Hellobee Boards

First of all, congratulations!! Pumping is a lot of hard work, and it's great that you have accomplished so much.

I exclusively pumped for about 13 months. I decided to quit once LO turned a year old because it was so much work for me to pump, especially with a restricted diet since LO was allergic to wheat, eggs, milk, and peanuts. I also started off pumping 5 times a day, and I weaned very slowly because I was afraid of clogged ducts. Everyday I would slowly increase the time between pump sessions. If I was engorged, I would pump just enough to ease the discomfort. Even with my slow approach, I still had a few clogged ducts (nothing a little epsom salt soak couldn't fix). It took me a full 3 weeks to wean. Most pumpers take less time. I just decided to take a very slow approach.

For my LO I still had enough milk in the freezer to last him until 14 months. After he turned 1, I slowly weaned him from bottles. He was able to drop the morning bottle by himself, and I took away nap time bottles one by one. The night time bottle was the most difficult because DH handled nighttime routine. I told DH that LO had to wean once I ran out, and my last bag of frozen milk was LO's last bottle.

Again congrats for exclusively pumping for almost a year! Hope your transition to weaning goes well. Wishing you all the best.