I hate pumping. It is so stressful. Within a few weeks of going back to work at 6 months we started supplementing. Obviously my supply has taken a hit. I'm sick of pumping every time he won't nurse not to mention it is frustrating and depressing!! I can only pump total 8-9 oz a day, enough for two bottles of BM during the day. At night he is clearly starving so after attempting to nurse before bed he always sucks down another bottle of formula. Has anyone dropped pumping completely and just nursed morning and night? If I were to do this, do you think my supply would adjust so that he'd actually get a full feed at night? Thanks for any advice!
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Honestly, if your supply already is low at night and he is still hungry after a feed, then by stopping pumping during the day, you will have even less in the morning or night.
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@T.H.O.U.: I've read that it is the removal of the milk from the breast that matters the most--so if he is emptying the breast twice very well, around 6 pm and 6 am, that wouldn't even out production?
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@maybebaby: Yes. I had similar issues with supply after I returned to work, and after gradually dropping pumping sessions, I ultimately only nursed morning and night during the week, and nursed on demand on the weekends. I wasn't sure that I would be able to do that (just morning/night during the week, and all day during the weekend), but it worked out really well. It was a HUGE relief to stop pumping at work!
@T.H.O.U.: That wasn't my experience.
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@MsLipGloss: Thank you. I know everyone's experience is different, but I really appreciate your input. At some point the emotional anxiety and stress just isn't worth it, and I'd love to find a way to balance it without completely giving up.
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I nanny a 9 month old, and her mom nurses morning and night, and I give her formula during the day while mom is at work. It works really well for them!
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@maybebaby: I actually think not pumping helped my supply in that I wasn't nearly as stressed worrying about every single 1/4 ounce . . . how to lose as little as possible during container transfers . . . constantly doing the math in my head of how much BM I had pumped and how much F I would need to supplement (to maintain the ratio I wanted of BM to Formula) . . . the list goes on! I think I read somewhere that after, say, 6 months or so, 4oz of BM a day is sufficient to provide your LO with all the benefits of BM.
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@MsLipGloss: Thank you so much. I think I may drop to two sessions a day and eventually one in the hopes of doing the AM/PM thing. I know he is definitely getting at least that much from nursing now, so it is heartening to hear that he is reaping the benefits. Thank you
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I have been wondering this too! Once we get to 6 months and start solids, I think I will have to consider this! Pumping is so stressful, and constantly counting ounces is not fun! I hope it works for you!
ETA; I only care about the solids part because I'm trying for a virgin gut until that point.
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I just stopped pumping at a year, but am still nursing at wakeup and bedtime. At first my supply was like "Oh, cool, we're done!" and I think he was not getting enough milk at those 2 feedings. But after a day or so, it figured out that, nope, not quite. And now I have plenty of milk at each feeding and am not engorged during the day. Your body will totally regulate itself.
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@maybebaby: It all supply and demand. If you are emptying 5 times a day now (2 nursing and 3 pumping) and not getting enough, then reducing the number of emptying to 2 isn't going to consolidate all the milk to those two sessions.
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I tried to do this and ended up drying up. :(. My supply was awful from the beginning though.
I have two friends who have been nursing morning/night and on weekends and have been going strong for several months now without issue.
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