So I originally started with the goal of breast feeding for 6 months. I have been breast feeding and pumping for 4.5 months. When I was on maternity leave it was so much easier to just breast feed. I've been back at work for 3 weeks and its exhausting pumping every 3 hours and I have a very demanding job. Am I quitting if I start weaning LO around 6 months? I feel selfish that I want to stop feeling tied to my breast pump.
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I don't think stopping breastfeeding at any point in time is "quitting". Feeding baby is all about happy mommy/happy baby. If breastfeeding isn't making you both happy anymore, stopping is just doing what is best for you.
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Absolutely not. 6 months is great...so is 4.5 months!
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No. It is not quitting and you are NOT selfish.
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You have to quit at some point.
I work a pretty demanding job and pumping was hard. I set mini goals and was willing to stop whenever I wanted when I reached those goals. Like you my first goal was six months. Then I had to get through a bad bite. Then I wanted to make it to a year.
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Everyone has to stop sometime! Do what makes you happiest!
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I felt the same way when I wanted to stop pumping at work. It was such a hard decision! However, once it was done and over, I felt happier at work and DD didn't even seem to care! And, if you feel really bad about it, continue nursing when you are home. I was able to not pump at work but continue to nurse DD until she was one. I just nursed when I was home (so that meant dinner time, night time and before I went to work).
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Not in my opinion. What you've done has been great for your son. Taking care of yourself (and your sanity) is just as important as taking care of your baby.
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i don't think its quitting! Pumping is hard, even if you're just doing it at home. I can't imagine having to pump so much at work. Have you thought of manipulating your pump times? in preparation to not pump at work, i only pump 3x a day, 8am, 5pm and 11pm. I still get enough to feed my LO. Yes i'm engorged by 5pm and 8am but its not that bad.... i'm hoping to reach 6 months too!
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By 6 months you're already introducing solids which is the natural start of weaning anyway, so I definitely wouldn't think of it as quitting!
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Absolutely not! You have to do what is right for you. And as other people said, everyone has to "quit" at some point!
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Pumping is so hard. There are some amazing women on this board that do pumping full time. I couldn't do that because I hated my pump. There is no problem with stopping when you want/need to. The best day in my life was when I stopped pumping.
There is another option if you want it. You could co-bed and nurse at night. Then not have to pump at work (or pump at lunch only). You could also just do when you are home with the baby I know that has been successful. Of course that is if you enjoy the breastfeeding and just don't like pumping. If you don't want to do either then go ahead and stop there is nothing wrong with that.
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However long you BF is great! I definitely feel you on hating the pump, I've been back at work for 4 weeks and I hate pumping! I am trying to get to six months too, and then see where we are.
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No!! I think doing 6 months is impressive.
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Not at all! Kudos to you for making it to 6 months!
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You've done a great job, it's not quitting at all. I give kudos to all you mommas who pump at work to feed your babies, I coudln't imagine having to do that. I agree with MsMini, happy baby happy mommy. And at 6 months they drop down drastically in the amount of nursing they do anyhow.
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No way!! You need to do what works best for your family. I exclusively pumped til 4 months and had an enormous freezer stash - I stopped when we confirmed my son had a dairy intolerance and I couldn't take an elimination diet anymore. Then we stopped feeding him my frozen milk when he confined to have issues with the traces of dairy in my milk. He got breastmilk til 4.5 months and though I sometimes feel guilty that I couldn't keep up with the diet, I know that I did what was best for us. And by us, I mean me.
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definitely not! I hated feeling tied to my pump all the time.
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Not at all! How awesome that you made it this far! Pumping is so difficult!
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Not even a little! 6 months is a LONG time and you've given your baby a great head-start already. Don't worry one second about it and do what you need to do, mama.
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You are doing great! I am in the same place. My goal was 6 months and I am 2 weeks away. We started a bottle a day of formula a few days ago and it is such a relief. Also remember, it doesn't have to be all or nothing. Some breastmilk is great if you still want to pump or breastfeed once or twice a day. And you can wean gradually, Instead of pumping 3 times a day, go down to 2. Your body will adjust accordingly and it will seem so much easier for a few more weeks.
Good luck!
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I'm in the same situation. DD is 5.5 months, but has been heavily supplemented with formula from about 4 months. I really wanted to breastfeed (via breast or breastmilk bottles) for a year, but pumping was not enough to keep up my supply. It plummeted within the first 2 weeks of going back to work. I finally made peace with quitting pumping this past week, and honestly had a much better week! Each time I was only pumping an ounce or less I felt like an utter failure. I found I had to mourn giving up pumping a little. I'm still feeding her in the morning and at night, so we are still doing some breastfeeding.
You've done great though! Try to remember that during this time of transition.
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Also agree with @shortcake - I weaned pumping and it took me a full month - my body kept adjusting to making less milk - so if you WANT you could just start pumping / nursing a little less and see how that goes.
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Thanks for all the positive comments! I really wanted to breastfeed as long as I could but pumping at work is so hard. There is a dedicated pumping room and it's always locked, so I spend 10 minutes trying to find someone to unlock it and then I pump. It's just so frustrating. And I have a new boss, who has a very old school mentality, and doesn't seem thrilled that I leave my desk 3 times a day to pump. I'm going to keep pumping till we reach 6 months and then cut down on the number of times I pump until I wean the LO.
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@krsmall: I also hated pumping, but it is a federal law now if you are not exempt. They need to be better about meeting that need regardless as to what the the boss thinks/feels. That is just a sore spot for me because no women deserves to be treated like that for choosing to be a mother and lactating.
Great luck in everything! You are a strong woman
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@krsmall: You can stop pumping at work and only pump in the mornings and evenings and nurse at night, until you are ready to stop.
I dont pump at work and my LO is 6months. I think breastfeeding until 6 months is a great success and you arent quitting if you want to stop. -
I stopped pumping at 6 mths too because it was getting too hard and my supply took a major hit. I still nurse am/pm and supplement with formula during the day. You are not a quitter!!!
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I this point I think it's considered weaning, not quitting... Back in the day that was a recommened stop point in the US so if you want to--then wean! Congrats on making it to your goal!
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Not quitting at all! Pumping truly saps my will to live. You shouldn't feel bad for one second.
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28 comments