Hellobee Boards

You do whatever works best for you and your sanity!! I don't know if I'll make it the whole year pumping this time. I have so much more going on at work, including travel and I'm nervous. I love breastfeeding and hate the pump.

If you want tips on how to make pumping at work easier, I can offer them but don't want to do that if you just want support!

It really is awful that we have to make these choices at such an early age for our babies.

@LabradorLover: oh mama, I had these same feelings. You will likely have these feelings no matter when you stop. At the end of the day, you are an amazing mom if you can recognize and make the choice that will allow your baby to be fed and you to be as happy and stress free as possible so you can enjoy her.

I agree with everything above just giving you one more message of support

The most important thing is for you to be in a good mental place so you can enjoy your baby. If pumping affects that, you’ll be a better mommy not doing it. We put so much into the bf decision, but really it’s just one of many parenting decisions where we all just do our best and we all need to make the choices that work for us. Going back to work is hard enough on its own!!

Also I agree that your body may surprise you - you may be able to just feed certain times of day and not lose supply. Worth a try for sure, but if it doesn’t work that will be ok too.

I returned to work at 12 weeks already having to supplement, my supply never met her needs. My freezer stash met her needs for her first day of daycare and that's it. I made the choice to not pump when I was home with her and just enjoy her. I pumped at work for 4 months, I work a flexible job at work and I enjoyed the break it gave me most days. E stopped breastfeeding at 4.5 months so my supply took at hit since I wasn't willing to pump over night and I only pumped 5 times a day. She had already been getting formula so I wasn't concerned she would have trouble with it or anything. I kept pumping until 7 months when my supply practically disappeared. For me pumping and breastfeeding got tied up in some crap happening at work where nothing was working and so I decided that I had to keep pumping or everything would be a failure. Washing pump parts sucked, planning my day around pumping could be hard and I had a supportive boss and a flexible day.
Long story short do what is going to make you the happiest. Find a formula that works for your baby and a bottle that they will take. I felt guilty at stopping and at not doing more but ultimately I was happier stopping, plus then I didnt have to plan my outfits so carefully.

I nursed/pumped my first kid (DS now 2.5) for only six weeks, and my second one (DD now 3 months) only two weeks. I had no reason for stop other than... I hate breastfeeding and pumping, felt like it was kind of a waste of time, and wanted to feel like myself again after being pregnant for basically half of the past three years. I had tons of milk but just hated everything about it and was not my best self.

I honestly feel no guilt whatsoever. My son is brilliant and happy. He is super verbal, is in the 85th percentile for height and weight, and gets sick way less frequently than my friends’ kids who were exclusively BF for a year. (For example, there have been HFM and other outbreaks in his class multiple times and he never caught it.). My baby is thriving on formula and sleeps through the night 7-7 at 3 months old. Formula has been perfect for me and my family.

Is your commute by car? If so, can you pump during one (or both?) of your commutes in addition to the once while at work? As someone who EPed for eight weeks and hated it, I can tell you that pumping while driving was the only place it didn't suck. Even better if you can take your pump break in your car, you can leave the pump in there and just worry about carrying your milk and parts back and forth.

But honestly, don't feel guilty about combo feeding or formula feeding. A mom's mental well-being is way more important than any benefit breast milk might have.

@magnolia: I actually pumped in the car with a Symphony! I bought one of these and it worked great.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-120W-Slim-Inverter/109463375

I also buckled my pump into the passenger seat so it wouldn't slide around if I stopped suddenly or made a sharp turn.

@LabradorLover: I saw this article this morning and thought of you—a data driven perspective on “breast is best” among other things:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/opinion/sunday/baby-breastfeeding-sleep-training.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

FWIW, I managed to just pump twice (10 and 2 ish in an 8-5ish day and keep up with nursing and pumping. Pumping felt like the price I paid for nursing and then when I stopped pumping at twelve months and just nursed am/pm it was all gravy.

But I would encourage you to think about”fed is best” and do what works for you and your family. Good luck with the transition back to work!

@LabradorLover: I agree that you just need to do what is best for your sanity since that is probably most important to being a good mom. One way or another you baby will be fed and healthy. I was only at work 3 days/week for like 3 week and pumping was already a pain in the ass (with the Spectra S2, and I could walk away for as long as I needed and had nice pumping rooms) and I was still unable to keep up with every 2-3 hrs so a hear ya on dreading pumping full tie at work. If you want to try pumping though, have you looked into the discrete pumps like Elvie or Willow? My friend told me about it and she said she could pump anywhere, (she pumped while bowling!) and no one could tell, it just looked like her chest was a little larger than normal. Maybe that would make it easier to pump at your desk? It's expensive, but so is formula, so it might balance out eventually. Just a thought...

I haven't read through the other replies, I just wanted to jump in and probably say this for the 1000th time, DO NOT FEEL GUILTY. I had to supplement my 1st at 6 months, and by 9 months totally weaned and on formula. With my 2nd, still BF-ing at 28 months LOL and its ALL OKAY! I know it is SO SO SO hard to not feel guilty b/c it's drilled into our heads that breast is best and you see some other moms out there putting in the hard work and get you feeling like you need to be a martyr too.

Reality is, I was so stressed out about supply with my 1st, I feel like it robbed a lot of joy from me. If I could only just relax and not worry about how I was feeding LO! Don't listen to all the noises; do what's best so that you can be a happy mom that can be 100% for her baby!

Just chiming in to add that combo feeding is a totally do-able thing for you to consider. I nursed morning and evening/overnight from when LO was 11 weeks until 14 months when she self weaned. Our bodies are amazing, and can adjust to a lot of things, including this!

Whatever you decide will be fine, just wanted to reiterate that it isn't an all or nothing choice!

@LabradorLover: I just wanted to say thanks for this post. Reading all the replies really helped me as I am currently figuring out how my own pumping/breastfeeding journey will go.

I returned to work part-time for a few weeks in February, then full-time in March. I've supplemented from about 7 weeks and am SO happy that we did, but I also struggle with my own sense of obligation and guilt over my decreasing supply and how *easy* I have it when it comes to pumping at work. I even have a brand new facility with a Mother's Room that I got to design and... well I might not be using it much longer. It's just nice to have the backup of plenty of mamas on here who have been in similar positions and know that what's best for me and my LO is purely up to us.

@LabradorLover: