced much in the morning. I am surprised that I have not experienced engorment or plugged ducts because those have been recurring problems for me. I do think my supply might have dipped a bit. My breasts are smaller already. DD nurses a lot at night and seems satisfied.

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wombatclay

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 31, 2006

Thanks mamas!

I'm taking notes and planning how to make this work best for my family, so keep the BTDT encouragement coming!

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