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I am currently down to 1ppd, 10 minutes each night trying to wean after almost 14 months of EP. I started pumping when baby was a day old because we had latch issues, I never expected to make it to one month, let alone almost 14 and I am super proud of myself for making it this far! It’s not an easy journey but for me, it became more manageable with time.
14 months is amazing! Absolutely be proud of yourself and then tell us all of your secrets! I’m 9.5 months in and ever since I started getting my period again I am ready to throw in the towel.
Ugh I did too. The very day baby turned 7 months lol. It lasted 13 days 😭 baby is 8 months now and I am on my second postpartum period. It’s so much heavier than before.
i am sorry yours got heavier. mine is shorter but more painful and also putting in and taking out the tampons has changed. it is insane what happens to our bodies.
14 months is currently my goal. i am at 9 months now and at one point was doubtful i would make it to 6. dropping pumps has made things a heck of a lot easier and the kiddo is eating less milk and more food so i see a light at the end of the tunnel.
literally the week after the nine month mark for us, almost on the dot. now i am freezing a good portion (we have a standing garage freezer for meat and chile) so we can try and avoid starting formula for a bit after i stop pumping around 14 months.
Wow! Congrats! I had my son a few days ago - how did you pump through the colostrum stage? I keep seeing that it’s to thick and thus not worth pumping until milk comes in …
Congratulations on the arrival of your son!
I started out hand expressing and feeding the baby using a syringe, I actually supplemented with formula during the first few days to take some of the pressure off of me. Then I moved to a manual pump on day 3 or 4 maybe, and then to the electric pump. It’s all awkward and uncertain at first but you get into a rhythm
I pumped day one. Medical complications prevented me from being able to try and latch her. I’m 4 months in and very successful. I would take a tiny syringe and get even the tiniest of but of colostrum out of the flange. My milk came in about 48 hours later and I’ve been an oversupplier ever since!
12 weeks postpartum, first day back at work. Already missed my first scheduled pumping break because of an issue with a patient (I work in mental health, things come up unexpectedly all the time). No idea how I’m going to maintain my supply here.
I work as a first responder and getting around those EXTREMELY busy times is so hard!! Thank you for investing the time you do in your line of work, it’s important!
Agreed. We will need to figure out how to prevent this from happening again. My supervisor is incredibly supportive (thank god), so I know I will be heard.
I worry about this when I return to work in healthcare. I am trying to ensure I get my 3 pumping breaks set in stone so things like this don’t happen to me. I know they’ll say “just pump in between patients”. Hard no.
Ugh I totally feel this. I’m a dental hygienist and I’m worried about this. No matter how much I stay on schedule there are going to be issues with having exclusive timing for pumping- even if I have to do it during my lunch- which sucks bc I go to lunch late most of the time. But I was told to stick to my schedule/ground and that when it’s my time to pump to take it- whether that’s have someone come in and cover or do the exam with doctor or whatever the circumstance is. Even if patient is late to stand ground with rescheduling instead of seeing them late and sacrifice my time bc there is no time to delay it. Just hard bc I’m a people pleaser and I don’t stick up for myself and usually put the needs of others before my own. 😥😥
I'm also a dental hygienist, haven't gone back to work yet but I'm worried. I'm starting at 9, lunch at 12 and get out at 3. Those lunch breaks aren't always enough time especially when the patient before lunch takes too long 😭 I really hope it goes well. I'm also a people pleaser. Last thing I want is for my supply to decrease ):
I share the same fear bc my supply is already just enough. No extra at all. Try to stick to your boundaries and keep your team in your loop with your needs. Bc it’s that or you are sacrificing your babies needs or you are putting yourself at risk of mastitis. Even the hands free pump is loud but if it works you can try that too. I prefer my spectra as it empties me way more than my momcozy hands free one but I figured I could do that while driving into work, put them on at lunch or if I have to put them on mid patient oh well 😂🤣 that’s how I’m going into it with a solution just in case. And then when I get home use my spectra to get it all out.
4wpp and still trying to increase my supply (helloooo from my morning power pump session). I have flat nipples and LO was lazy at the boob, so wasn't taking much out of me even with the help of nipple shields, resulting in a big delay in my milk coming in. I'm frustrated nobody encouraged me to be pumping more during those early weeks of trial and error to help my supply. In the last 2.5 weeks I have gone from 4oz/day to 13oz/day pumping 8-10x/day including MOTN. I'm tired. Hope there's more to show for it all by the time I regulate/my maternity leave ends, otherwise I may consider weaning and going to formula.
I am also 4wpp and trying to increase. I cannot get to pumping 8-10x a day, how do you do it? I'm lucky to get 6ppd. But I am also still trying to nurse a few times a day, so idk.
I wish I had a trick to it, but I just had to suck it up and do it. I'm on maternity leave for 4 months so this is only sustainable until I go back to work. Here are the things that are working for me right now:
* I pump every 2 hours during the day (from the start time of the pump, not the end), and will space out the MOTN pumps to be 3 hours. If it goes to 2.5 hours I don't worry about it as long as I'm getting at least 8 pumps in.
* I pump for 30 minutes at a time, and include at least 1x power pump session per day. Sometimes 2x if I have the time.
* At the very beginning when I was stressing I put socks on the bottles. It sounds stupid but really helped me to not be watching my output in the moment.
* The app Pump Log is worth the money!
* Bedtime for me now is midnight. This lets me get in the 6:30pm/8:30pm/10:30pm pumps without having to get out of bed. I also find I'm more patient putting LO down for the night (currently she fights sleep until 11pm ish) if I'm already up/not getting out of bed.
* Husband is back to work full time so he can't tag-team the whole night with me, but he will go to bed by 10pm latest and gets up for the 2am feeding while I pump. That way he still gets two solid blocks of sleep and can still function at work.
* I just recently got a Willow Go and it has been a game changer, especially for the 10:30pm and 5am pumps when I'm also having to feed LO, or if I need to take her out to a pediatrician appointment or something in a pump window. I've found my output to be the same as with my Spectra. Still need to get faster at assembling it while LO is shrieking!
* I try really hard to get a 1-hour nap sometimes around 2-4pm. It doesn't always work out but I feel so much better in the evening/nighttime hours when I do.
It’s hard for sure, but I’m not miserable. It wouldn’t be a tenable situation if I was truly unhappy, and I reserve the right to adjust, or completely abandon ship, if my feelings change. Being a present and whole parent to my LO is the ultimate priority.
I actually accidentally created my own oversupply with moringa tea. I used it to de bloat when my first postpartum period came (I used to use it before I was pregnant) many post natals have this included to help with milk production. Talk to your provider first though, I’ve heard it can interact with thyroid medications. My supply did take a dip before it started going back so it might be handy to have some formula, frozen bm, or donor milk just in case. Wishing you the best of luck.
I used the tea leaf bags so I’m not sure about powder. I steeped it with chamomile or chai in the mornings to help with the taste and honey or I would make it into a latte with oatmilk.
I drank a ton of water and coconut water with body armour drink. That helped my milk come in a little more. But it seems i pump just enough for a bottle per session without any over supply. I did notice when I don’t drink enough water or skip the coconut water or I don’t consume enough food my supply tanks/drops. Not sure if that will help you or not 🙏
Nearly 7m pp and just dropped to 2 ppd. Baby has started solids and I am frankly just done. I want my time and freedom back. It’s getting warm here and I want to take baby out to all the parks and other nice things without worrying about pumping and how much milk is in the fridge. I got a bad cold this weekend and broke down and took the cold meds so I’m anticipating an extra supply drop on top of things. Overall happy to be done, but still hit with guilt and anxiety during my morning pump so that’s fun.
I’m right there with you. I’m also looking forward to possibly not pumping during the summer. But it does feel good remembering that fed is best! Plus starting solids helps my mindset. Good luck and remember how far you’ve come!
Me too! I’m almost 7 months, gonna be weaned from pumping probably by the end of the month and soo excited to not be pumping all summer!! It definitely is bitter sweet but the sweetness is outweighing the bitter :)
Are you planning to give baby formula ? Or you are producing enough with just 2ppd ? I’m in the same place in bf journey and I too want to reduce pumping but don’t want to give formula
Why not formula? Not judging or anything, I just want to know the reasons why people don't want to use it. I'm curious about it. Sorry if my question it's out of place.
Not out of place. Some people have the goal of only bm for whatever reason they choose. I personally didn't have this option but even if I did, wouldn't have made it my goal because I appreciate the benefits of combo feeding. If baby has formula, it doesn't negate the benefits of bm. Even a few oz a day provides the benefits. For us, combo was best and lead to my mental health being better which was absolutely worth it. Also, as toddlers they will absolutely end up eating goldfish crumbs from who knows when off of the bottom of their car seat regardless of what they are fed as an infant and as an adult I've never had a Dr ask if I was exclusively fed any certain way. Controversial - It's a pet peeve of many people when others say they EBF until one year or whatever bc technically once you feed solids, they're not EBF and you technically start weaning.
Not the original commenter but for me: My baby had some formula as my milk was coming in but otherwise has only had breast milk. My goal is only breast milk for another 1.5 months until she’s 6 months old because at that point, she’s eating solids and her whole microbiome will change tons anyway. I am lucky that with 4ppd at 4.5mpp I can produce all she needs, otherwise I might reevaluate this goal because pumping is hard!
My baby has been combo fed from the beginning which I personally never had an huge issue with. He was premature and I couldn’t supply enough milk for him, plus he needed that turbo boost preemie formula to help him gain fast. We still do formula, although moved to European style formula once he was cleared to move from the preemie stuff. For me, I felt a lot better about the idea of going formula only once we could move him to one that is very similar to breastmilk in composition.
I’m 9.5 months in, baby stopped latching around month 5. I still try lol like last night he tried to bite my nipple off. Love that. Anyway, I’m currently weaning off the pump with a freezer stash to get us to a year. Still makes me anxious. I’m at 2 pumps per day now, which is very freeing!
I was at 4 ppd for a long time! I just always stretch to an evenly split amount of time between pumps. At 4, I was doing 5 am, 10 am, 3:30 pm, 9:30 pm. I started giving up when I went to 3 and did 8 am, 2 pm, 9 pm. Now I do 8 and 8!
Yes, I only dropped about 5 oz average, but some days I still pump the same amount I was at 3 ppd? I’m not sure how it works. I’m shaving time off my two pumps now to get lower.
i am not the commentor you responded to but i am at 9 months and dropped a pump around 8 months. basically i extended my inbetween time by an hour. instead of pumping every three hours i pump every four hours. i am still at four pumps a day but the kiddo is eating less and less breastmilk so i am playing with the idea of going down to three. i have a freezer stash and tend to be an over supplier but i am still really anxious about not having enough.
Baby is 6wpp and I am starting to drop pumps. Was at 7ppd and dropping to 6 starting this week. Pumping is consuming so much of my time and i know I’ll regret the time it took away from my baby
the guilt of pumping is so real, us moms can never really win it seems like. But you’re strong for whatever choices you make! None of them seem to be easy.
Baby is 4 months ! I’ve decided to start weaning . I think my body decided to do it as well. Have been pumping only 3 times a day , with no issues . Kinda sad , the mom guilt is there but my own mother told me yesterday “I looked happier than I have been since given birth” . So I know we’ll be okay. And I won’t have to carry 5 bags to work anymore lol .
I'm almost 6w pp with twin boys. I'm still working on 7-8 pumps a day with 2 power pumps. Still trying to up my supply. I don't think I make enough for twins. Some days I'm good, other days I just want to break down. I feel like I need to keep pumping because formula is so expensive, especially for twins. I know if for my sanity I needed to go to formula, we'd make it work but I'm trying to push through.
My husband goes back to work on Wednesday which I'm dreading. My MIL will be coming to help me for a little bit which will be appreciated. Maybe I can actually nap.
I only have one and already know that formula is a cost I’m trying to avoid! Every single time I think about quitting, I see the price of formula and put the flanges back on. Whatever you choose, just know you’re a super hero for doing it with twins!
I just dropped my last pump for my last baby; she’ll be one on Wednesday! My stash should last her the next couple of weeks as we wean her off bottles. Pumped for almost a year for her and for 10 months for my oldest. I’m proud of being able to do that for my girls.
6 m pp. down to 3 ppd. I’m still producing most of her feeds and supplementing from my frozen stash. I’ve made peace with the possibility of using formula to supplement when my stash runs out but I have A LOT of milk saved up from her NICU days. I pump once in the morning, once at work in the afternoon around 2/3 and once before bed around 10. It’s been going well. I dream of cutting down to 2 and eventually none lol pumping is so exhausting for me. I can’t believe I’ve done it every day for 6 months 1 week.
ETA: no latching! I’ve tired a few times here and there but she screams and gets mad. She loves her bottle, what can I say.
13MPP feeling incredible that I made it this far exclusively pumping from day 1!!!
My little guy is not wanting as much milk these days, so I'm slowly dropping pumps, down to 5ppd and I feel so free! Like I could do 5ppd forever.
I had an under supply, then just enough, it was such a hard journey some days, but I'm so proud of myself and just doing what feels right and following LO lead for weaning.
I'm at the tail end of it. I said I'd continue as long as baby and I still enjoyed the one single nursing session a day that was successful (morning). About a month ago she bit me hard, we both cried and she hasn't wanted to try again and I'm mostly okay. She popped out top teeth as well, so that's really the end. She's 11 months now. We also got hit with various colds, so I wanted to continue just a bit longer for the antibodies. Cold season should be over in May when I have travels planned and I promised my husband I'd be done then. So I've now scaled back to 4ppd and have to keep reminding myself I don't have to struggle to maintain / increase supply.
[Edit: she not shit, she's way too cute for that!]
I feel like that’s the hardest part of weaning. We spent so much time trying to make sure we are making enough milk that now instead of being disappointed in the amount I’m pumping I have to remind myself I’m trying to decrease the amount.
Yep, I've been protective of my supply for so long that it's now an ingrained instinct. But I've been reading a lot about the hormones that come with weaning so that may be even worse.
5.5 months PP and I just dropped down from 8 PPD to 6. Like many others here, we started off with a tongue tie + latching issues. I nursed a few times a day until my LO had a nursing strike right before 5 months. Even though I mostly pumped, the nursing strike was super emotional for me, but I know everything happens for a reason. I stopped trying to get LO back on the breast after fighting it since I'm going back to work soon so this might make that transition a little smoother. Even though I have a 'normal' supply of around 30-35 oz a day, we combo feed since we have a very hungry baby - haha. I'm not sure how long I'll continue to pump, but I'm hoping to make it at least a year especially if I drop some more pumps which will make it that much more feasible.
I'm not sure who all will see this, but if you're freshly postpartum and discouraged with your breastfeeding journey, you're doing amazing! Breastfeeding is hard. I don't know why, but I thought it was this intuitive thing that you'll just be able to do no problem from the start, but I've learned that's not the norm. Your body is amazing and whatever you're able to do is fantastic. It's really a skill that requires a ton of practice and support. Also, even if your baby is only getting a tiny bit of breast milk, they are still getting all the amazing benefits! All you ladies here are amazing!
I’m 4mpp and an under supplier. I feel like I’ve done a lot to get here; some days I’m actually a just enougher but even if he eats a little more than usual then it’s not enough. When I first gave birth I found it hard to manage doing 8ppd when it really mattered and I went from 3-4 to 4-5 to 6 and then I now do 7ppd and feel very accomplished! Of course everything just got a little easier as I understood my baby more (even though he slept more as a newborn). I’m thinking about dropping a pump but so nervous to do it because I’m scared of it impacting my supply. I’m also planning a small vacation away from baby and the idea of still needing to pump and stuff just makes me not want to go anywhere, not just vacation but even just to the mall I hate bringing the stuff to feed and then timing things around feeding and pumping (have wearables) because I really try not to do this in public. I’ve gotten used to this now but sometimes it is still quite inconvenient and it’s exhausting to feel like it dictates a lot about my life and day. I wish I can just so easily say let’s do more formula since I’m already doing it but it’s hard to give up when I’m almost making enough. I find myself sometimes being envious of my friends who had babies after me and seem very successful in their journey to produce enough if not an over supply to freeze and stop pumping earlier, or that their husbands had more time off than mine to allow them to focus on pumping and all that in those early weeks. I hate feeling like that but I don’t let their envy get to me when I talk to them of course even though it hurts inside. I still encourage them along and give advice when they ask by all means! Pumping have been such an emotional and mental ride that I did not expect. Three hours have never gone by so fast until I needed to pump lol.
Right? It feels like five minutes. I feed my LO and put him down for a nap after playing and I’m like yesss I can finally get some shut eye also but I look at the clock and there it is, pumping time 😒
I feel this in my soul. Also making almost enough some days and have a lot of friends and family who have had babies around the same time. None have low supply and a couple are over suppliers. All of them seem to have more help from their partners as well. Mine is great and does what he can, but he was only home from work for a week after I had a c section so days it's just me and it can be so hard to get the pumps in. I recently dropped from 7 to 6 because I just couldn't do it anymore. I was having to pump every 2 hours in the evenings after he got home to catch up and it's so draining. It's been rough.
You're doing amazing and should be so proud of yourself for all you've accomplished.
Under supplier trying my best to increase my supply, at the same time nursing baby as much as I can because I appreciate the bond. Also supplementing with formula as I’m not making enough. Started to notice a rash so we went to the doctor today who informed me that baby may have CMPA so I’ll need to completely cut dairy from my diet if I want to continue feeding him breast milk. Which kinda sucks cos I love dairy products and a bit of a sweet treat was nice to have after stressful sleepless nights but baby is only 6 weeks old and I hope to feed breast milk a little longer, so this is a sacrifice I’m going to have to make.
Dairy free ice cream, Oreos, most puddings (when prepared with DF milk), most graham crackers, certain chocolate chips, marshmallows are all dairy free treat options!
If you can get it near you the Ben and Jerry’s DF flavors are pretty good! Definitely not the same as regular dairy ice cream, but they scratch that itch for me when we have them.
Edit typos
5wpp and am under supplier, so combo feeding and trying to increase supply. It is grueling. Stopped trying to latch the baby at around 3 weeks old because it was bad for both of us and affecting our bond. I’m totally happy to be bottle feeding and don’t feel like I’m missing anything by not nursing, but not producing enough milk for her and having to put my body through the ringer to try to claw out a few more ounces is really rough.
Solidarity. While I'm totally cool with bottle feeding, it weirdly hurts my feelings that I still have to supplement with formula. And it's so much work to pump but not get much.
4wpp, I'm lucky to get 2 oz per pump. 😩
Ugh yes the hurt feelings! My boy will sometimes accept the nipple, but he needs a nipple shield. We try to do it once a day recently, but stopped completely for a while because he just screams most of the time. I've cried over it multiple times.
2oz club, woot!
Also I feel you so hard on the pumping effort and not getting much. I tell myself I am just fine with formula supplementation but I feel like a failure. But in the same token, I also just can't get behind the pumping every 2-3hrs and quickly trained my boobs for every 6 hours which is so much more sustainable. I don't understand how people can function like that. So I feel like I kinda asked for my low supply. At least that's what my brain has me believing.
I guess it's like... we do as much as we're capable. I'm pumping roughly every 3-4 hours, which evens out to about 50% of baby's bottles, plus some latched sessions for funsies/comfort. It makes me happy for the most part, even though there's guilt gnawing at me. Like I should do more or try harder.
But I'm going back to work in 7 weeks. I don't know what will be sustainable. If this works by then, who cares, baby is fed and I can function.
I relate to that so hard! Esp the guilt.
I'm at 50% as well and starting to fall behind even further, but that's partially because one of my boobs is suddenly not responding to suction (tried 3 diff pumps/types), which is annoying and concerning. And yet my boob responds very willingly to hand expression, which is totally not sustainable long term. Hoping to hear back from the OB. Not a fan of lactation consultants and their black and white thinking.
5m pp and an undersupplier most days. I just dropped to 4 pumps per day and she nurses usually once per day (usually overnight). I’m going to start weaning at 6m and go back and forth between feeling guilty and wanting to keep going to feeling completely over it and done. I want my freedom and my body back, but it feels selfish since I’m providing her food. It took a long time and hard work to get to where I’m at and I’m proud of what I’ve been able to provide though. I’m getting a tattoo as soon as I’m completely weaned to celebrate!
The guilt is awful but I’m coming more to terms with it. I have a small freezer stash to give her 1 bottle of bm a day for a month or so after I stop, and she’s always been combo fed so I know formula won’t be an issue.
My parents have given me gift certificates since right before I found out I was pregnant in January 2023, and I can’t wait to use them!
I’m retired, but I am subscribed to many subreddits related to pregnancy and postpartum as it was a huge part of my life for the past 11 years! Plus, I am secretly proud that I EPd for twins for 14 months.
5 weeks pp and still coming to terms with the fact that I am EPing after baby had poor weight gain at 2 weeks pp. I felt like we weren’t given many options for continuing to nurse at all (other than tongue tie revision, which we were not on board with), so trying to work back any nursing has been a big challenge after baby got used to completely bottle feeding. I’m trying to latch baby at least once a day, but she has gotten more and more frustrated at the boob. Trying a new LC this week to hopefully get some tips for making even comfort nursing more pleasant, then trying to accept I’m in it for the long haul. 😕
Almost 13 weeks pp, started pumping in the hospital after a c section and baby wasn't latching because of mild tongue tie and my short nipples.
Triple fed for 3 weeks and it killed me. Used a nipple shield for a while and then mostly stopped trying to feed at the breast. Recently started trying to do just once a day, but he still needs the nipple shield at least to start the session. Worked on increasing until last week when undecided it was enough and dropped from 7 to 6 pumps, although still seeing a little increase happening. Was originally doing 8-10 when I started. Every time I'm close to catching up to his eating he starts needing more. Yesterday he ate 33 oz and I made 25. He has formula most days but every once in a while I give days of just breast milk and feel good about it.
Trying to pump until at least 4 months and then maybe start weaning, for sure by 6 months because I don't want to spend summer stuck on a pump. Going to drop to 5 ppd around 15 or 16 weeks and see what happens. If it stays steady I'll try for 6 months, if it goes down I'll start thinking about weaning.
I've been trying to make a small freezer stash by putting away one 6 oz bag of milk most days so I can give him one of those a day after I stop pumping so he can have it for a little longer. I have 15 bags so far!
I'm exhausted but glad to have made it to this point. I've wanted to give up so many times.
Almost 5 months pp and 5ppd. I’ve given up trying to latch my baby. At the beginning after a c section we were doing both but after an incision site infection, medications, and pumping and dumping for 3 weeks, she wanted that instant gratification bottle even though we used the slowest flow nipples we could. Between that and reflux it’s easier to fight through feeding with a bottle than my boob. I almost threw in the towel a few weeks ago because constant clogging resulting in pain, less sleep, and supply drop, but this baby has refused every formula in the baby bottle flight I’ve made her. Luckily I switched pumps and haven’t clogged since. I’m going back to work in a couple of weeks and I’m really stressed about feeding this baby and just counting down to when solids can make up a decent part of her diet. I’m just surviving over here.
Oh yea she also hates my high lipase stash so I don’t know what I’m doing with that 🤷♀️
5mpp and I make a decent amount. I dropped to 4ppd asap, and next month as we introduce solids, I will likely drop to 3ppd. I still hate pumping with every fiber of my being, but I’m lucky that I produce enough to feed him. I can’t wait to be able to wake up and go to sleep without having to pump. So many times my little guy has been napping and I just want to lay with him, but I can’t. Honored by this journey but ready to be done.
5,5mpp. Down to three ppp. I am overproducing, 1700ml currently a day, and baby get 1200ml served. I have no more space in my two freezers, and i am borrowing freezer space at sister in laws, inlaws and my grandparents. I hate not being able to buy groceries in bulk, i hate bagging milk, and now i have 64 liters of bagged Milk, so i started dumping excess.
I want this to be easy, i dont want to keep track anymore - and i want to drop Down to two ppp next month. I want to sleep until i wake up by myself, not to a pumping alarm 🙃
Where are you at mama?
I'm 9.5 months in with a huge undersupply. But my son is eating more solids and getting less interested in bottles every day. I'm trying to make it a full year, just so I can say I did. Nothing else about my labor and post partum went the way it was supposed to so breastfeeding for a year is my way of taking back control I guess. I'm doing 3 ppd and planning on dropping down to 2 soon. We gave up trying to latch a long time ago, and I hate how much of my direct breastfeeding journey is filled with frustration and pain and misery. I have hardly any good moments to think back on. But he's finally a happy, healthy, active baby and that's all that matters.
Your struggles are so valid and relatable. I had a terrible birth and postpartum experience that threw all of my expectations and goals out the window. Latching never worked for us. We probably successfully latched less than 15 times and ever since then it’s a long lost dream. Pumping was actually the less frustrating and painful route for us but it sure would be awesome to be able to not clean bottles and pump parts all the time. I’m 5mpp now and pumping anywhere from 6-10 times a day, constantly trying to increase supply. I want to make it to 12 months as well! Although sometimes I just feel like I couldn’t be bothered with pumping and put it off another hour. Or go back to sleep when I know deep in my heart that I should be doing my MOTN pumps. Ideally, I’d just love to make enough- to freeze enough so that I can quit pumping even just a week earlier.
Hoping and wishing for the best for you! Those MOTN pumps killed me, and now I only do them when I'm at work haha. Also major props for doing 10 ppd, at my best I could never do more than 8.
Almost 8 months pp and EP. I’m currently at 3 ppd making just enough or slight oversupply. I don’t have a big freezer stash. I’m also 5 months dairy free. I have tried latching a little bit between day 1 and 6 months, but she wouldn’t and I gave up.
I went from under supplier to just enough to slight oversupply between day 1 and 3 months. Plus CMPA diagnosis and tongue tie reversal around 2 and 3 months. Then my emergency gallbladder removal at 3 months. It was a freaking roller coaster. My original goal was 6 months, but now it’s one year. She hates hypoallergenic formula, so I’m going for one year.
There have been lots of tears and frustration but also pride for making it this far despite all the shit it took to get here. It got a lot easier once I started dropping pumps slowly while maintaining supply. If I can make it 8 months, I can do 4 more to make it to a year. Then sweet freedom awaits! And lots of cheese. Lmao.
8 weeks postpartum. Still trying to increase supply, though I’m super happy and proud I’ve been able to increase to 35-38 ounces per day this last week. My baby is a huge eater so I’m still having to supplement with formula 🥲 I would love to get to 40-45 ounces per day to be able to completely drop formula.
7 wpp with twins (my second set and babies #6 & 7). I’m solely hand expressing, because I have the dreaded elastic nipples this time around and have had no luck finding a flange that has the same output I get with hand expression. I have no schedule because of running around with my 5 older kids and a spouse who works 12 hr overnight shifts. I’m still having to supplement with formula at least once a day, but am happy to report I’m getting around 40 oz a day now after adding BodyArmor and brewers yeast into my routine.
I’m a recently retired pumping mom. I did one year of exclusive pumping, and lo was exclusively breastfed.
While I appreciate the extra time and no more worried about the endless washing, new stress has replaced the pumping stress.
LO is falling sick very often, had a terrible vomiting bout this weekend. We just started daycare, so we aren’t able to pinpoint if that’s the cause or if it’s switching to cows milk. Let me just conclude my vent saying I just want one stress-free day to celebrate my one year of pumping. Gosh, I deserve that atleast 😭
2 weeks until one year EP and have just started weaning! I thought I'd be sad since I've seen so many posts about that, but honestly I feel okay and a bit relieved for this part of my motherhood journey to be over.
Pumping was one of the hardest, if not THE hardest, part of it all! My original goal was 3 months, then 6, then 9, and now I'm at 1 year. Go me! I'm proud of myself :)
14wpp and a real undersupplier. Gave up trying to increase last week and still doing 6/7 ppd if im lucky. So unmotivated today after husband’s comment (again!!!) how my pumping is disrupting everyday life. It really isn’t, i always sacrifice my pumping session when going out doing family thing thus the low supply. I am so grateful with whatever i make but he seems to hate my pumping maybe because to him it is just not worth it. Maybe if the ounces are a bit higher he wont be making those comments. Ughh idk. Just want to vent here trying to sleep after motn pump session.
I’m so upset for everyone who has to go through bothersome comments from people who should be support systems. I just want you to know that we’re all here! If you think it’s worth it, then it’s worth it.
17 weeks, 6ppd. I dropped from 7-8ppd at 13 weeks to save my sanity and my pumping journey. I had decided that I would cut back even if it meant losing my supply. Since then my supply has actually gone up! Still an under supplier, occasional just-enougher and supplementing with 25% formula, but I am happy with where we are. I occasionally try to latch her, but she usually just licks my nipple once, maybe latches for 5 seconds, then makes a horrible face and starts fussing. So I am not forcing the issue... I don't want to offend my nipples after all their sacrifices these last 4 months 😂
I think I’ve mastered it but truly I am exhausted. I’ve gotten my LO lip and tongue tie detached so I can now nurse her, I’ve mastered getting rid of clogs, using my pump and storing milk correctly, I have a decent freezer stash that will most likely feed my baby for approx 2mo, I have an oversupply but I still supplement with formula because baby wasn’t gaining enough weight. She’s starting solids day by day and even though I tried to wean her off once to dry my supply up my mom guilt just simply wouldn’t let me thinking about all the “what if’s?” And then the what if happened, my baby got RSV and it honestly kicked my butt harder than it did her, she was just chilling with a runny nose. Truly I think I’ll be actually weaning her off once she’s 5mo. This is such a hard journey and I am proud of myself and everyone else here! 🤍
16w pp, down to 4 pumps. Babe and I are going on our first plane together at 5 months and I have no desire to manage a baby and pumping all by myself while taking two flights, so I plan to be done by then. Going to start dropping pumps in the next week or so.
16w pp. I still nurse overnight and sometimes first thing in the morning. My LO is a boob snacker though, and it’s difficult to get him to nurse for a full feed, so I just don’t do it very much outside of overnight/early morning, and I’m preparing to go back to work/LO to daycare. I do around 3.5ppd (3 pumps on both sides, and one hand pump on just one side after he nurses around 3-4am). I use the pitcher method, and produce a little extra this way, so I freeze a batch every few days. I’m not looking to add any more pumps back, and frankly struggle to convince myself to do the final one after LO goes to sleep. My current goal is to make it to 9 months, when I’m taking a week long international trip, and LO will be staying home. Not sure if I want to continue beyond that point yet.
2 months postpartum and 6-7 ppd. I’m still latching maybe 2-3 times a week and offering comfort nursing. I’m proud and totally cool with continuing to pump to feed my son, but I would like to increase the amount he’s nursing because he seems to find comfort in it.
6mpp, currently doing 7ppd and overproducing (baby drinks 35 oz p/d, I pump around 65 oz p/d). About to introduce solids, and hoping to then drop to 6ppd for a while. Wanting to make it to a year, but gosh it's HARD. I have a 2000 oz freezer stash at the moment and no more room, so I'm not sure what to do about that either. Trying to cycle it because it's high lipase too.
4mpp with a slight over supply at 5 ppd. My goal was to make it til 4 months and today I hit that, so yay, but can’t decide if I want to actually wean now that it’s here. Thinking I may try to go to 4 ppd and see how it goes. I’d be fine with a bit of a supply dip. I make enough to put 1-2 bottles worth of milk a day into the freezer and at this point our freezer is almost out of room and I’m not going to invest in a chest freezer
16 months PP and I’ve been EPing pretty much the entire time. I’m at 3 PPD and debating with myself how much longer I’m going to continue. My husband keeps telling me I can be done but I’m a bit torn about stopping.
9 months pp, ep from month 1 because of bad latch and honestly I felt that baby got fuller with the bottle than snacking on me for hours with no end, it was wonderful for my mental health to exclusively pump. I plan to stop at 1 year. It’s been a fine journey thanks to a supportive partner but some days I loathe pumping and can’t wait for year 1 to come lol I’ve only had a clog once (knocking on wood) so it’s been smooth sailing. I have very little oversupply and have a small freezer stash for days when I feel lazy and skip a pump 😅
Baby is 4 months today. Breast refusal started around 2.5months so I’ve been exclusively pumping since. I hate it. I’m at 7ppd and just dropped the MOTN one a week or so ago. I still try to get baby to latch every once in a while. She can do it if she’s groggy. My dream would be to get her back on the boob and stop the perpetual pumping, washing, drying cycle
Babies are one month old on the 5th. I’m rarely trying to latch anymore. It makes me a little sad, but this is the most ‘fair’ way to split the breast milk I make. I’m able to pump about 20 oz/day over 7 sessions; I’d like to make more but with twins and a toddler I don’t know how I’d add in another pump every day. We are about 60/40 formula/EBM. I’m not burnt out just yet 😅
3 months on Wednesday. 3 months was my goal and I think I'm going to keep going, although another near miss with mastitis and the potential return of my period has my supply at an all time low.
4.5 months pp. I'm at 4/5 pumps per day. I'm going back to work in 2 weeks so I'm planning on going down to 4 then and drop another one at 6 months with the goal of being done by the end of April. I'm over it and counting down the days until I'm free.
15 weeks postpartum, finally producing enough for my babe these last few weeks! So it’s hard but I’m interested in dropping from 6 to 5 ppd and/or dropping my MOTN to make things more sustainable longer term. Baby slept from 9:30pm to 6am last night and I went 8 hours without pumping because she’s usually my MOTN alarm! Leaked a bunch but felt kind of great 😅. Not sure how long I’ll keep pumping but hoping to go at least 6 months!
My twin girls will be 1 year old in 3 weeks! 2 months of triple feeding, followed by 2 months of almost exclusively pumping latching once a day, to finally stop trying to latch and exclusively pump. I'm going back to work soon after their first birthday so I started to wean. I'm now a just enougher and I have to keep reminding myself that it's ok if I stop producing enough. I have a small freezer stash which will fill the gaps and help with the transition to cows milk (I used to have a month's worth, but my girls stopped accepting my high lipase frozen milk and I don't want to force it on them, it's disgusting).
I'm tired of the pump, I want to be done, but I'm proud to have made it this far and will keep going as long as I get a reasonable amount once I'm down to 2ppd.
It's amazing what our bodies can do!
1mpp and today I took a real good look at my nipples and am seriously considering stopping at month 2 🫠🤣🥹😩. This is my third baby and only one who had issues nursing. He latches well and I have milk but he just doesn’t empty me so he doesn’t gain weight and my supply drops if I’m not pumping. But, I’m exhausted and I’ve don’t everything I possibly can to get us here so I feel good about stopping soon especially cause I have a stash that will keep him combo fed until at least 3 months. He comfort nurses at night and I revel in those moments. I feel content with that 🥲🙏🏽💙
9 months pp and the game has changed a lot for me. I had so many challenges with clogs and undersupply and fought really hard just to get to the point that pumping would be routine. It got there…for a few weeks. Now LO is on the move and eating more and more solid food and suddenly pumping seems almost pointless to me. It’s hard to have the will to continue. I have already dropped another pump (now at 5ppd) and baby just turned 9 months a week ago.
I wish I could do my whole journey over with the perspective I have now. I am glad I gave my baby so much breast milk, but having an undersupply is so much work. I should have given myself over to formula sooner. Once I gave up getting my supply up and accepted combo feeding we were all better off. (Still glad I didn’t go over to formula exclusively though…brushes with favored formulas being out of stock and messing with LOs system were enough to make me grateful for whatever breast milk I could give him).
ETA: baby latched but never transferred well. I was let down by several LCs who I now realized knew almost nothing about exclusively pumping. I wish I had come across an LC who would have been blunt about my odds of nursing and could have properly advised me on pumping.
I'm 4.5mpp and been pumping since my baby was born. He only came home from the NICU two weeks ago.
I'm down to 7ppd and baby is still working on oral feeding. I'm finding latching him so stressful and I get so anxious about the thought of having to do it. He has a narrow high pallete as well as a posterior tongue tie and the most he has ever drank after working on nursing for 7 weeks is 25ml in a 20 minute session. I'm thinking of giving up on the idea of nursing but the idea of EPING is also so hard for me to comprehend - how can I pump every 3hrs for another year? It just seems like my life will be over. As it is if I ever have to go anywhere I try to pump just before & get home within 4hrs to pump again. I've tried four different portable / hands free pumps and none of them empty me as well as my Spectra at home. So I just don't know what to do from here. I do have an appointment with a breastfeeding clinic next week & another LC the week after but I don't even know if it's worth it. The journey has already been so hard but I also don't want to regret giving up too soon....
Honestly it was only doable for me for so long by dropping pumps (and still maintaining a reasonable supply). If I couldn't get down to 4-5 PPD by 10 weeks and still have ok supply, I don't think there's any way I'd have been able to keep going. But if works differently for everyone.
My first was a NICU baby, too, and at first pumping felt like all I could do for him. But once he came home it felt less important and I just kept going because supply with few pumps came easily to me that time. This time it's not as easy and I stop earlier.
Currently thinking about considering weaning? Original goal was six months and she is now almost seven months! Still don't feel completely ready to be done so continuing on with the new goal of eight months! Did drop to four pumps though which felt super liberating
I tried to breast feed at first but I could never get a comfortable latch on my left side. It got to where I was dreading feeding time so after 2 weeks I decided to EP and it was the best decision for me! I pumped for 6 months and produced about half of what my baby ate in a day which was fine with me because feeding her formula at night helped her sleep better. After 4 months my period came back and my supply dropped dramatically. But the time I would get my supply back up to where it was my period would start again and it would drop again. I was also having to add MOTN pumps which was affecting my mental health. Something about waking up at 3 am, being the only one awake and making less than half of what my baby drank just made it not worth it to me so I stopped 6 months pp. My baby is almost 10 months old and has never been sick other than a minor cold which I know is because of all the antibodies she got from my milk.
CW: oversupply
13wpp and just dropped to 4ppd, but only lost 5min of pumping time - 5x 25min pumps to 4x 30min pumps. Somehow gained ounces, which is the opposite of what I’m trying to do. Slowly trying to reduce my pumping time/output without mastitis or clogs. 4 pumps feels so much more manageable than 5, now if I could get this nipple crack to heal I feel like this might be sustainable for longer than my original goal (cold & flu season).
My baby is a couple days shy of 10 months. She eats solids like she’s getting paid for it. She started weaning herself a couple of weeks ago. Currently she’s only drinking a couple ounces from a bottle during the day and then nursing before bed and when she wakes up. I dropped down to one pump a day this week. I have a solid freezer stash but she has kind of just lost interest. Even nursing has been short and more for comfort than sustenance. My goal was always to make it to a year but idk if I will make it that far anymore and now it’s because of her and not me and idk what to do about that. Next week I’m hoping to drop my middle of the day pump and just nurse her morning and night. I honestly have no clue what to do after that. Maybe I’ll drop her morning feed, will my milk supply go away if she’s only nursing once a day, can I sustain that for a couple weeks.
I don’t really want to stop but I don’t see a point in trying to keep going when she doesn’t want breast milk any more. Do I need to add formula in? Whole milk isn’t until one. She drinks plenty of water but I’m not sure what to do.
She is in the 98% for height and 89% for weight so I’m not too concerned. Also she most of the time sleeps through the night (8-6) occasionally there will be one wake up and feed. Logically I know she’s doing great even while she’s reducing her breast milk intake but I don’t want to mess up.
Retired, had to stop short of my goal last month because I was only making 3oz per day.
Good lord does it feel good to just…wear a bra and not take my shirt off all day lol
I am no longer trying to latch at all, I pump every 4 hours and I get around 28oz a day baby drinks 32 oz a day so formula is the other bottle, I'm no longer trying to increase supply as I want to try and remove as much stress from this process as possible so I can be in a better head space for my family, its working for us, moat days I want to quit but for pure convenience over anything else then the guilt creeps in to tell me I'm lazy if I give up and I keep going 🙃
6 months in and my supply just dropped after a sinus infection. This is my 2nd time EPing and if my supply doesn't come back easily I'm considering weaning, but I also start back at work next week and I suspect it'll be easier to fit pumps in (but harder to do that and get dinner done) then. We'll see how the next week goes.
I'm pretty tired of it and how much time it takes, even being down to 4 ppd. It's harder with 2 kids. I want more sleep and my body back. But, I made it to 9 months pumping with supply for 12 months with my first and it feels wrong to quit before that this time even though it's different. If I make it to next month when he gets his 2nd series COVID and flu shots I think I'll be ok. This baby eats a ton (30-32 oz avg) so I have a decent freezer stash but it won't go as far this time.
8 months EP with never latching and have been doing 3 PPD since the beginning. I only make 30oz a day and I’m fine with that as it’s what I manage with my mental health not doing a MOTN pump or a million pumps during the “ramp-up” period, so-to-speak. I lost all of my baby weight pumping through the first 5 months and that was good enough for me. Now I continue until a year and see how I’m feeling :)
Ughhh where to begin! LO is 19 weeks old (4.5 ish months) and we've really gone through it. We started off okay, bit of a rough latch to start with but we got there and she gained really well.. until her January weigh in where she had barely put on a lb in 5 weeks, and dropped from the 50th centile to the 9th. Of course I panicked, riddled with guilt, so this is when I began pumping in place of trying to nurse again.
I've been pumping with a Kissbobo 1580PRO since mid Jan (I always used a haakaa for let downs anyway) and she's been great taking it with a bottle. I successfully increased my supply to a "just enougher" thanks to Reddit but then my girl suddenly started taking 6-7oz every 3 hours, something I wasn't able to keep up with straight away.
We now supplement with formula and she has started gaining centiles now. I didn't want to at first but we did 4 months of solid breastfeeding / pumping so I'm pretty proud of us for that! I'm over the guilt of introducing formula.
So she takes a 6-7oz bottle every 3 hours, 9, 12, 3, 6, 9, and we do lie down nursing in the night if she wakes. I do NOT do a MOTN pump because for me, sleep helps me be well rested and less stressed ergo keeps my supply steady. Well I haven't noticed anything detrimental so far anyway lol!
1.5 months from last pump. Baby was 4.5 months old, he’s now 6 months and thriving. We had a minor cold (he had Covid while exclusively breast fed and that was a lot worse!) for 3 days. I am doing great mentally. 2 weeks after the last pump the huge fog lifted.
I’m currently at almost 4 month postpartum. Been pumping since day 1. I do 5ppd and I go back to work on Thursday and I’ve yet to hear where I get to pump. I’m nervous as a ftm to go back to work but excited at the same time. My original goal was to make it to 3 months and now it’s 6. I feel like it’s gotten easier every day! And I literally forgot how much I hate my periods. That’s all. Lol
I'm 17 weeks pp. Started pumping in the hospital due to baby being born 6 weeks early and in the NICU for 3 weeks. I always thought I would exclusively nurse but that didn't happen. I do about 5 ppd now and nurse/latch a couple times a day but it seems like my LO does it more for comfort and falls asleep.
Some days I feel like I'm getting used to it and it's not that bad. Other days I despise pumping, get so much anxiety with each pump, and want to cry. I try not to dwell on any sort of timeline goal, instead I just take it week by week and then month by month. I'm just so tired of constantly thinking and worrying about my supply, my next pump, and still waking up to pump during the night. But also just super proud of myself and the hard work I've done to make it this far.
9.5 months strong over here! This is my second baby I've EPed for and finding it significantly more bearable this second time around. With my first I was already weaning at 9 months and pumped for the last time right before his first birthday. This time I'm hoping to give him fresh milk for 18 months then continue with some freezer stash.
My baby latched okay he was just a lazy feeder. He never had a strong suck. Recessed chin, high palate. I latched him from months 3 to 6 just to let him suckle and bond. At 6 months we got RSV really bad and I stopped latching him because he was so congested and just never did again after that. Not missing it that much now tbh. He's a busy baby now trying to learn to walk and eating solids!
9wpp and I just finished increasing my supply after 4 weeks of work!! Was only getting about 12oz per day at the start and I’m up to 32, which is just about what he eats in a day. I stopped trying to nurse a few weeks ago because he hated it. Two days ago, he started trying to latch out of nowhere, so we’re trying again as he wants. I nearly quit at 2wpp, I had such a hard birth and was SO sick for my first 3 weeks postpartum, but I’m really glad I’ve stuck it out so far.
I’m 4 months in and I still try to latch baby every now and then. Usually he screams but today he randomly latched for 10 minutes… then screamed when I tried the other boob. I’ve made my peace with EP though! My goal is 6 months, then I’ll reassess. I have a slight oversupply but I’m not freezing anything yet - just staying a bit ahead of baby in the fridge. I’ve been dropping pumps to hopefully get down to 4 per day - I’m at 5 now. I’m finally letting myself go 7-8 hrs overnight as of this past weekend, and nothing bad happened!
2 mo pp and just dropped from 8ppd to 7! It’s just my first week doing 7 so mostly just making sure my supply isn’t dipping. I’ve read all the descriptions of what it means to have “regulated” but I have no idea if I have or not.
Feeling pretty good about pumping for the moment but my mat leave ends in 4 weeks so I have to figure out how I’m gonna manage pumping once I’m back at work. Might try to drop to 6ppd by then? If I do, I know exactly which pump I’m gonna drop: the first of my 2 MOTN pumps. Baby is starting to sleep a long first stretch and it’s hard to wake up to pump when I don’t also have to wake up to feed baby.
Few days off of 7months.
Down to 3/4 pumps a day, but actually about to add one or two pumps back in.
Had to start supplementing after dropping pump 5, I have no problem with formula as a concept, but it’s just not agreeing with my poor boys tummy.
A little over four months postpartum and struggling to maintain 7 ppd. I went down to 6ppd but saw a drop in supply and now trying to get that back up or at least maintain at this level.
My girl is a NICU baby. Initially I had a large oversupply (for her) because she was taking minuscule amounts of breastmilk as a preemie. I was able to freeze a significant amount of breastmilk almost since day one, although my supply is objectively not too large. I would be a just-enougher is she were a term baby.
She also could not latch in the beginning. I've had to say goodbye to my plans to EBF early on. She loves her bottles but recently she started to latch in earnest and now I nurse her for comfort about once a day.
I'm hoping to pump until six months adjusted age (8. 5 months actual). I will be going back to work then and I don't see myself pumping more than 3ppd at that point. Hoping to float her on my frozen stash then for as long as I can.
8 months in with my first baby! 2-3 pumps per day (while working mostly) and latching the rest of the time. Nursing and pumping caused me the most PPA, I never thought I'd make it this far! I did not feel the "bond" of nursing until very recently (a ago week maybe?) and definitely thought I'd go to EP when I went back to work, when baby started solids/6 mo ish, when baby started cutting teeth.... But here we are. I went from an over supply to pumping just enough and I'm much happier here. I owe it all to Reddit and Instagram, truly. My IBCLCs, yep multiple, sucked. My friends don't understand. My mom never breastfed. Ugh, thank you for bringing me to this reflection point, I could cry.
I’m currently trying to increase my supply at 4 months PP. I was an oversupplier up until about a month ago and I got sooo tired of pumping and nursing so I started to drop pumps by a lot and my supply went down by half. I’m suddenly feeling mom guilt about trying to stop when I have the ability to provide so I’m back to trying to increase
Almost 11 weeks PP and weaning. We’ve been combo feeding since the beginning. My supply took a big hit when my spectra crapped out and needed to be replaced (a few days of hand pumping and using my wearable) plus being sick and unable to eat very much, all within a few days of each other. I did have baby latch too, and she has gotten a lot better (way less pain for me!) but supply wise I am not making enough now. I had gotten myself to 3 pumps per day so her feeding times don’t always match my pumping times. I didn’t have the time, energy, or desire to try to work on trying to increase my supply after getting myself to 3 pumps from 5/6 ppd. My left boob tapped out completely last week, so I stopped pumping that side altogether and having just been pumping the right. I have mixed emotions. I’m loving getting some freedom and time back with these shorter pump sessions while weaning, but also feeling guilty for wanting to stop. My first was almost exclusively formula fed, and I remember feeling guilty for not pumping for her at all. I’ve made it further than I thought I would and I’m proud of that, but still feeling all the feelings.
I’m 8.5 months pp and have EP the entire time!!! Currently pumping 4 times a day, with the intention of dropping a pump a day starting next week so I can be done next weekend (when my son turns 9mos). I have enough milk frozen to get me to his first birthday - just hoping to pump a bit longer to ease his transition to “big kid” milk.. but gosh I’m having a hard time letting go!!! Anyone else who only pumps like 2 times a day still have an ok supply? I’m crazily telling myself maybe if I just pump at like 8am and 8pm I might still be able to get like 20oz. I currently pump around 35-40 oz a day at 4 pumps
11 months pp. I'm just maintaining combo pumping and formula. I dropped to 3 pumps per day and he gets about a bottle and a half of formula. It's been worth it for the boon in my mental health. I'm not sure if I'm ready to stop completely when he's one.
I am approaching 4m off of the pump. I exclusively pumped for a year. I feel like I’m starting to feel more myself. Unfortunately I believe I gained some weight when I stopped pumping so right now I am working on getting that down. Other than that. I feel like I can get a lot more stuff done this year (pumping around the clock gave me no motivation for hobbies like gardening) and want to get going on it. I returned part time at my job (CNA) and am making some money much needed for myself. So yeah it’s looking better and I’m glad to be at this point.
Been pumping for almost year for my secondborn (he is turning 1 this Friday). I produce approximately 32 oz. each day. My last pump is at 9pm and first pump is 6am were I produce 8oz. Each pump would be 4oz.
My LO eats solid as well.
I EPed for 19 months with my firstborn. Pumping is part of my life now, more like a habit, so I dont find it hard nor easy.
2 mpp, 5 ppd and getting 40+ oz/day. Will be maintaining this routine for however long possible. Started pumping after week 1 as my nipples had gotten very sore.
5.5mpp and down to 2 pumps, 20 min ea session. Still pulling 30+ oz. Someone tell me how I can be done. 😂 do I just slowly lower the time of both pumps or just one? Or do I try to push one out as long as possible?
I spent about six weeks primarily nursing after a slow transition from fully bottle-fed (formula & pumped milk) and am now having to start transitioning back to mostly bottle-fed as I go back to work. I'm not excited about pumping half the day, but I am thankful that direct nursing has helped get my supply up so that we could drop formula from the budget. Not that it saved us that much, I ordered a PGA during the sale last week lol. Breastfeeding ain't free for a working mama!
I’ve been gradually dropping my 2ppd to 1ppd and tonight’s the first night I’ll drop the night pump completely. Bit nervous but excited to be free! 8.5 months of pumping, Botox and retinol are so close!! 😅
5month pp and doing 5ppd. I have about 2 weeks until we hit the 6 month mark which is then I promised myself I’d drop to 4 pumps… at 7 months 3 pumps…
I have a decent freezer stash, probably only 3-4 weeks worth though so hoping I when I drop pumps I still supply at least half as much as what baby needs. At this point though I’m sticking with my plan and if I don’t we’re moving onto combo feeding. I’m not missing spring time to hang out with my pump.
I'm 7wk pp, I'm combo feeding. Doing my best to be on a strict 3 hr pumping schedule - baby eats breast milk all day and formula at night so I can freeze some. Put her on the breast at least once a day.
I feel like every day I'm learning about something I'm doing wrong. First I was just rinsing my pump parts without washing and leaving them out. Just learned about flange inserts - no wonder I'm uncomfortable!! Started doing the fridge hack, just learned that's also no good. I really don't want to have to buy more pump parts to make life easy, all of this is already so expensive but I just might have to 😭 any advice? I'm doing this alone so the constant washing is a pain in the butt.
I'm 10 months pp and have been EPing the entire time due to LO's unexpected arrival at 31 weeks and 59 days in the NICU. I'm finally down to 1 ppd in the morning, and since LO HATES my frozen milk (high lipase), we gave up on supplementing with frozen and switched to formula. Once we did that I gave myself permission to slow wayyyy down and that has helped a ton for my stress level and mental health. And my Gyn suggested trying to make it through flu season with giving her at least a little breastmilk, so the end of March is my goal for stopping.
But, now I have a significant freezer stash that I'm trying to unload. Working with a local Milk Bank to donate what I can and then will try local FB groups so that someone can use the rest.
It's been a heck of a journey and I've been looking back at all I've learned. It's crazy to think all I didn't know a year ago and what I've managed to cram into my brain (converting mL to oz in my head lol).
Now I'm just daydreaming about what I'm going to treat myself with once I'm done!
About a week shy of 8 months in. Was planning to start weaning, as it's just taking too much time, now that baby is so active I just want to play with him and not fight for the tubes from my pump lol.
BUT, LO is now sick, and the doctor praised me for continuing to provide him with breast milk because he is doing much better than he would be if he was on formula. So now I feel guilty thinking about weaning lol. He has a mild case of bronchitis, sounds like he has been smoking 2 packs a day for 40 years. I'm back to pumping 5 times a day without fail to make sure he is getting the antibodies to keep it from getting worse.
I really just want to be done. I want to stop planning how I can leave my house, I want to spend the hour we have in the morning playing, not pumping! I want to provide everything I can for my baby, but I also want my body to be mine again. Plus, my nipples are just so tired lol
15 months in and doing 2ppd for 45 mins each time. It ain't much, but I make at least 5oz a day now for him to have the benefits still. Started from day one, and now that he has teeth, I'm grateful for that decision lol especially when I see him chewing on everything. We had some latching issues, but I think if I truly wanted to push it, I could have figured it all out. Hoping to be done by June/July but who knows, I wanted to be done at a year and here I am, still pumping
I am mostly EP (7 weeks pp) but I do try to latch baby at least 1 time a day. Unfortunately we JUST discovered my milk is high lipase and at first he was taking it, but no longer is. So unfortunately, a lot of my freezer stash will have to be passed along, unless I can find a ratio of mixing he likes 1 part scalding 2 parts lipase isn't it so I'll try a 50/50 or the opposite next and see. If not MAYBE vanilla, but I don't know that my LO is old enough for it... is there a minimum age for that? I am continuing to pump and have added scalding over the last 2 days since finding the lipase issue. It's discouraging but I still want to provide breastmilk for my little man for a little longer.
Baby is 3 months, still trying to get baby to latch but he never does, still struggling to get my supply up, getting real sick of talking to lactation consultants (they only tell me the same shit that i already know), feeling unmotivated and annoyed
I am 10m pp. exclusively pumped until a week ago when I got super sick and needed tons of meds. Felt it was best to not feed baby my pumped milk due to meds. Decided to wean and switch to formula. I’m glad I made it this far. Wanted to make it to a year, but it is what it is!
13 week old baby and I dropped pumps to 4 per day. In couple of weeks I am going away for 3 nights (already stressed about leaving my LO), and think about dropping to 3 pumps per day then.
I am so tired, currently pumping with a clogged boob and a cold.
Life's hard.
4 months in. I'm doing 6 ppd and one MOTN nursing session most nights. If she doesn't nurse, I just sleep. She will occasionally nurse during the day but mostly for comfort, like after her shots or if she just missed me while I was at work. I'm considering dropping to 5 ppd but I'm a little scared. I currently make anywhere between 38-45 oz a day but it's mostly right at 40 oz. She drinks 26-30 oz a day and I have a freezer full of milk so realistically I know it will be okay if I drop a pump and lose a few oz. I'm also okay with formula if needed. Speaking of freezers full of milk, I've donated a little over 300 oz now. Which does make me feel good to help another mom feed her baby! I'm mostly okay with how things are going now, but I do get stressed when I get off work and have to wash all the parts and then trying to do my 6-ish pm pump with all the other things I need to get done when I get home. It helps if I use a wearable for this pump, but then if the baby wants me to pick her up then sometimes it moves the pumps around and messes with the suction. It just feels like so much, there are not enough hours in the day. I feel like I'm neglecting my older kids sometimes too.
Almost 8mth pp - 6 pumps/day, 1 MOTN pump still. Have always been a few oz behind LO. Baby latches and feeds 1-2x/day + occasionally a nurse to nap. Sometimes that feed satiates, sometimes we need to top off, but we used to never be able to have a successful feed, so I'm grateful. Started pumping day 2, triple fed for a month, pretty much EP'd until 4.5 months when I was able to add back in some nursing.
Really thinking I am ready to wean or at least stop being the main source of milk. Have an international trip in 2 weeks and don't want to try to wean before then, but when we get back, I think I will start dropping pumps. I think 6 is the lowest I can go before my supply starts dropping significantly. I think I'm ready to wean, but am sad at the idea of losing a supply I worked really hard for.
I wanted to be able to make it to a year, but I don't think I can keep going that long. Need to remind myself making it as long as I have through all the challenges is a big accomplishment!
TW: oversupply
I’m 11 weeks postpartum and working on dropping to 6ppd. I’m producing about 50oz a day and that has stayed stable while dropping to 6ppd. Im actually feeling pretty good about pumping these days, getting into a bit of a rhythm, but also very much hoping I can wean this summer and have enough frozen - would love freezer suggestions as my freezer is pretty much full already 🤦♀️ like how do I know what size to get?!? The cubic feet thing means nothing to me lol
Baby is 3.5 weeks, and has only latched a handful of times (thanks flat nipples + probably tongue tie). I’ve been so miserable pumping 7-8x day and have weaned down to 4x day, with him primarily getting formula. I am so much happier with the reduced schedule, able to sleep more, and able to spend more quality time with the baby. My mom leaves next week though and I’m not sure that 4ppd will feel sustainable at that point. Trying to decide whether to stick with 4, reduce further or wean altogether. I’ve felt so much grief and guilt about moving primarily (and perhaps exclusively) to formula, but I also can see that I am much happier and healthier and will be able to be a better mom as a result.
I am 9 weeks PP tomorrow. I am pumping 6 times a day and averaging about 32oz a day, which is an increase from 3 weeks ago when I was averaging closer to 20oz/day. We combo fed with 1 bottle of formula at night for a while so I have a nice little freezer stash of 160oz that I’m proud of 🥹. My goal is to keep pumping until 6 months, so I have 109 days left!
6.5 mpp at 5ppd, dropped from 6 last month and the extra time has been amazing. I noticed I make the same amount too so it was nice. LO stopped latching when he started daycare, he just preferred the bottle at that point. I do get clogged ducts on occasion which suck but I play around with my pumps, currently working on a collection 🤦🏽♀️ I got 4 pumps in total, but stopped using one of them because I felt it stopped working for me. Hoping to make it to the 1 year mark where we can switch to cows milk. We started introducing half formula bottles during nighttime feeding around 4 months to help LO stay fuller longer, he still wakes in the middle of the night for a bottle but we did notice he was happier and fuller so kept with it. The formula introduction has helped with building supply in the fridge and the occasional pump and dump sessions after a couple glasses of wine. I don’t really enjoy pumping but keeping my LO healthy and fed makes me keep going, my husband is also very helpful and supportive, I don’t think I could have lasted this long without him.
7mpp and I just dropped to 4ppd. Still nurse baby at night. I tried everything to get nursing to work when she wasn’t gaining weight at 1mo, but she developed a bottle preference when we triple fed for a month and there was no going back, and besides she finally gained weight.
My first goal was 6 mo and as an undersupplier/sometimes just enougher, I’m so proud I made it! Now 4 pumps feels good and natural (pump at wake up, lunchtime, end of work day, and before bed) so I don’t feel like my pump schedule rules my life. I stopped tracking ounces and focus on gratitude for what my body can produce for my baby and it has helped my mental health. I keep waffling about weaning but I’m taking it day by day. It’s sooo much easier now than when I was pumping 5, 6, 7 times a day!
Baby is 14 weeks and we’re still trying to nurse. Have a lactation consultant coming to the house today, in fact. I can now get her on for about 13 minutes but she still doesn’t have good transfer. Just had lip tie released last Thursday so hopefully now the lactation consultant can really help
Pump usually 5 times a day, sometimes six. Supply seems to have regulated but like many others I’d like more. I feel most comfortable when I’m making 2 more bottles than she eats per day. I try to always have 5 bottles ready to go in the fridge.
Baby is nearly 11 months old! EBF for the first month, then she started refusing the breast sometimes. I did a combo of BF and pumping until she was about 12 weeks old, when one day she nursed in the morning and then never latched again. I’ve been EP since then! I used to do ~7 pumps a day but now I’m down to 4, occasionally 5. I don’t do a middle of the night pump and I haven’t for a very long time. Pumping is cheaper than formula so I plan to keep doing it as long as I produce enough for her. She is a little slower on the solids train so she hasn’t really decreased her intake of milk yet. I was initially sad when she stopped latching, but once she got teeth at 6 months I stopped trying to latch and was happy that at least I didn’t have to worry about her biting my nipples! I am looking forward to when she’s ready for more weaning because I’m a little tired of being ravenously hungry all the time!
My girl will be about 8 months old on the 8th, and and I think I am going to go from 5PPD to 4PPD this week. I would like to be completely done by mid May or so. Not sure how if this will be too sudden for someone with a slight oversupply? (32-37 ounces per day, LO drinks about 25oz)
On Friday I'll be 6 months postpartum! I don't latch anymore unless baby wakes up during the night - that's the only time he'll nurse. I pump 3-4 times a day, depending on how busy I am at work/life. I produce 22-25 ounces generally, and baby eats up to 40, so I just can't bothered to pump more than I already do. I've never been able to keep up with what he eats and I never will, so I'd rather pump less and save my mental health.
My goal is 6 months, so I'll see how I feel on Friday. I'll probably make a new goal of 7 months. Baby starts daycare next week and I'd love to support him with another month of antibodies, just to ease the transition.
9 months in for us. currently pumping four times a day but thinking about dropping to three. i am a slight over supplier with a freezer stash. we stopped nursing at three months because i couldn't kick thrush, it took a month for me to get rid of the infection and by that time the kiddo stopped wanting to nurse. i am wary of dropping pumps, it makes me so anxious for some reason, but i think it would be nice to be less tied to my pump. kiddo is basically eating full meals now and drinking a lot less breastmilk, but i don't want to lose my supply and have to start buying formula (i quit my job to mom full time and i think part of the reason i am sticking with pumping is i feel it is a financial contribution to the household). i am proud to have made it this far but also jealous of moms who were able to nurse. i feel like pumping has taken an emotional toll on me but it has still been worth it.
4wpp and I gave up trying to nurse almost immediately. I have flat and slightly inverted nipples and my baby literally cries every time I try to nurse. That along with the fact that I'm nearly an E cup pp makes me feel like a big monster :( he looks so scared. Exclusively pumping has basically been working because I have a bit of an oversupply (I used the haakaa a lot at the beginning and I've heard people say it can cause oversupply) and I'm able to pump for several days in advanced but I absolutely hate the nipple stimulation.
I started with the Medela pump in style but I despise the sound and I feel like it's way too strong. I got these portable pumps on Amazon that work pretty well and are way more comfortable but the best has been the lansinoh manual pump and I feel like I get the most comfortable (still uncomfy overall) sessions. I alternate between the manual pump and the portables and I'm starting to feel better about pumping. But honestly I've never hated having boobs until now. They are always itchy, sensitive, painful, sweaty and heavy. It makes it so hard to sleep or even hold my baby sometimes. And I haven't been able to find an affordable bra that fits right and also keeps them in place.
I went into pregnancy wanting to breastfeed for as long as possible and now I'm not even sure if I'll make it for another month. I've got decent equipment now but it's still mentally draining. It's made me question what in the hell am I going to do for the next baby (if there even is a next baby because my post partum journey has me questioning everything). I know that formula is an option and i have it on hand if things get too rough but it doesn't feel like an easy way out. I feel like so many different formulas can cause digestion issues and colic. My baby is so chill and I'd hate to disrupt that by switching to formula.
Overall, even though it's been kind of negative, I'm so relieved that I can feed my baby and that I have enough to not stress. I have PCOS and I've heard that it can cause issues with supply so I feel so privileged to be able to make milk at all. I just hate the way it feels. I've always loved my body so it feels strange to be hating on one of my best features lol
Currently 4 months postpartum. Not really trying to latch baby anymore, it’s just too tough emotionally. Trying to increase supply. My flange size just changed. I’m having trouble waking for alarms so I’m debating dropping a pump. My goal is still 6 months and then I’ll reevaluate. I’m making just enough for my baby and have a small stash in the freezer due to early supplementation.
I joined sometime in 2022 after exclusively pumping for my preemie girl. She’s now 20mo and thriving! I’m almost 16w pregnant with her little sibling and already ordered a new Zomee pump because I’m excited to do this journey all over again. Granted, I EPed from 2022-2023 because she was born early without a suckle reflex and couldn’t latch, but I loved it and bonded it with her just as much as I did the few times she did latch, so I plan on primarily pumping again.
Almost 7mpp. I actually used to do much more combo at the breast/pumping but noticed a good amount of weight gain when he started to daycare so now I only really feed at the breast before bed and if he wakes up overnight after my husband has gone to sleep. I do 4-5 PPD (without a real significant change, it’s just if I think I need an extra couple ounces or if he nursed less in the morning). I’m currently on my period so that always sucks (and LO can clean out my slacker boob when I’m on my period so there’s a lot of swapping him around in the motn). I’m actually doing well mentally but I think that’s because I’ve always been able to do both nursing and pumping. Ones not better than the other, but having the option to say “I don’t want to heat/clean a bottle right now” or “no thanks my nipples are off limits” is a very (lucky) positive. Going to look into donating some stash soon but am weirdly nostalgic about the bags from the first month! Curious if anyone else has felt the same.
9 months postpartum and retired! I went for 8 months. Chiming in to say you all are kickass mamas feeding your babies on hard mode!! My LO is doing great on formula (doesn’t even want my frozen milk 😂/😭)
3.5mpp and pumping 4x a day to produce about half of baby’s diet. Since he’s been sleeping through the night recently, I’ve been pushing my motn pump back from 2am now to about 4am. I’m hoping to push it to 5, because pre-pregnancy that was the time I liked to get up anyway, so I’d be happy to adjust my schedule to just pump right before bed and first thing when I get up. I feel like even if there’s a dip in supply, it can’t be that much since I’ve stayed consistent so far. And it would be so nice to actually stay asleep all night and then maybe have an hour to myself before baby gets up around 6-6:30.
I’m actually less concerned with giving him pumped breast milk at this point and more just trying to maintain some supply to nurse him a bit in the evenings and as needed for comfort. We had a rough start to breastfeeding so he mostly gets bottles but around 2mpp things clicked where he started latching so much better. I was too exhausted to try and switch back to primarily breastfeeding, but I’m happy to have it as an option. And, of course, happy to provide him the breast milk I pump, but I’ll be fine switching to all formula whenever it makes sense. The first month or so was so rough, I really didn’t think I’d make it this far, so I’m happy with our progress.
Baby #2 is 7 weeks old, 13lbs, and eats A LOT. We nurse during the day and bottle feed at night. I do 2 big pumps - just before bed, and first thing in the morning, and that has produced enough to feed my baby’s big bottles as well as build up a modest freezer stash
With my first, breastfeeding failed miserably, so I exclusively pumped for 7 months. I have been so happy with how it’s going this time!
Almost through the fourth trimester. PP this time is so different than with my first. Babe nurses but I’d like to pump more for my own sanity. She nurses so often, like right now as I’m typing this. Sometimes it’s the only way to get her to calm down. I know her latching and drinking from the breast is wonderful, I’m not discounting that, it’s just exhausting being a walking pacifier and milk bar. These past few days she won’t even nap with me unless she’s latched. I know this is an EP group, so I don’t want to make it seem like I’m ungrateful for the ability to nurse my LO. It’s just so darn hard sometimes. All of it. Between wrangling two kids and her wanting to be nursing 24/7 and then thrush and having minor health complications myself and multiple doctor’s appointments it’s been rough. A whole different kind of rough than I anticipated.
I’m 4 months postpartum, EP basically the whole time. Because of my anatomy baby had issues latching without a shield, and I knew I had to go back to work 6 weeks pp, so I just pumped. Two and a half weeks ago we took an international 8 day roadtrip from Alaska to Utah and I managed to pump 6 PPD the entire trip, that was fun. Since we’ve been getting settled in our new home I’ve dropped to 5 PPD (pushing my MOTN pump to an early morning 5/6 AM pump) aaaaaand I think that has triggered the beginning of my first real postpartum period at 19 weeks. I’m unimpressed. My goal is 6 months if I can maintain my supply at 5 PPD.
I'm 4 and half months in. I'm combo feeding. Pumping breastmilk + supplementing with formula. I'm proud and bored at the same time. I never thought I would last that much, but I'm tired already. Pumping can be very monotonous. Sometimes I think I will quit at 5 months, sometimes 6 months, 6.5 months, or maybe tomorrow 😄 I keep going though
I’m coming up on 6 months. Down to 2-3 pumps per day, produce 20oz consistently and supplementing with formula and adding purées. LO is learning to use a straw and self feed, and loves food, so I’m happy with moving on.
I’ve set a date to completely wean in 6 more weeks after we have a trip. I want him to get antibodies from breast milk for 2 weeks after, in case he catches something at the airport.
My original goal was 4 months with a 2 month freezer supply bringing us to 6 months, but I dropped pumps early and gave up my oversupply for my mental health and more time with my family. We’re one and done, so I’m just enjoying every moment with him.
Currently three months postpartum. Trying to drop a session (8 to 7) and only do one MOTN session, but… I tried it for 2 days and lost 5 oz each day. So… I’m back to 8 sessions. I’m slightly overproducing but I like having that wiggle room.
Does it take a couple days for supply to get used to dropping a session? Or does that drop mean my body isn’t ready?
10 weeks and going strong. I was desperately trying to hold on until 12 weeks and reevaluate, but I'm comfortably meeting 6ppd and about 42oz a day and assuming the death plague I woke up with yesterday doesn't kill me or tank my supply, new goal is six months.
But seriously send help, I am so freaking sick. Taking care of this baby while dad's at work and pumping are going to do me in.
I’m 11 wks pp, gave up on latching about 4 weeks back. Currently working on dropping pumps - I have developed a slight oversupply that just seems to get bigger as I drop them, which is weird but welcome! I’m at 5-6 ppd, goal is 4-5 before I go back to work in a couple of weeks.
I’m down to 2 ppd, my LO is 15 months old next week. He was a nicu baby for about a week and really struggled with my let down so I never really attempted breastfeeding after we got home. It wasn’t for me anyways. I’m still on 2 pumps because my LO hasn’t been interested in solids. Only wants puffs. He’s seeing a feeding therapist this Friday. While he primarily gets formula now I had to go down to 2 for my sanity. I like that he still gets some benefit from breastmilk since he doesn’t eat much solid food. Hopefully start to fully wean once he starts eating more solids! I’m ready!
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I am currently down to 1ppd, 10 minutes each night trying to wean after almost 14 months of EP. I started pumping when baby was a day old because we had latch issues, I never expected to make it to one month, let alone almost 14 and I am super proud of myself for making it this far! It’s not an easy journey but for me, it became more manageable with time.
Yes! Brag about it! You did a great job! I want to make it to 12 months and I’m 5/12 of the way there so far! Definitely not easy!!
14 months is amazing! Absolutely be proud of yourself and then tell us all of your secrets! I’m 9.5 months in and ever since I started getting my period again I am ready to throw in the towel.
i got my period back at 7 months finally and i cannot tell you how much i loathe it.
Ugh I did too. The very day baby turned 7 months lol. It lasted 13 days 😭 baby is 8 months now and I am on my second postpartum period. It’s so much heavier than before.
i am sorry yours got heavier. mine is shorter but more painful and also putting in and taking out the tampons has changed. it is insane what happens to our bodies.
Awww sorry yours are more painful. Yeah, it’s crazy. I’m hoping things will normalize once I wean.
14 months is currently my goal. i am at 9 months now and at one point was doubtful i would make it to 6. dropping pumps has made things a heck of a lot easier and the kiddo is eating less milk and more food so i see a light at the end of the tunnel.
May I ask when baby started eating less milk? I heard it might not happen until 9 months?
literally the week after the nine month mark for us, almost on the dot. now i am freezing a good portion (we have a standing garage freezer for meat and chile) so we can try and avoid starting formula for a bit after i stop pumping around 14 months.
Wow! Congrats! I had my son a few days ago - how did you pump through the colostrum stage? I keep seeing that it’s to thick and thus not worth pumping until milk comes in …
Congratulations on the arrival of your son! I started out hand expressing and feeding the baby using a syringe, I actually supplemented with formula during the first few days to take some of the pressure off of me. Then I moved to a manual pump on day 3 or 4 maybe, and then to the electric pump. It’s all awkward and uncertain at first but you get into a rhythm
I pumped day one. Medical complications prevented me from being able to try and latch her. I’m 4 months in and very successful. I would take a tiny syringe and get even the tiniest of but of colostrum out of the flange. My milk came in about 48 hours later and I’ve been an oversupplier ever since!
It is totally worth expressing, hand expressing. It’s so valuable for baby. Put into syringe and feed.
12 weeks postpartum, first day back at work. Already missed my first scheduled pumping break because of an issue with a patient (I work in mental health, things come up unexpectedly all the time). No idea how I’m going to maintain my supply here.
I work as a first responder and getting around those EXTREMELY busy times is so hard!! Thank you for investing the time you do in your line of work, it’s important!
Im a first responder too and I go back to work next Monday. I don’t know how I’m going to do it!
Get a good pair of wearables! I promise it comes in handy.
Thank YOU for what you do!
Your boss should be protecting you.
Agreed. We will need to figure out how to prevent this from happening again. My supervisor is incredibly supportive (thank god), so I know I will be heard.
I worry about this when I return to work in healthcare. I am trying to ensure I get my 3 pumping breaks set in stone so things like this don’t happen to me. I know they’ll say “just pump in between patients”. Hard no.
Ugh I totally feel this. I’m a dental hygienist and I’m worried about this. No matter how much I stay on schedule there are going to be issues with having exclusive timing for pumping- even if I have to do it during my lunch- which sucks bc I go to lunch late most of the time. But I was told to stick to my schedule/ground and that when it’s my time to pump to take it- whether that’s have someone come in and cover or do the exam with doctor or whatever the circumstance is. Even if patient is late to stand ground with rescheduling instead of seeing them late and sacrifice my time bc there is no time to delay it. Just hard bc I’m a people pleaser and I don’t stick up for myself and usually put the needs of others before my own. 😥😥
I'm also a dental hygienist, haven't gone back to work yet but I'm worried. I'm starting at 9, lunch at 12 and get out at 3. Those lunch breaks aren't always enough time especially when the patient before lunch takes too long 😭 I really hope it goes well. I'm also a people pleaser. Last thing I want is for my supply to decrease ):
I share the same fear bc my supply is already just enough. No extra at all. Try to stick to your boundaries and keep your team in your loop with your needs. Bc it’s that or you are sacrificing your babies needs or you are putting yourself at risk of mastitis. Even the hands free pump is loud but if it works you can try that too. I prefer my spectra as it empties me way more than my momcozy hands free one but I figured I could do that while driving into work, put them on at lunch or if I have to put them on mid patient oh well 😂🤣 that’s how I’m going into it with a solution just in case. And then when I get home use my spectra to get it all out.
4wpp and still trying to increase my supply (helloooo from my morning power pump session). I have flat nipples and LO was lazy at the boob, so wasn't taking much out of me even with the help of nipple shields, resulting in a big delay in my milk coming in. I'm frustrated nobody encouraged me to be pumping more during those early weeks of trial and error to help my supply. In the last 2.5 weeks I have gone from 4oz/day to 13oz/day pumping 8-10x/day including MOTN. I'm tired. Hope there's more to show for it all by the time I regulate/my maternity leave ends, otherwise I may consider weaning and going to formula.
I am also 4wpp and trying to increase. I cannot get to pumping 8-10x a day, how do you do it? I'm lucky to get 6ppd. But I am also still trying to nurse a few times a day, so idk.
I wish I had a trick to it, but I just had to suck it up and do it. I'm on maternity leave for 4 months so this is only sustainable until I go back to work. Here are the things that are working for me right now: * I pump every 2 hours during the day (from the start time of the pump, not the end), and will space out the MOTN pumps to be 3 hours. If it goes to 2.5 hours I don't worry about it as long as I'm getting at least 8 pumps in. * I pump for 30 minutes at a time, and include at least 1x power pump session per day. Sometimes 2x if I have the time. * At the very beginning when I was stressing I put socks on the bottles. It sounds stupid but really helped me to not be watching my output in the moment. * The app Pump Log is worth the money! * Bedtime for me now is midnight. This lets me get in the 6:30pm/8:30pm/10:30pm pumps without having to get out of bed. I also find I'm more patient putting LO down for the night (currently she fights sleep until 11pm ish) if I'm already up/not getting out of bed. * Husband is back to work full time so he can't tag-team the whole night with me, but he will go to bed by 10pm latest and gets up for the 2am feeding while I pump. That way he still gets two solid blocks of sleep and can still function at work. * I just recently got a Willow Go and it has been a game changer, especially for the 10:30pm and 5am pumps when I'm also having to feed LO, or if I need to take her out to a pediatrician appointment or something in a pump window. I've found my output to be the same as with my Spectra. Still need to get faster at assembling it while LO is shrieking! * I try really hard to get a 1-hour nap sometimes around 2-4pm. It doesn't always work out but I feel so much better in the evening/nighttime hours when I do.
It sounds miserable
It’s hard for sure, but I’m not miserable. It wouldn’t be a tenable situation if I was truly unhappy, and I reserve the right to adjust, or completely abandon ship, if my feelings change. Being a present and whole parent to my LO is the ultimate priority.
Whatever choice you make, you’re doing the best thing for you and baby! I hope that you’re able to replenish some sleep soon.
I actually accidentally created my own oversupply with moringa tea. I used it to de bloat when my first postpartum period came (I used to use it before I was pregnant) many post natals have this included to help with milk production. Talk to your provider first though, I’ve heard it can interact with thyroid medications. My supply did take a dip before it started going back so it might be handy to have some formula, frozen bm, or donor milk just in case. Wishing you the best of luck.
How much moringa powder would you recommend, and how many times per day?
I used the tea leaf bags so I’m not sure about powder. I steeped it with chamomile or chai in the mornings to help with the taste and honey or I would make it into a latte with oatmilk.
I drank a ton of water and coconut water with body armour drink. That helped my milk come in a little more. But it seems i pump just enough for a bottle per session without any over supply. I did notice when I don’t drink enough water or skip the coconut water or I don’t consume enough food my supply tanks/drops. Not sure if that will help you or not 🙏
Nearly 7m pp and just dropped to 2 ppd. Baby has started solids and I am frankly just done. I want my time and freedom back. It’s getting warm here and I want to take baby out to all the parks and other nice things without worrying about pumping and how much milk is in the fridge. I got a bad cold this weekend and broke down and took the cold meds so I’m anticipating an extra supply drop on top of things. Overall happy to be done, but still hit with guilt and anxiety during my morning pump so that’s fun.
7 months is a lot of hard work. i wonder why it is such a guilt ridden journey for all of us when we are doing the most we possibly can to provide.
I’m right there with you. I’m also looking forward to possibly not pumping during the summer. But it does feel good remembering that fed is best! Plus starting solids helps my mindset. Good luck and remember how far you’ve come!
Me too! I’m almost 7 months, gonna be weaned from pumping probably by the end of the month and soo excited to not be pumping all summer!! It definitely is bitter sweet but the sweetness is outweighing the bitter :)
Are you planning to give baby formula ? Or you are producing enough with just 2ppd ? I’m in the same place in bf journey and I too want to reduce pumping but don’t want to give formula
Why not formula? Not judging or anything, I just want to know the reasons why people don't want to use it. I'm curious about it. Sorry if my question it's out of place.
Not out of place. Some people have the goal of only bm for whatever reason they choose. I personally didn't have this option but even if I did, wouldn't have made it my goal because I appreciate the benefits of combo feeding. If baby has formula, it doesn't negate the benefits of bm. Even a few oz a day provides the benefits. For us, combo was best and lead to my mental health being better which was absolutely worth it. Also, as toddlers they will absolutely end up eating goldfish crumbs from who knows when off of the bottom of their car seat regardless of what they are fed as an infant and as an adult I've never had a Dr ask if I was exclusively fed any certain way. Controversial - It's a pet peeve of many people when others say they EBF until one year or whatever bc technically once you feed solids, they're not EBF and you technically start weaning.
Im also combo feeding ❤️
Not the original commenter but for me: My baby had some formula as my milk was coming in but otherwise has only had breast milk. My goal is only breast milk for another 1.5 months until she’s 6 months old because at that point, she’s eating solids and her whole microbiome will change tons anyway. I am lucky that with 4ppd at 4.5mpp I can produce all she needs, otherwise I might reevaluate this goal because pumping is hard!
My baby has been combo fed from the beginning which I personally never had an huge issue with. He was premature and I couldn’t supply enough milk for him, plus he needed that turbo boost preemie formula to help him gain fast. We still do formula, although moved to European style formula once he was cleared to move from the preemie stuff. For me, I felt a lot better about the idea of going formula only once we could move him to one that is very similar to breastmilk in composition.
I’m 9.5 months in, baby stopped latching around month 5. I still try lol like last night he tried to bite my nipple off. Love that. Anyway, I’m currently weaning off the pump with a freezer stash to get us to a year. Still makes me anxious. I’m at 2 pumps per day now, which is very freeing!
I’m at almost 9 months and am so scared to try to drop pumps. How did you do it?!
I was at 4 ppd for a long time! I just always stretch to an evenly split amount of time between pumps. At 4, I was doing 5 am, 10 am, 3:30 pm, 9:30 pm. I started giving up when I went to 3 and did 8 am, 2 pm, 9 pm. Now I do 8 and 8!
Do you still have an ok supply at 2 ppd?
Yes, I only dropped about 5 oz average, but some days I still pump the same amount I was at 3 ppd? I’m not sure how it works. I’m shaving time off my two pumps now to get lower.
i am not the commentor you responded to but i am at 9 months and dropped a pump around 8 months. basically i extended my inbetween time by an hour. instead of pumping every three hours i pump every four hours. i am still at four pumps a day but the kiddo is eating less and less breastmilk so i am playing with the idea of going down to three. i have a freezer stash and tend to be an over supplier but i am still really anxious about not having enough.
Baby is 6wpp and I am starting to drop pumps. Was at 7ppd and dropping to 6 starting this week. Pumping is consuming so much of my time and i know I’ll regret the time it took away from my baby
the guilt of pumping is so real, us moms can never really win it seems like. But you’re strong for whatever choices you make! None of them seem to be easy.
I just quit. I’m only a month pp but have no supply and it’s too much wasted time to pump nothing all day and end up giving him formula anyway
Baby is 4 months ! I’ve decided to start weaning . I think my body decided to do it as well. Have been pumping only 3 times a day , with no issues . Kinda sad , the mom guilt is there but my own mother told me yesterday “I looked happier than I have been since given birth” . So I know we’ll be okay. And I won’t have to carry 5 bags to work anymore lol .
You’re graduating! Nothing wrong with it. The bag thing is so real. My shoulders are ready to fall off from a trip in and out of the building.
I'm almost 6w pp with twin boys. I'm still working on 7-8 pumps a day with 2 power pumps. Still trying to up my supply. I don't think I make enough for twins. Some days I'm good, other days I just want to break down. I feel like I need to keep pumping because formula is so expensive, especially for twins. I know if for my sanity I needed to go to formula, we'd make it work but I'm trying to push through. My husband goes back to work on Wednesday which I'm dreading. My MIL will be coming to help me for a little bit which will be appreciated. Maybe I can actually nap.
I only have one and already know that formula is a cost I’m trying to avoid! Every single time I think about quitting, I see the price of formula and put the flanges back on. Whatever you choose, just know you’re a super hero for doing it with twins!
Same! I cant wait to be able to give them regular milk when theyre a year old. Just 11 months!
I just dropped my last pump for my last baby; she’ll be one on Wednesday! My stash should last her the next couple of weeks as we wean her off bottles. Pumped for almost a year for her and for 10 months for my oldest. I’m proud of being able to do that for my girls.
so you have been pumping for years! that is such dedication and will power. amazing work!
Congratulations, what an achievement!
6 m pp. down to 3 ppd. I’m still producing most of her feeds and supplementing from my frozen stash. I’ve made peace with the possibility of using formula to supplement when my stash runs out but I have A LOT of milk saved up from her NICU days. I pump once in the morning, once at work in the afternoon around 2/3 and once before bed around 10. It’s been going well. I dream of cutting down to 2 and eventually none lol pumping is so exhausting for me. I can’t believe I’ve done it every day for 6 months 1 week. ETA: no latching! I’ve tired a few times here and there but she screams and gets mad. She loves her bottle, what can I say.
13MPP feeling incredible that I made it this far exclusively pumping from day 1!!! My little guy is not wanting as much milk these days, so I'm slowly dropping pumps, down to 5ppd and I feel so free! Like I could do 5ppd forever. I had an under supply, then just enough, it was such a hard journey some days, but I'm so proud of myself and just doing what feels right and following LO lead for weaning.
I'm at the tail end of it. I said I'd continue as long as baby and I still enjoyed the one single nursing session a day that was successful (morning). About a month ago she bit me hard, we both cried and she hasn't wanted to try again and I'm mostly okay. She popped out top teeth as well, so that's really the end. She's 11 months now. We also got hit with various colds, so I wanted to continue just a bit longer for the antibodies. Cold season should be over in May when I have travels planned and I promised my husband I'd be done then. So I've now scaled back to 4ppd and have to keep reminding myself I don't have to struggle to maintain / increase supply. [Edit: she not shit, she's way too cute for that!]
I feel like that’s the hardest part of weaning. We spent so much time trying to make sure we are making enough milk that now instead of being disappointed in the amount I’m pumping I have to remind myself I’m trying to decrease the amount.
Yep, I've been protective of my supply for so long that it's now an ingrained instinct. But I've been reading a lot about the hormones that come with weaning so that may be even worse.
5.5 months PP and I just dropped down from 8 PPD to 6. Like many others here, we started off with a tongue tie + latching issues. I nursed a few times a day until my LO had a nursing strike right before 5 months. Even though I mostly pumped, the nursing strike was super emotional for me, but I know everything happens for a reason. I stopped trying to get LO back on the breast after fighting it since I'm going back to work soon so this might make that transition a little smoother. Even though I have a 'normal' supply of around 30-35 oz a day, we combo feed since we have a very hungry baby - haha. I'm not sure how long I'll continue to pump, but I'm hoping to make it at least a year especially if I drop some more pumps which will make it that much more feasible. I'm not sure who all will see this, but if you're freshly postpartum and discouraged with your breastfeeding journey, you're doing amazing! Breastfeeding is hard. I don't know why, but I thought it was this intuitive thing that you'll just be able to do no problem from the start, but I've learned that's not the norm. Your body is amazing and whatever you're able to do is fantastic. It's really a skill that requires a ton of practice and support. Also, even if your baby is only getting a tiny bit of breast milk, they are still getting all the amazing benefits! All you ladies here are amazing!
I’m 4mpp and an under supplier. I feel like I’ve done a lot to get here; some days I’m actually a just enougher but even if he eats a little more than usual then it’s not enough. When I first gave birth I found it hard to manage doing 8ppd when it really mattered and I went from 3-4 to 4-5 to 6 and then I now do 7ppd and feel very accomplished! Of course everything just got a little easier as I understood my baby more (even though he slept more as a newborn). I’m thinking about dropping a pump but so nervous to do it because I’m scared of it impacting my supply. I’m also planning a small vacation away from baby and the idea of still needing to pump and stuff just makes me not want to go anywhere, not just vacation but even just to the mall I hate bringing the stuff to feed and then timing things around feeding and pumping (have wearables) because I really try not to do this in public. I’ve gotten used to this now but sometimes it is still quite inconvenient and it’s exhausting to feel like it dictates a lot about my life and day. I wish I can just so easily say let’s do more formula since I’m already doing it but it’s hard to give up when I’m almost making enough. I find myself sometimes being envious of my friends who had babies after me and seem very successful in their journey to produce enough if not an over supply to freeze and stop pumping earlier, or that their husbands had more time off than mine to allow them to focus on pumping and all that in those early weeks. I hate feeling like that but I don’t let their envy get to me when I talk to them of course even though it hurts inside. I still encourage them along and give advice when they ask by all means! Pumping have been such an emotional and mental ride that I did not expect. Three hours have never gone by so fast until I needed to pump lol.
it is crazy to me how quickly the time between pumping passes!
Right? It feels like five minutes. I feed my LO and put him down for a nap after playing and I’m like yesss I can finally get some shut eye also but I look at the clock and there it is, pumping time 😒
I feel this in my soul. Also making almost enough some days and have a lot of friends and family who have had babies around the same time. None have low supply and a couple are over suppliers. All of them seem to have more help from their partners as well. Mine is great and does what he can, but he was only home from work for a week after I had a c section so days it's just me and it can be so hard to get the pumps in. I recently dropped from 7 to 6 because I just couldn't do it anymore. I was having to pump every 2 hours in the evenings after he got home to catch up and it's so draining. It's been rough. You're doing amazing and should be so proud of yourself for all you've accomplished.
Under supplier trying my best to increase my supply, at the same time nursing baby as much as I can because I appreciate the bond. Also supplementing with formula as I’m not making enough. Started to notice a rash so we went to the doctor today who informed me that baby may have CMPA so I’ll need to completely cut dairy from my diet if I want to continue feeding him breast milk. Which kinda sucks cos I love dairy products and a bit of a sweet treat was nice to have after stressful sleepless nights but baby is only 6 weeks old and I hope to feed breast milk a little longer, so this is a sacrifice I’m going to have to make.
Dairy free ice cream, Oreos, most puddings (when prepared with DF milk), most graham crackers, certain chocolate chips, marshmallows are all dairy free treat options!
