Conflicted About Weaning 13 Month Old/pumping at Work

Hello C.,

If you don't mind getting/waking up at night you can try to transition to a reverse cycle (nursing more at night, pumping less during the day).
Stopping or reducing pumping during the day does not mean that you must wean completely, Our bodies are amazing in that they can adjust when and how much milk we produce to meet our baby's needs.
Please contact your la leche league and I am sure you can find help (also kellymom.com is a great resource to start).

And just a little reminder: MANY babies are raised without cow's milk and it is NOT a must for good nutrition. Your baby can get all of her nutrients from other sources, contact a nutritionist if you have to. The only two reasons while we think cow's milk is important are 1. it is relatively cheap and easy to obtain and 2. the dairy industry spent a whole bunch of money to convince us and our doctors that we NEED it. There is no sense in pushing cow's milk on a baby that does not tolerate it well. And I am not some crazy vegan saying this, I personally love cow's milk - but it simply is not for every one.

I had a similar experience with my first. I finally decide I had enough pumping at work when she was just under and year, so I stopped. She still nursed first thing in the morning and before bed. We used formula for a little while for the daytime feedings until we eventually switched to cow's milk. This seemed to be a good compromise for us. She eventually self-weaned off of the morning and night nursing sessions around 15 months.

Plus, as you have experienced, the amount that I could pump slowly diminished. I think that this is also related to the fact that on the days that I was home with her, she just didn't nurse as much. I'm experiencing the same with my second (currently 7 mos). After I spend the weekend with her and nurse instead of bottle feed, it seems like my milk supply is down little by little each Monday!

Hi C.,
I, too, work full time as a K teacher. My son was about 13 months when I started and I had to cut back on the nursing and I had to cut the pumping during the day; instead, I tried to pump in the middle of the night for a while, but eventually cut that, too. It's a bit difficult. I had to do the same thing with my daughter when she was 13 months. At that time, I received great support and advice from Overlake Women's Clinic (I don't know if you are in the Seattle/Bellevue area or not). My son was also a reflux baby (had to have the whole custom-made wedge and everything...). He slept better on his tummy because of that. Our ped. suggested adding probiotics to their daily routine and make sure they are getting a yogurt a day; this helps with both the probiotics (a huge key to digestive health and we all take it daily) and additional dairy. This has helped quite a bit; especially when either of my kids has had to take any medication (keeps the yeast infections away).
Hope this helps some. =0) Good luck! (Oh, I now nurse mostly twice a day, unless he's sick or I'm home on the weekends when it might be three times.) Let me know if I can be of any further help (assuming this has been helpful, that is). =0)
Good luck with the end of your school year!
L. =0)

My situation is a little different since I am a SAHM, but I weaned my daughter at 13 months because I was prego. I was just too tired to continue. With my daughter though I think I had a harder time weaning than she did. It just becomes part of what you do. I felt a little guilty like I was mean to cut her off, but when she did so well with it I realized it wasn't such a bad thing. I know all kids are different so your experience may be different, but I think you should try cutting down some and see how she does. Try not to feel guilty if you can't produce like you used to. Sorry, I don't have more solid advice, but good luck.