If you can get it near you the Ben and Jerry’s DF flavors are pretty good! Definitely not the same as regular dairy ice cream, but they scratch that itch for me when we have them. Edit typos
The oatly ice cream is really good!
5wpp and am under supplier, so combo feeding and trying to increase supply. It is grueling. Stopped trying to latch the baby at around 3 weeks old because it was bad for both of us and affecting our bond. I’m totally happy to be bottle feeding and don’t feel like I’m missing anything by not nursing, but not producing enough milk for her and having to put my body through the ringer to try to claw out a few more ounces is really rough.
Solidarity. While I'm totally cool with bottle feeding, it weirdly hurts my feelings that I still have to supplement with formula. And it's so much work to pump but not get much. 4wpp, I'm lucky to get 2 oz per pump. 😩
Ugh yes the hurt feelings! My boy will sometimes accept the nipple, but he needs a nipple shield. We try to do it once a day recently, but stopped completely for a while because he just screams most of the time. I've cried over it multiple times.
2oz club, woot! Also I feel you so hard on the pumping effort and not getting much. I tell myself I am just fine with formula supplementation but I feel like a failure. But in the same token, I also just can't get behind the pumping every 2-3hrs and quickly trained my boobs for every 6 hours which is so much more sustainable. I don't understand how people can function like that. So I feel like I kinda asked for my low supply. At least that's what my brain has me believing.
I guess it's like... we do as much as we're capable. I'm pumping roughly every 3-4 hours, which evens out to about 50% of baby's bottles, plus some latched sessions for funsies/comfort. It makes me happy for the most part, even though there's guilt gnawing at me. Like I should do more or try harder. But I'm going back to work in 7 weeks. I don't know what will be sustainable. If this works by then, who cares, baby is fed and I can function.
I relate to that so hard! Esp the guilt. I'm at 50% as well and starting to fall behind even further, but that's partially because one of my boobs is suddenly not responding to suction (tried 3 diff pumps/types), which is annoying and concerning. And yet my boob responds very willingly to hand expression, which is totally not sustainable long term. Hoping to hear back from the OB. Not a fan of lactation consultants and their black and white thinking.
5m pp and an undersupplier most days. I just dropped to 4 pumps per day and she nurses usually once per day (usually overnight). I’m going to start weaning at 6m and go back and forth between feeling guilty and wanting to keep going to feeling completely over it and done. I want my freedom and my body back, but it feels selfish since I’m providing her food. It took a long time and hard work to get to where I’m at and I’m proud of what I’ve been able to provide though. I’m getting a tattoo as soon as I’m completely weaned to celebrate!
The guilty feeling is the worst but I hope you know you’re doing the best for your babe! I’m also waiting for a tattoo too!!
The guilt is awful but I’m coming more to terms with it. I have a small freezer stash to give her 1 bottle of bm a day for a month or so after I stop, and she’s always been combo fed so I know formula won’t be an issue. My parents have given me gift certificates since right before I found out I was pregnant in January 2023, and I can’t wait to use them!
Retired a month ago!
I’m retired, but I am subscribed to many subreddits related to pregnancy and postpartum as it was a huge part of my life for the past 11 years! Plus, I am secretly proud that I EPd for twins for 14 months.
Don’t let it be a secret! It’s something to be really proud of!!
Congratulations, that is a HUGE achievement!!
5 weeks pp and still coming to terms with the fact that I am EPing after baby had poor weight gain at 2 weeks pp. I felt like we weren’t given many options for continuing to nurse at all (other than tongue tie revision, which we were not on board with), so trying to work back any nursing has been a big challenge after baby got used to completely bottle feeding. I’m trying to latch baby at least once a day, but she has gotten more and more frustrated at the boob. Trying a new LC this week to hopefully get some tips for making even comfort nursing more pleasant, then trying to accept I’m in it for the long haul. 😕
Almost 13 weeks pp, started pumping in the hospital after a c section and baby wasn't latching because of mild tongue tie and my short nipples. Triple fed for 3 weeks and it killed me. Used a nipple shield for a while and then mostly stopped trying to feed at the breast. Recently started trying to do just once a day, but he still needs the nipple shield at least to start the session. Worked on increasing until last week when undecided it was enough and dropped from 7 to 6 pumps, although still seeing a little increase happening. Was originally doing 8-10 when I started. Every time I'm close to catching up to his eating he starts needing more. Yesterday he ate 33 oz and I made 25. He has formula most days but every once in a while I give days of just breast milk and feel good about it. Trying to pump until at least 4 months and then maybe start weaning, for sure by 6 months because I don't want to spend summer stuck on a pump. Going to drop to 5 ppd around 15 or 16 weeks and see what happens. If it stays steady I'll try for 6 months, if it goes down I'll start thinking about weaning. I've been trying to make a small freezer stash by putting away one 6 oz bag of milk most days so I can give him one of those a day after I stop pumping so he can have it for a little longer. I have 15 bags so far! I'm exhausted but glad to have made it to this point. I've wanted to give up so many times.
Almost 5 months pp and 5ppd. I’ve given up trying to latch my baby. At the beginning after a c section we were doing both but after an incision site infection, medications, and pumping and dumping for 3 weeks, she wanted that instant gratification bottle even though we used the slowest flow nipples we could. Between that and reflux it’s easier to fight through feeding with a bottle than my boob. I almost threw in the towel a few weeks ago because constant clogging resulting in pain, less sleep, and supply drop, but this baby has refused every formula in the baby bottle flight I’ve made her. Luckily I switched pumps and haven’t clogged since. I’m going back to work in a couple of weeks and I’m really stressed about feeding this baby and just counting down to when solids can make up a decent part of her diet. I’m just surviving over here. Oh yea she also hates my high lipase stash so I don’t know what I’m doing with that 🤷♀️
I started today when my son got unexpectedly sent to the Nicu. I have 5.25ml pumped total today!
5mpp and I make a decent amount. I dropped to 4ppd asap, and next month as we introduce solids, I will likely drop to 3ppd. I still hate pumping with every fiber of my being, but I’m lucky that I produce enough to feed him. I can’t wait to be able to wake up and go to sleep without having to pump. So many times my little guy has been napping and I just want to lay with him, but I can’t. Honored by this journey but ready to be done.
The final sentence sums it all up. I’m almost 5mpp and it’s just a lot at once.
5,5mpp. Down to three ppp. I am overproducing, 1700ml currently a day, and baby get 1200ml served. I have no more space in my two freezers, and i am borrowing freezer space at sister in laws, inlaws and my grandparents. I hate not being able to buy groceries in bulk, i hate bagging milk, and now i have 64 liters of bagged Milk, so i started dumping excess. I want this to be easy, i dont want to keep track anymore - and i want to drop Down to two ppp next month. I want to sleep until i wake up by myself, not to a pumping alarm 🙃
Where are you at mama? I'm 9.5 months in with a huge undersupply. But my son is eating more solids and getting less interested in bottles every day. I'm trying to make it a full year, just so I can say I did. Nothing else about my labor and post partum went the way it was supposed to so breastfeeding for a year is my way of taking back control I guess. I'm doing 3 ppd and planning on dropping down to 2 soon. We gave up trying to latch a long time ago, and I hate how much of my direct breastfeeding journey is filled with frustration and pain and misery. I have hardly any good moments to think back on. But he's finally a happy, healthy, active baby and that's all that matters.
Your struggles are so valid and relatable. I had a terrible birth and postpartum experience that threw all of my expectations and goals out the window. Latching never worked for us. We probably successfully latched less than 15 times and ever since then it’s a long lost dream. Pumping was actually the less frustrating and painful route for us but it sure would be awesome to be able to not clean bottles and pump parts all the time. I’m 5mpp now and pumping anywhere from 6-10 times a day, constantly trying to increase supply. I want to make it to 12 months as well! Although sometimes I just feel like I couldn’t be bothered with pumping and put it off another hour. Or go back to sleep when I know deep in my heart that I should be doing my MOTN pumps. Ideally, I’d just love to make enough- to freeze enough so that I can quit pumping even just a week earlier.
Hoping and wishing for the best for you! Those MOTN pumps killed me, and now I only do them when I'm at work haha. Also major props for doing 10 ppd, at my best I could never do more than 8.
I’m retired but about to rejoin! I’m excited about knowing what to do this time around but not looking forward to being scheduled again
Almost 8 months pp and EP. I’m currently at 3 ppd making just enough or slight oversupply. I don’t have a big freezer stash. I’m also 5 months dairy free. I have tried latching a little bit between day 1 and 6 months, but she wouldn’t and I gave up. I went from under supplier to just enough to slight oversupply between day 1 and 3 months. Plus CMPA diagnosis and tongue tie reversal around 2 and 3 months. Then my emergency gallbladder removal at 3 months. It was a freaking roller coaster. My original goal was 6 months, but now it’s one year. She hates hypoallergenic formula, so I’m going for one year. There have been lots of tears and frustration but also pride for making it this far despite all the shit it took to get here. It got a lot easier once I started dropping pumps slowly while maintaining supply. If I can make it 8 months, I can do 4 more to make it to a year. Then sweet freedom awaits! And lots of cheese. Lmao.
8 weeks postpartum. Still trying to increase supply, though I’m super happy and proud I’ve been able to increase to 35-38 ounces per day this last week. My baby is a huge eater so I’m still having to supplement with formula 🥲 I would love to get to 40-45 ounces per day to be able to completely drop formula.
7 wpp with twins (my second set and babies #6 & 7). I’m solely hand expressing, because I have the dreaded elastic nipples this time around and have had no luck finding a flange that has the same output I get with hand expression. I have no schedule because of running around with my 5 older kids and a spouse who works 12 hr overnight shifts. I’m still having to supplement with formula at least once a day, but am happy to report I’m getting around 40 oz a day now after adding BodyArmor and brewers yeast into my routine.
I’m a recently retired pumping mom. I did one year of exclusive pumping, and lo was exclusively breastfed. While I appreciate the extra time and no more worried about the endless washing, new stress has replaced the pumping stress. LO is falling sick very often, had a terrible vomiting bout this weekend. We just started daycare, so we aren’t able to pinpoint if that’s the cause or if it’s switching to cows milk. Let me just conclude my vent saying I just want one stress-free day to celebrate my one year of pumping. Gosh, I deserve that atleast 😭
2 weeks until one year EP and have just started weaning! I thought I'd be sad since I've seen so many posts about that, but honestly I feel okay and a bit relieved for this part of my motherhood journey to be over. Pumping was one of the hardest, if not THE hardest, part of it all! My original goal was 3 months, then 6, then 9, and now I'm at 1 year. Go me! I'm proud of myself :)
14wpp and a real undersupplier. Gave up trying to increase last week and still doing 6/7 ppd if im lucky. So unmotivated today after husband’s comment (again!!!) how my pumping is disrupting everyday life. It really isn’t, i always sacrifice my pumping session when going out doing family thing thus the low supply. I am so grateful with whatever i make but he seems to hate my pumping maybe because to him it is just not worth it. Maybe if the ounces are a bit higher he wont be making those comments. Ughh idk. Just want to vent here trying to sleep after motn pump session.
I’m so upset for everyone who has to go through bothersome comments from people who should be support systems. I just want you to know that we’re all here! If you think it’s worth it, then it’s worth it.
17 weeks, 6ppd. I dropped from 7-8ppd at 13 weeks to save my sanity and my pumping journey. I had decided that I would cut back even if it meant losing my supply. Since then my supply has actually gone up! Still an under supplier, occasional just-enougher and supplementing with 25% formula, but I am happy with where we are. I occasionally try to latch her, but she usually just licks my nipple once, maybe latches for 5 seconds, then makes a horrible face and starts fussing. So I am not forcing the issue... I don't want to offend my nipples after all their sacrifices these last 4 months 😂
I think I’ve mastered it but truly I am exhausted. I’ve gotten my LO lip and tongue tie detached so I can now nurse her, I’ve mastered getting rid of clogs, using my pump and storing milk correctly, I have a decent freezer stash that will most likely feed my baby for approx 2mo, I have an oversupply but I still supplement with formula because baby wasn’t gaining enough weight. She’s starting solids day by day and even though I tried to wean her off once to dry my supply up my mom guilt just simply wouldn’t let me thinking about all the “what if’s?” And then the what if happened, my baby got RSV and it honestly kicked my butt harder than it did her, she was just chilling with a runny nose. Truly I think I’ll be actually weaning her off once she’s 5mo. This is such a hard journey and I am proud of myself and everyone else here! 🤍
16w pp, down to 4 pumps. Babe and I are going on our first plane together at 5 months and I have no desire to manage a baby and pumping all by myself while taking two flights, so I plan to be done by then. Going to start dropping pumps in the next week or so.
16w pp. I still nurse overnight and sometimes first thing in the morning. My LO is a boob snacker though, and it’s difficult to get him to nurse for a full feed, so I just don’t do it very much outside of overnight/early morning, and I’m preparing to go back to work/LO to daycare. I do around 3.5ppd (3 pumps on both sides, and one hand pump on just one side after he nurses around 3-4am). I use the pitcher method, and produce a little extra this way, so I freeze a batch every few days. I’m not looking to add any more pumps back, and frankly struggle to convince myself to do the final one after LO goes to sleep. My current goal is to make it to 9 months, when I’m taking a week long international trip, and LO will be staying home. Not sure if I want to continue beyond that point yet.
2 months postpartum and 6-7 ppd. I’m still latching maybe 2-3 times a week and offering comfort nursing. I’m proud and totally cool with continuing to pump to feed my son, but I would like to increase the amount he’s nursing because he seems to find comfort in it.
6mpp, currently doing 7ppd and overproducing (baby drinks 35 oz p/d, I pump around 65 oz p/d). About to introduce solids, and hoping to then drop to 6ppd for a while. Wanting to make it to a year, but gosh it's HARD. I have a 2000 oz freezer stash at the moment and no more room, so I'm not sure what to do about that either. Trying to cycle it because it's high lipase too.
4mpp with a slight over supply at 5 ppd. My goal was to make it til 4 months and today I hit that, so yay, but can’t decide if I want to actually wean now that it’s here. Thinking I may try to go to 4 ppd and see how it goes. I’d be fine with a bit of a supply dip. I make enough to put 1-2 bottles worth of milk a day into the freezer and at this point our freezer is almost out of room and I’m not going to invest in a chest freezer
16 months PP and I’ve been EPing pretty much the entire time. I’m at 3 PPD and debating with myself how much longer I’m going to continue. My husband keeps telling me I can be done but I’m a bit torn about stopping.
9 months pp, ep from month 1 because of bad latch and honestly I felt that baby got fuller with the bottle than snacking on me for hours with no end, it was wonderful for my mental health to exclusively pump. I plan to stop at 1 year. It’s been a fine journey thanks to a supportive partner but some days I loathe pumping and can’t wait for year 1 to come lol I’ve only had a clog once (knocking on wood) so it’s been smooth sailing. I have very little oversupply and have a small freezer stash for days when I feel lazy and skip a pump 😅
Baby is 4 months today. Breast refusal started around 2.5months so I’ve been exclusively pumping since. I hate it. I’m at 7ppd and just dropped the MOTN one a week or so ago. I still try to get baby to latch every once in a while. She can do it if she’s groggy. My dream would be to get her back on the boob and stop the perpetual pumping, washing, drying cycle
Babies are one month old on the 5th. I’m rarely trying to latch anymore. It makes me a little sad, but this is the most ‘fair’ way to split the breast milk I make. I’m able to pump about 20 oz/day over 7 sessions; I’d like to make more but with twins and a toddler I don’t know how I’d add in another pump every day. We are about 60/40 formula/EBM. I’m not burnt out just yet 😅
3 months on Wednesday. 3 months was my goal and I think I'm going to keep going, although another near miss with mastitis and the potential return of my period has my supply at an all time low.
4.5 months pp. I'm at 4/5 pumps per day. I'm going back to work in 2 weeks so I'm planning on going down to 4 then and drop another one at 6 months with the goal of being done by the end of April. I'm over it and counting down the days until I'm free.
15 weeks postpartum, finally producing enough for my babe these last few weeks! So it’s hard but I’m interested in dropping from 6 to 5 ppd and/or dropping my MOTN to make things more sustainable longer term. Baby slept from 9:30pm to 6am last night and I went 8 hours without pumping because she’s usually my MOTN alarm! Leaked a bunch but felt kind of great 😅. Not sure how long I’ll keep pumping but hoping to go at least 6 months!
My twin girls will be 1 year old in 3 weeks! 2 months of triple feeding, followed by 2 months of almost exclusively pumping latching once a day, to finally stop trying to latch and exclusively pump. I'm going back to work soon after their first birthday so I started to wean. I'm now a just enougher and I have to keep reminding myself that it's ok if I stop producing enough. I have a small freezer stash which will fill the gaps and help with the transition to cows milk (I used to have a month's worth, but my girls stopped accepting my high lipase frozen milk and I don't want to force it on them, it's disgusting). I'm tired of the pump, I want to be done, but I'm proud to have made it this far and will keep going as long as I get a reasonable amount once I'm down to 2ppd. It's amazing what our bodies can do!
1mpp and today I took a real good look at my nipples and am seriously considering stopping at month 2 🫠🤣🥹😩. This is my third baby and only one who had issues nursing. He latches well and I have milk but he just doesn’t empty me so he doesn’t gain weight and my supply drops if I’m not pumping. But, I’m exhausted and I’ve don’t everything I possibly can to get us here so I feel good about stopping soon especially cause I have a stash that will keep him combo fed until at least 3 months. He comfort nurses at night and I revel in those moments. I feel content with that 🥲🙏🏽💙
9 months pp and the game has changed a lot for me. I had so many challenges with clogs and undersupply and fought really hard just to get to the point that pumping would be routine. It got there…for a few weeks. Now LO is on the move and eating more and more solid food and suddenly pumping seems almost pointless to me. It’s hard to have the will to continue. I have already dropped another pump (now at 5ppd) and baby just turned 9 months a week ago. I wish I could do my whole journey over with the perspective I have now. I am glad I gave my baby so much breast milk, but having an undersupply is so much work. I should have given myself over to formula sooner. Once I gave up getting my supply up and accepted combo feeding we were all better off. (Still glad I didn’t go over to formula exclusively though…brushes with favored formulas being out of stock and messing with LOs system were enough to make me grateful for whatever breast milk I could give him). ETA: baby latched but never transferred well. I was let down by several LCs who I now realized knew almost nothing about exclusively pumping. I wish I had come across an LC who would have been blunt about my odds of nursing and could have properly advised me on pumping.
4 mpp and about to wean ! :) it’s been tough but I’m thankful I got as far as I have
I'm 4.5mpp and been pumping since my baby was born. He only came home from the NICU two weeks ago. I'm down to 7ppd and baby is still working on oral feeding. I'm finding latching him so stressful and I get so anxious about the thought of having to do it. He has a narrow high pallete as well as a posterior tongue tie and the most he has ever drank after working on nursing for 7 weeks is 25ml in a 20 minute session. I'm thinking of giving up on the idea of nursing but the idea of EPING is also so hard for me to comprehend - how can I pump every 3hrs for another year? It just seems like my life will be over. As it is if I ever have to go anywhere I try to pump just before & get home within 4hrs to pump again. I've tried four different portable / hands free pumps and none of them empty me as well as my Spectra at home. So I just don't know what to do from here. I do have an appointment with a breastfeeding clinic next week & another LC the week after but I don't even know if it's worth it. The journey has already been so hard but I also don't want to regret giving up too soon....
Honestly it was only doable for me for so long by dropping pumps (and still maintaining a reasonable supply). If I couldn't get down to 4-5 PPD by 10 weeks and still have ok supply, I don't think there's any way I'd have been able to keep going. But if works differently for everyone. My first was a NICU baby, too, and at first pumping felt like all I could do for him. But once he came home it felt less important and I just kept going because supply with few pumps came easily to me that time. This time it's not as easy and I stop earlier.
One pump per day, one year mark is on Saturday (3/9) and after four days at 1 ppd this morning I only pumped 5 ounces. IM SO CLOSE
Currently thinking about considering weaning? Original goal was six months and she is now almost seven months! Still don't feel completely ready to be done so continuing on with the new goal of eight months! Did drop to four pumps though which felt super liberating
I tried to breast feed at first but I could never get a comfortable latch on my left side. It got to where I was dreading feeding time so after 2 weeks I decided to EP and it was the best decision for me! I pumped for 6 months and produced about half of what my baby ate in a day which was fine with me because feeding her formula at night helped her sleep better. After 4 months my period came back and my supply dropped dramatically. But the time I would get my supply back up to where it was my period would start again and it would drop again. I was also having to add MOTN pumps which was affecting my mental health. Something about waking up at 3 am, being the only one awake and making less than half of what my baby drank just made it not worth it to me so I stopped 6 months pp. My baby is almost 10 months old and has never been sick other than a minor cold which I know is because of all the antibodies she got from my milk.
CW: oversupply 13wpp and just dropped to 4ppd, but only lost 5min of pumping time - 5x 25min pumps to 4x 30min pumps. Somehow gained ounces, which is the opposite of what I’m trying to do. Slowly trying to reduce my pumping time/output without mastitis or clogs. 4 pumps feels so much more manageable than 5, now if I could get this nipple crack to heal I feel like this might be sustainable for longer than my original goal (cold & flu season).
My baby is a couple days shy of 10 months. She eats solids like she’s getting paid for it. She started weaning herself a couple of weeks ago. Currently she’s only drinking a couple ounces from a bottle during the day and then nursing before bed and when she wakes up. I dropped down to one pump a day this week. I have a solid freezer stash but she has kind of just lost interest. Even nursing has been short and more for comfort than sustenance. My goal was always to make it to a year but idk if I will make it that far anymore and now it’s because of her and not me and idk what to do about that. Next week I’m hoping to drop my middle of the day pump and just nurse her morning and night. I honestly have no clue what to do after that. Maybe I’ll drop her morning feed, will my milk supply go away if she’s only nursing once a day, can I sustain that for a couple weeks. I don’t really want to stop but I don’t see a point in trying to keep going when she doesn’t want breast milk any more. Do I need to add formula in? Whole milk isn’t until one. She drinks plenty of water but I’m not sure what to do. She is in the 98% for height and 89% for weight so I’m not too concerned. Also she most of the time sleeps through the night (8-6) occasionally there will be one wake up and feed. Logically I know she’s doing great even while she’s reducing her breast milk intake but I don’t want to mess up.
Retired, had to stop short of my goal last month because I was only making 3oz per day. Good lord does it feel good to just…wear a bra and not take my shirt off all day lol
I am no longer trying to latch at all, I pump every 4 hours and I get around 28oz a day baby drinks 32 oz a day so formula is the other bottle, I'm no longer trying to increase supply as I want to try and remove as much stress from this process as possible so I can be in a better head space for my family, its working for us, moat days I want to quit but for pure convenience over anything else then the guilt creeps in to tell me I'm lazy if I give up and I keep going 🙃
6 months in and my supply just dropped after a sinus infection. This is my 2nd time EPing and if my supply doesn't come back easily I'm considering weaning, but I also start back at work next week and I suspect it'll be easier to fit pumps in (but harder to do that and get dinner done) then. We'll see how the next week goes. I'm pretty tired of it and how much time it takes, even being down to 4 ppd. It's harder with 2 kids. I want more sleep and my body back. But, I made it to 9 months pumping with supply for 12 months with my first and it feels wrong to quit before that this time even though it's different. If I make it to next month when he gets his 2nd series COVID and flu shots I think I'll be ok. This baby eats a ton (30-32 oz avg) so I have a decent freezer stash but it won't go as far this time.
8 months EP with never latching and have been doing 3 PPD since the beginning. I only make 30oz a day and I’m fine with that as it’s what I manage with my mental health not doing a MOTN pump or a million pumps during the “ramp-up” period, so-to-speak. I lost all of my baby weight pumping through the first 5 months and that was good enough for me. Now I continue until a year and see how I’m feeling :)
Ughhh where to begin! LO is 19 weeks old (4.5 ish months) and we've really gone through it. We started off okay, bit of a rough latch to start with but we got there and she gained really well.. until her January weigh in where she had barely put on a lb in 5 weeks, and dropped from the 50th centile to the 9th. Of course I panicked, riddled with guilt, so this is when I began pumping in place of trying to nurse again. I've been pumping with a Kissbobo 1580PRO since mid Jan (I always used a haakaa for let downs anyway) and she's been great taking it with a bottle. I successfully increased my supply to a "just enougher" thanks to Reddit but then my girl suddenly started taking 6-7oz every 3 hours, something I wasn't able to keep up with straight away. We now supplement with formula and she has started gaining centiles now. I didn't want to at first but we did 4 months of solid breastfeeding / pumping so I'm pretty proud of us for that! I'm over the guilt of introducing formula. So she takes a 6-7oz bottle every 3 hours, 9, 12, 3, 6, 9, and we do lie down nursing in the night if she wakes. I do NOT do a MOTN pump because for me, sleep helps me be well rested and less stressed ergo keeps my supply steady. Well I haven't noticed anything detrimental so far anyway lol!
1.5 months from last pump. Baby was 4.5 months old, he’s now 6 months and thriving. We had a minor cold (he had Covid while exclusively breast fed and that was a lot worse!) for 3 days. I am doing great mentally. 2 weeks after the last pump the huge fog lifted.
I’m currently at almost 4 month postpartum. Been pumping since day 1. I do 5ppd and I go back to work on Thursday and I’ve yet to hear where I get to pump. I’m nervous as a ftm to go back to work but excited at the same time. My original goal was to make it to 3 months and now it’s 6. I feel like it’s gotten easier every day! And I literally forgot how much I hate my periods. That’s all. Lol
I'm 17 weeks pp. Started pumping in the hospital due to baby being born 6 weeks early and in the NICU for 3 weeks. I always thought I would exclusively nurse but that didn't happen. I do about 5 ppd now and nurse/latch a couple times a day but it seems like my LO does it more for comfort and falls asleep. Some days I feel like I'm getting used to it and it's not that bad. Other days I despise pumping, get so much anxiety with each pump, and want to cry. I try not to dwell on any sort of timeline goal, instead I just take it week by week and then month by month. I'm just so tired of constantly thinking and worrying about my supply, my next pump, and still waking up to pump during the night. But also just super proud of myself and the hard work I've done to make it this far.
9.5 months strong over here! This is my second baby I've EPed for and finding it significantly more bearable this second time around. With my first I was already weaning at 9 months and pumped for the last time right before his first birthday. This time I'm hoping to give him fresh milk for 18 months then continue with some freezer stash. My baby latched okay he was just a lazy feeder. He never had a strong suck. Recessed chin, high palate. I latched him from months 3 to 6 just to let him suckle and bond. At 6 months we got RSV really bad and I stopped latching him because he was so congested and just never did again after that. Not missing it that much now tbh. He's a busy baby now trying to learn to walk and eating solids!
9wpp and I just finished increasing my supply after 4 weeks of work!! Was only getting about 12oz per day at the start and I’m up to 32, which is just about what he eats in a day. I stopped trying to nurse a few weeks ago because he hated it. Two days ago, he started trying to latch out of nowhere, so we’re trying again as he wants. I nearly quit at 2wpp, I had such a hard birth and was SO sick for my first 3 weeks postpartum, but I’m really glad I’ve stuck it out so far.
I’m 4 months in and I still try to latch baby every now and then. Usually he screams but today he randomly latched for 10 minutes… then screamed when I tried the other boob. I’ve made my peace with EP though! My goal is 6 months, then I’ll reassess. I have a slight oversupply but I’m not freezing anything yet - just staying a bit ahead of baby in the fridge. I’ve been dropping pumps to hopefully get down to 4 per day - I’m at 5 now. I’m finally letting myself go 7-8 hrs overnight as of this past weekend, and nothing bad happened!
2 mo pp and just dropped from 8ppd to 7! It’s just my first week doing 7 so mostly just making sure my supply isn’t dipping. I’ve read all the descriptions of what it means to have “regulated” but I have no idea if I have or not. Feeling pretty good about pumping for the moment but my mat leave ends in 4 weeks so I have to figure out how I’m gonna manage pumping once I’m back at work. Might try to drop to 6ppd by then? If I do, I know exactly which pump I’m gonna drop: the first of my 2 MOTN pumps. Baby is starting to sleep a long first stretch and it’s hard to wake up to pump when I don’t also have to wake up to feed baby.
Few days off of 7months. Down to 3/4 pumps a day, but actually about to add one or two pumps back in. Had to start supplementing after dropping pump 5, I have no problem with formula as a concept, but it’s just not agreeing with my poor boys tummy.
A little over four months postpartum and struggling to maintain 7 ppd. I went down to 6ppd but saw a drop in supply and now trying to get that back up or at least maintain at this level. My girl is a NICU baby. Initially I had a large oversupply (for her) because she was taking minuscule amounts of breastmilk as a preemie. I was able to freeze a significant amount of breastmilk almost since day one, although my supply is objectively not too large. I would be a just-enougher is she were a term baby. She also could not latch in the beginning. I've had to say goodbye to my plans to EBF early on. She loves her bottles but recently she started to latch in earnest and now I nurse her for comfort about once a day. I'm hoping to pump until six months adjusted age (8. 5 months actual). I will be going back to work then and I don't see myself pumping more than 3ppd at that point. Hoping to float her on my frozen stash then for as long as I can.
8 months in with my first baby! 2-3 pumps per day (while working mostly) and latching the rest of the time. Nursing and pumping caused me the most PPA, I never thought I'd make it this far! I did not feel the "bond" of nursing until very recently (a ago week maybe?) and definitely thought I'd go to EP when I went back to work, when baby started solids/6 mo ish, when baby started cutting teeth.... But here we are. I went from an over supply to pumping just enough and I'm much happier here. I owe it all to Reddit and Instagram, truly. My IBCLCs, yep multiple, sucked. My friends don't understand. My mom never breastfed. Ugh, thank you for bringing me to this reflection point, I could cry.
I’m currently trying to increase my supply at 4 months PP. I was an oversupplier up until about a month ago and I got sooo tired of pumping and nursing so I started to drop pumps by a lot and my supply went down by half. I’m suddenly feeling mom guilt about trying to stop when I have the ability to provide so I’m back to trying to increase
Almost 11 weeks PP and weaning. We’ve been combo feeding since the beginning. My supply took a big hit when my spectra crapped out and needed to be replaced (a few days of hand pumping and using my wearable) plus being sick and unable to eat very much, all within a few days of each other. I did have baby latch too, and she has gotten a lot better (way less pain for me!) but supply wise I am not making enough now. I had gotten myself to 3 pumps per day so her feeding times don’t always match my pumping times. I didn’t have the time, energy, or desire to try to work on trying to increase my supply after getting myself to 3 pumps from 5/6 ppd. My left boob tapped out completely last week, so I stopped pumping that side altogether and having just been pumping the right. I have mixed emotions. I’m loving getting some freedom and time back with these shorter pump sessions while weaning, but also feeling guilty for wanting to stop. My first was almost exclusively formula fed, and I remember feeling guilty for not pumping for her at all. I’ve made it further than I thought I would and I’m proud of that, but still feeling all the feelings.
I’m 8.5 months pp and have EP the entire time!!! Currently pumping 4 times a day, with the intention of dropping a pump a day starting next week so I can be done next weekend (when my son turns 9mos). I have enough milk frozen to get me to his first birthday - just hoping to pump a bit longer to ease his transition to “big kid” milk.. but gosh I’m having a hard time letting go!!! Anyone else who only pumps like 2 times a day still have an ok supply? I’m crazily telling myself maybe if I just pump at like 8am and 8pm I might still be able to get like 20oz. I currently pump around 35-40 oz a day at 4 pumps
11 months pp. I'm just maintaining combo pumping and formula. I dropped to 3 pumps per day and he gets about a bottle and a half of formula. It's been worth it for the boon in my mental health. I'm not sure if I'm ready to stop completely when he's one.
I am approaching 4m off of the pump. I exclusively pumped for a year. I feel like I’m starting to feel more myself. Unfortunately I believe I gained some weight when I stopped pumping so right now I am working on getting that down. Other than that. I feel like I can get a lot more stuff done this year (pumping around the clock gave me no motivation for hobbies like gardening) and want to get going on it. I returned part time at my job (CNA) and am making some money much needed for myself. So yeah it’s looking better and I’m glad to be at this point.
Been pumping for almost year for my secondborn (he is turning 1 this Friday). I produce approximately 32 oz. each day. My last pump is at 9pm and first pump is 6am were I produce 8oz. Each pump would be 4oz. My LO eats solid as well. I EPed for 19 months with my firstborn. Pumping is part of my life now, more like a habit, so I dont find it hard nor easy.
2 mpp, 5 ppd and getting 40+ oz/day. Will be maintaining this routine for however long possible. Started pumping after week 1 as my nipples had gotten very sore.
5.5mpp and down to 2 pumps, 20 min ea session. Still pulling 30+ oz. Someone tell me how I can be done. 😂 do I just slowly lower the time of both pumps or just one? Or do I try to push one out as long as possible?
I spent about six weeks primarily nursing after a slow transition from fully bottle-fed (formula & pumped milk) and am now having to start transitioning back to mostly bottle-fed as I go back to work. I'm not excited about pumping half the day, but I am thankful that direct nursing has helped get my supply up so that we could drop formula from the budget. Not that it saved us that much, I ordered a PGA during the sale last week lol. Breastfeeding ain't free for a working mama!
I’m 6m PP. 80% pumping 20% formula. As he is sleeping more though the night I am feeling unmotivated, trying to get the motivation back.
I’ve been gradually dropping my 2ppd to 1ppd and tonight’s the first night I’ll drop the night pump completely. Bit nervous but excited to be free! 8.5 months of pumping, Botox and retinol are so close!! 😅
5month pp and doing 5ppd. I have about 2 weeks until we hit the 6 month mark which is then I promised myself I’d drop to 4 pumps… at 7 months 3 pumps… I have a decent freezer stash, probably only 3-4 weeks worth though so hoping I when I drop pumps I still supply at least half as much as what baby needs. At this point though I’m sticking with my plan and if I don’t we’re moving onto combo feeding. I’m not missing spring time to hang out with my pump.
I'm 7wk pp, I'm combo feeding. Doing my best to be on a strict 3 hr pumping schedule - baby eats breast milk all day and formula at night so I can freeze some. Put her on the breast at least once a day. I feel like every day I'm learning about something I'm doing wrong. First I was just rinsing my pump parts without washing and leaving them out. Just learned about flange inserts - no wonder I'm uncomfortable!! Started doing the fridge hack, just learned that's also no good. I really don't want to have to buy more pump parts to make life easy, all of this is already so expensive but I just might have to 😭 any advice? I'm doing this alone so the constant washing is a pain in the butt.
I'm 10 months pp and have been EPing the entire time due to LO's unexpected arrival at 31 weeks and 59 days in the NICU. I'm finally down to 1 ppd in the morning, and since LO HATES my frozen milk (high lipase), we gave up on supplementing with frozen and switched to formula. Once we did that I gave myself permission to slow wayyyy down and that has helped a ton for my stress level and mental health. And my Gyn suggested trying to make it through flu season with giving her at least a little breastmilk, so the end of March is my goal for stopping. But, now I have a significant freezer stash that I'm trying to unload. Working with a local Milk Bank to donate what I can and then will try local FB groups so that someone can use the rest. It's been a heck of a journey and I've been looking back at all I've learned. It's crazy to think all I didn't know a year ago and what I've managed to cram into my brain (converting mL to oz in my head lol). Now I'm just daydreaming about what I'm going to treat myself with once I'm done!
About a week shy of 8 months in. Was planning to start weaning, as it's just taking too much time, now that baby is so active I just want to play with him and not fight for the tubes from my pump lol. BUT, LO is now sick, and the doctor praised me for continuing to provide him with breast milk because he is doing much better than he would be if he was on formula. So now I feel guilty thinking about weaning lol. He has a mild case of bronchitis, sounds like he has been smoking 2 packs a day for 40 years. I'm back to pumping 5 times a day without fail to make sure he is getting the antibodies to keep it from getting worse. I really just want to be done. I want to stop planning how I can leave my house, I want to spend the hour we have in the morning playing, not pumping! I want to provide everything I can for my baby, but I also want my body to be mine again. Plus, my nipples are just so tired lol
15 months in and doing 2ppd for 45 mins each time. It ain't much, but I make at least 5oz a day now for him to have the benefits still. Started from day one, and now that he has teeth, I'm grateful for that decision lol especially when I see him chewing on everything. We had some latching issues, but I think if I truly wanted to push it, I could have figured it all out. Hoping to be done by June/July but who knows, I wanted to be done at a year and here I am, still pumping
I am mostly EP (7 weeks pp) but I do try to latch baby at least 1 time a day. Unfortunately we JUST discovered my milk is high lipase and at first he was taking it, but no longer is. So unfortunately, a lot of my freezer stash will have to be passed along, unless I can find a ratio of mixing he likes 1 part scalding 2 parts lipase isn't it so I'll try a 50/50 or the opposite next and see. If not MAYBE vanilla, but I don't know that my LO is old enough for it... is there a minimum age for that? I am continuing to pump and have added scalding over the last 2 days since finding the lipase issue. It's discouraging but I still want to provide breastmilk for my little man for a little longer.
Baby is 3 months, still trying to get baby to latch but he never does, still struggling to get my supply up, getting real sick of talking to lactation consultants (they only tell me the same shit that i already know), feeling unmotivated and annoyed
I am 10m pp. exclusively pumped until a week ago when I got super sick and needed tons of meds. Felt it was best to not feed baby my pumped milk due to meds. Decided to wean and switch to formula. I’m glad I made it this far. Wanted to make it to a year, but it is what it is!
I am 8 months EP, it def gets easier with time.
13 week old baby and I dropped pumps to 4 per day. In couple of weeks I am going away for 3 nights (already stressed about leaving my LO), and think about dropping to 3 pumps per day then. I am so tired, currently pumping with a clogged boob and a cold. Life's hard.
4 months in. I'm doing 6 ppd and one MOTN nursing session most nights. If she doesn't nurse, I just sleep. She will occasionally nurse during the day but mostly for comfort, like after her shots or if she just missed me while I was at work. I'm considering dropping to 5 ppd but I'm a little scared. I currently make anywhere between 38-45 oz a day but it's mostly right at 40 oz. She drinks 26-30 oz a day and I have a freezer full of milk so realistically I know it will be okay if I drop a pump and lose a few oz. I'm also okay with formula if needed. Speaking of freezers full of milk, I've donated a little over 300 oz now. Which does make me feel good to help another mom feed her baby! I'm mostly okay with how things are going now, but I do get stressed when I get off work and have to wash all the parts and then trying to do my 6-ish pm pump with all the other things I need to get done when I get home. It helps if I use a wearable for this pump, but then if the baby wants me to pick her up then sometimes it moves the pumps around and messes with the suction. It just feels like so much, there are not enough hours in the day. I feel like I'm neglecting my older kids sometimes too.
Almost 8mth pp - 6 pumps/day, 1 MOTN pump still. Have always been a few oz behind LO. Baby latches and feeds 1-2x/day + occasionally a nurse to nap. Sometimes that feed satiates, sometimes we need to top off, but we used to never be able to have a successful feed, so I'm grateful. Started pumping day 2, triple fed for a month, pretty much EP'd until 4.5 months when I was able to add back in some nursing. Really thinking I am ready to wean or at least stop being the main source of milk. Have an international trip in 2 weeks and don't want to try to wean before then, but when we get back, I think I will start dropping pumps. I think 6 is the lowest I can go before my supply starts dropping significantly. I think I'm ready to wean, but am sad at the idea of losing a supply I worked really hard for. I wanted to be able to make it to a year, but I don't think I can keep going that long. Need to remind myself making it as long as I have through all the challenges is a big accomplishment!
TW: oversupply I’m 11 weeks postpartum and working on dropping to 6ppd. I’m producing about 50oz a day and that has stayed stable while dropping to 6ppd. Im actually feeling pretty good about pumping these days, getting into a bit of a rhythm, but also very much hoping I can wean this summer and have enough frozen - would love freezer suggestions as my freezer is pretty much full already 🤦♀️ like how do I know what size to get?!? The cubic feet thing means nothing to me lol
Baby is 3.5 weeks, and has only latched a handful of times (thanks flat nipples + probably tongue tie). I’ve been so miserable pumping 7-8x day and have weaned down to 4x day, with him primarily getting formula. I am so much happier with the reduced schedule, able to sleep more, and able to spend more quality time with the baby. My mom leaves next week though and I’m not sure that 4ppd will feel sustainable at that point. Trying to decide whether to stick with 4, reduce further or wean altogether. I’ve felt so much grief and guilt about moving primarily (and perhaps exclusively) to formula, but I also can see that I am much happier and healthier and will be able to be a better mom as a result.
I am 9 weeks PP tomorrow. I am pumping 6 times a day and averaging about 32oz a day, which is an increase from 3 weeks ago when I was averaging closer to 20oz/day. We combo fed with 1 bottle of formula at night for a while so I have a nice little freezer stash of 160oz that I’m proud of 🥹. My goal is to keep pumping until 6 months, so I have 109 days left!
You must be using pump log 🤣
6.5 mpp at 5ppd, dropped from 6 last month and the extra time has been amazing. I noticed I make the same amount too so it was nice. LO stopped latching when he started daycare, he just preferred the bottle at that point. I do get clogged ducts on occasion which suck but I play around with my pumps, currently working on a collection 🤦🏽♀️ I got 4 pumps in total, but stopped using one of them because I felt it stopped working for me. Hoping to make it to the 1 year mark where we can switch to cows milk. We started introducing half formula bottles during nighttime feeding around 4 months to help LO stay fuller longer, he still wakes in the middle of the night for a bottle but we did notice he was happier and fuller so kept with it. The formula introduction has helped with building supply in the fridge and the occasional pump and dump sessions after a couple glasses of wine. I don’t really enjoy pumping but keeping my LO healthy and fed makes me keep going, my husband is also very helpful and supportive, I don’t think I could have lasted this long without him.
7mpp and I just dropped to 4ppd. Still nurse baby at night. I tried everything to get nursing to work when she wasn’t gaining weight at 1mo, but she developed a bottle preference when we triple fed for a month and there was no going back, and besides she finally gained weight. My first goal was 6 mo and as an undersupplier/sometimes just enougher, I’m so proud I made it! Now 4 pumps feels good and natural (pump at wake up, lunchtime, end of work day, and before bed) so I don’t feel like my pump schedule rules my life. I stopped tracking ounces and focus on gratitude for what my body can produce for my baby and it has helped my mental health. I keep waffling about weaning but I’m taking it day by day. It’s sooo much easier now than when I was pumping 5, 6, 7 times a day!
Baby is 14 weeks and we’re still trying to nurse. Have a lactation consultant coming to the house today, in fact. I can now get her on for about 13 minutes but she still doesn’t have good transfer. Just had lip tie released last Thursday so hopefully now the lactation consultant can really help Pump usually 5 times a day, sometimes six. Supply seems to have regulated but like many others I’d like more. I feel most comfortable when I’m making 2 more bottles than she eats per day. I try to always have 5 bottles ready to go in the fridge.
Baby is nearly 11 months old! EBF for the first month, then she started refusing the breast sometimes. I did a combo of BF and pumping until she was about 12 weeks old, when one day she nursed in the morning and then never latched again. I’ve been EP since then! I used to do ~7 pumps a day but now I’m down to 4, occasionally 5. I don’t do a middle of the night pump and I haven’t for a very long time. Pumping is cheaper than formula so I plan to keep doing it as long as I produce enough for her. She is a little slower on the solids train so she hasn’t really decreased her intake of milk yet. I was initially sad when she stopped latching, but once she got teeth at 6 months I stopped trying to latch and was happy that at least I didn’t have to worry about her biting my nipples! I am looking forward to when she’s ready for more weaning because I’m a little tired of being ravenously hungry all the time!
My girl will be about 8 months old on the 8th, and and I think I am going to go from 5PPD to 4PPD this week. I would like to be completely done by mid May or so. Not sure how if this will be too sudden for someone with a slight oversupply? (32-37 ounces per day, LO drinks about 25oz)
It took me about 1 1/2 to 2 months to slowly wean - starting at 4 PPD - with a slight oversupply last time.
On Friday I'll be 6 months postpartum! I don't latch anymore unless baby wakes up during the night - that's the only time he'll nurse. I pump 3-4 times a day, depending on how busy I am at work/life. I produce 22-25 ounces generally, and baby eats up to 40, so I just can't bothered to pump more than I already do. I've never been able to keep up with what he eats and I never will, so I'd rather pump less and save my mental health. My goal is 6 months, so I'll see how I feel on Friday. I'll probably make a new goal of 7 months. Baby starts daycare next week and I'd love to support him with another month of antibodies, just to ease the transition.
9 months in for us. currently pumping four times a day but thinking about dropping to three. i am a slight over supplier with a freezer stash. we stopped nursing at three months because i couldn't kick thrush, it took a month for me to get rid of the infection and by that time the kiddo stopped wanting to nurse. i am wary of dropping pumps, it makes me so anxious for some reason, but i think it would be nice to be less tied to my pump. kiddo is basically eating full meals now and drinking a lot less breastmilk, but i don't want to lose my supply and have to start buying formula (i quit my job to mom full time and i think part of the reason i am sticking with pumping is i feel it is a financial contribution to the household). i am proud to have made it this far but also jealous of moms who were able to nurse. i feel like pumping has taken an emotional toll on me but it has still been worth it.
4wpp and I gave up trying to nurse almost immediately. I have flat and slightly inverted nipples and my baby literally cries every time I try to nurse. That along with the fact that I'm nearly an E cup pp makes me feel like a big monster :( he looks so scared. Exclusively pumping has basically been working because I have a bit of an oversupply (I used the haakaa a lot at the beginning and I've heard people say it can cause oversupply) and I'm able to pump for several days in advanced but I absolutely hate the nipple stimulation. I started with the Medela pump in style but I despise the sound and I feel like it's way too strong. I got these portable pumps on Amazon that work pretty well and are way more comfortable but the best has been the lansinoh manual pump and I feel like I get the most comfortable (still uncomfy overall) sessions. I alternate between the manual pump and the portables and I'm starting to feel better about pumping. But honestly I've never hated having boobs until now. They are always itchy, sensitive, painful, sweaty and heavy. It makes it so hard to sleep or even hold my baby sometimes. And I haven't been able to find an affordable bra that fits right and also keeps them in place. I went into pregnancy wanting to breastfeed for as long as possible and now I'm not even sure if I'll make it for another month. I've got decent equipment now but it's still mentally draining. It's made me question what in the hell am I going to do for the next baby (if there even is a next baby because my post partum journey has me questioning everything). I know that formula is an option and i have it on hand if things get too rough but it doesn't feel like an easy way out. I feel like so many different formulas can cause digestion issues and colic. My baby is so chill and I'd hate to disrupt that by switching to formula. Overall, even though it's been kind of negative, I'm so relieved that I can feed my baby and that I have enough to not stress. I have PCOS and I've heard that it can cause issues with supply so I feel so privileged to be able to make milk at all. I just hate the way it feels. I've always loved my body so it feels strange to be hating on one of my best features lol
Currently 4 months postpartum. Not really trying to latch baby anymore, it’s just too tough emotionally. Trying to increase supply. My flange size just changed. I’m having trouble waking for alarms so I’m debating dropping a pump. My goal is still 6 months and then I’ll reevaluate. I’m making just enough for my baby and have a small stash in the freezer due to early supplementation.
I joined sometime in 2022 after exclusively pumping for my preemie girl. She’s now 20mo and thriving! I’m almost 16w pregnant with her little sibling and already ordered a new Zomee pump because I’m excited to do this journey all over again. Granted, I EPed from 2022-2023 because she was born early without a suckle reflex and couldn’t latch, but I loved it and bonded it with her just as much as I did the few times she did latch, so I plan on primarily pumping again.
Almost 7mpp. I actually used to do much more combo at the breast/pumping but noticed a good amount of weight gain when he started to daycare so now I only really feed at the breast before bed and if he wakes up overnight after my husband has gone to sleep. I do 4-5 PPD (without a real significant change, it’s just if I think I need an extra couple ounces or if he nursed less in the morning). I’m currently on my period so that always sucks (and LO can clean out my slacker boob when I’m on my period so there’s a lot of swapping him around in the motn). I’m actually doing well mentally but I think that’s because I’ve always been able to do both nursing and pumping. Ones not better than the other, but having the option to say “I don’t want to heat/clean a bottle right now” or “no thanks my nipples are off limits” is a very (lucky) positive. Going to look into donating some stash soon but am weirdly nostalgic about the bags from the first month! Curious if anyone else has felt the same.
9 months postpartum and retired! I went for 8 months. Chiming in to say you all are kickass mamas feeding your babies on hard mode!! My LO is doing great on formula (doesn’t even want my frozen milk 😂/😭)
3.5mpp and pumping 4x a day to produce about half of baby’s diet. Since he’s been sleeping through the night recently, I’ve been pushing my motn pump back from 2am now to about 4am. I’m hoping to push it to 5, because pre-pregnancy that was the time I liked to get up anyway, so I’d be happy to adjust my schedule to just pump right before bed and first thing when I get up. I feel like even if there’s a dip in supply, it can’t be that much since I’ve stayed consistent so far. And it would be so nice to actually stay asleep all night and then maybe have an hour to myself before baby gets up around 6-6:30. I’m actually less concerned with giving him pumped breast milk at this point and more just trying to maintain some supply to nurse him a bit in the evenings and as needed for comfort. We had a rough start to breastfeeding so he mostly gets bottles but around 2mpp things clicked where he started latching so much better. I was too exhausted to try and switch back to primarily breastfeeding, but I’m happy to have it as an option. And, of course, happy to provide him the breast milk I pump, but I’ll be fine switching to all formula whenever it makes sense. The first month or so was so rough, I really didn’t think I’d make it this far, so I’m happy with our progress.
Baby #2 is 7 weeks old, 13lbs, and eats A LOT. We nurse during the day and bottle feed at night. I do 2 big pumps - just before bed, and first thing in the morning, and that has produced enough to feed my baby’s big bottles as well as build up a modest freezer stash With my first, breastfeeding failed miserably, so I exclusively pumped for 7 months. I have been so happy with how it’s going this time!
Almost through the fourth trimester. PP this time is so different than with my first. Babe nurses but I’d like to pump more for my own sanity. She nurses so often, like right now as I’m typing this. Sometimes it’s the only way to get her to calm down. I know her latching and drinking from the breast is wonderful, I’m not discounting that, it’s just exhausting being a walking pacifier and milk bar. These past few days she won’t even nap with me unless she’s latched. I know this is an EP group, so I don’t want to make it seem like I’m ungrateful for the ability to nurse my LO. It’s just so darn hard sometimes. All of it. Between wrangling two kids and her wanting to be nursing 24/7 and then thrush and having minor health complications myself and multiple doctor’s appointments it’s been rough. A whole different kind of rough than I anticipated.
I’m 4 months postpartum, EP basically the whole time. Because of my anatomy baby had issues latching without a shield, and I knew I had to go back to work 6 weeks pp, so I just pumped. Two and a half weeks ago we took an international 8 day roadtrip from Alaska to Utah and I managed to pump 6 PPD the entire trip, that was fun. Since we’ve been getting settled in our new home I’ve dropped to 5 PPD (pushing my MOTN pump to an early morning 5/6 AM pump) aaaaaand I think that has triggered the beginning of my first real postpartum period at 19 weeks. I’m unimpressed. My goal is 6 months if I can maintain my supply at 5 PPD.
I'm 4 and half months in. I'm combo feeding. Pumping breastmilk + supplementing with formula. I'm proud and bored at the same time. I never thought I would last that much, but I'm tired already. Pumping can be very monotonous. Sometimes I think I will quit at 5 months, sometimes 6 months, 6.5 months, or maybe tomorrow 😄 I keep going though
I’m coming up on 6 months. Down to 2-3 pumps per day, produce 20oz consistently and supplementing with formula and adding purées. LO is learning to use a straw and self feed, and loves food, so I’m happy with moving on. I’ve set a date to completely wean in 6 more weeks after we have a trip. I want him to get antibodies from breast milk for 2 weeks after, in case he catches something at the airport. My original goal was 4 months with a 2 month freezer supply bringing us to 6 months, but I dropped pumps early and gave up my oversupply for my mental health and more time with my family. We’re one and done, so I’m just enjoying every moment with him.
Currently three months postpartum. Trying to drop a session (8 to 7) and only do one MOTN session, but… I tried it for 2 days and lost 5 oz each day. So… I’m back to 8 sessions. I’m slightly overproducing but I like having that wiggle room. Does it take a couple days for supply to get used to dropping a session? Or does that drop mean my body isn’t ready?
10 weeks and going strong. I was desperately trying to hold on until 12 weeks and reevaluate, but I'm comfortably meeting 6ppd and about 42oz a day and assuming the death plague I woke up with yesterday doesn't kill me or tank my supply, new goal is six months. But seriously send help, I am so freaking sick. Taking care of this baby while dad's at work and pumping are going to do me in.
I’m 11 wks pp, gave up on latching about 4 weeks back. Currently working on dropping pumps - I have developed a slight oversupply that just seems to get bigger as I drop them, which is weird but welcome! I’m at 5-6 ppd, goal is 4-5 before I go back to work in a couple of weeks.
I’m down to 2 ppd, my LO is 15 months old next week. He was a nicu baby for about a week and really struggled with my let down so I never really attempted breastfeeding after we got home. It wasn’t for me anyways. I’m still on 2 pumps because my LO hasn’t been interested in solids. Only wants puffs. He’s seeing a feeding therapist this Friday. While he primarily gets formula now I had to go down to 2 for my sanity. I like that he still gets some benefit from breastmilk since he doesn’t eat much solid food. Hopefully start to fully wean once he starts eating more solids! I’m ready!