Decrease Frequency of Pumping

I breast fed both of my boys, also going to mostly pumping when I returned to work with both of them. They did still nurse for bedtime but the rest of the day I pumped - probably also 4 or maybe 5 times a day. I would have to say that in my experience my sons milk needs did not decrease significantly when they started eating solid foods. Maybe because they were also growing at the same time. By the time they were eating enough solids to really make a difference they were also 5-10 pounds heavier and need more substance. If I remember right we stayed pretty much around 32 oz right through the one year mark. I started switching to water or watered down juice but they still drink about 32 or more of something each day. I have to say Great Job on the pumping. For me both times around 6 months old my milk supply began to decrease until I was getting only 8-12 oz a day by the time I stopped at 9 months. I had to supplment with formula. So my only advice would be, beware dropping any pumping sessions if things are going well it case it has a negative affect on your supply. Good Luck!

You won't know for sure how solids affect his bottle consumption until you're actually at that point. Just because you plan on starting solids soon doesn't mean he'll take to them right away. It took us a lot of trial and error.I think it's amazing that you are able to solely pump! I hated pumping!!!! I would suggest that you keep pumping 4x a day till he starts on solids, then gauge your supply accordingly.

I wouldn't cut out any pumping sessions just yet. With both of my children as they got bigger, they obviously consumed more milk. This continued after they began eating solids too. I ran into the situation where I wasn't producing enough anymore and my backup supply was diminished. We had to start supplementing with formula. Or maybe my children are just hoggies. My daughter is 15 months now and for breakfast she will eat 3 eggs. I don't know how she is only at 50% on the growth chart for weight. lol Have a good day.

For me (I have a 7 month-old son right now) if I cut out a pumping (consistently) then my supply really decreases, so personally I would not cut one out. But if you're OK with giving him one bottle of formula per day (which would be perfectly fine), then I bet you could easily cut out a session. You really have to feel your body out and see how it reacts. I don't think that my body would let me exclusively pump though either...I think I need to nurse sometimes (which I do in the evenings and weekends).

Good for you on pumping... that is hard to do. I nurse/pump and my son is now 13months old. His milk supply never went down after introducting solids, but stayed about the same. I would keep tabs on your frozen supply as it will only stay good up to 3months. Also, you can use the extra milk for cereal when he starts on solids (I used 2oz with cereal of BM). I also used BM to thin out fruits/veggies when I cooked/pureed them. If you think you are making too much, cut down on one pumping. If you need more, add the extra pumping session back in. Your body (after a little time) should adjust and make according to demand. For me, things went very smoothly until he was 9-10 months old. I didn't change anything, but for some reason I got less every time pumped. I was glad I had some in the freezer to compensate until I got back on track with his daily demand. I am not sure why, but I've heard it is common around that 9 month mark (maybe hormonal?) So be prepared for the ups/downs. Having a frozen supply will get you through that if it happens to you or the unexpected.
Stay with it for as long as you can!! But if for whatever reason (despite your good intentions and effort) it doesn't work.... don't feel guilty. You are doing a great job! Good luck!

Hi,

I just want to say you are doing an awesome job to just pump!! Did you think about trying the breast,now that he is a little older? Just curious.

I only pumped enough to keep a reserve supply for when I needed to leave the baby with someone else, so my situation is a little different from yours. But I wouldn't decrease pumping just yet, because when you start him on solids at 6 months or so, i think he'll still be getting most of his nutrition from the breastmilk, rather than the solids. I think the solids at 6 months are more for the experience of learning how to eat than for getting major nutrition. (And when you see how much ends up on the outside of the baby when he starts learning to feed himself.....you'll wonder how much is actually getting INTO the baby lol!)

As someone else said, not all babies take to solids right away.

You could contact La Leche League (1-800-LA LECHE) or look for their website, there may be someone who is in or was in your situation. Just remember that every baby is different; I think there are too many variables to make an accurate guess on when to decrease pumping.

Again, kudos to you for pumping! You are a GOOD mommy!;-)

good luck with whatever you decide!

K. Z.

Here's what I did...
~ I exclusively breastfed until my daughter was 2 months old
~ I then exclusively pumped until she was 4 months old.
~ Then at 5 months old I started giving her baby food as well as one bottle of formula before bed but she then had pumped milk the rest of the time.
~ Now at 10 months old (started almost two months ago) I now give her only formula and baby food. I got lazy with the pumping.
I would say to pump as much now as you can. Eventually you will hit a wall when you are sick of washing the pump so much and taking the time to pump. When this time comes you will be suprised to find out that you can pump less often and just pump longer and still get almost as much milk. There was one point where I was pumping 3 times a day and getting about 35 oz. Then I dropped to 2 times a day and I still go about 30 oz!
Good luck and just know that for every oz you pump you are doing something wonderful for your little one!

N.

Hi there and congrats on pumping this long, especially after going back to work. It's definitely not easy but it's so worth it for the nutritional value, as you already know. :)

I'm going to agree with the other responder who said to wait until you see how he takes solids. My daughter just added solids to her breastmilk intake at 6 months and I didn't change my pumping schedule until she was a year old.

I'm assuming you have a frozen supply? I'd just see how it goes but if you decide to drop a session of pumping, you could always use your frozen supply if his needs go back up. The super cool thing about our bodies is that if you need more milk, you can just start pumping more and you'll make more. It's kind of amazing, when you think about it.

One last important point:
Be careful and pay attention to your mood when you're decreasing your pumping. When I started cutting back, the hormonal changes hit hard, to the point where I ended up talking to my doctor about the intense depression.

I ended up starting B-complex and vitamin E supplements to combat it. I also went back to my regular pumping schedule for a week or so to start to feel balanced again.

I think I cut back too soon - at a year, I was ready to be done! :) - and that's what lead to my crash. Just pay attention to yourself and how you're feeling. I think if I had known that might happen, I wouldn't have panicked. :)

Best of luck and again, congrats on sticking it out!

J.

If you store it in a deep freeze, breastmilk is good for 6 mos. frozen. I also would not recommend you cut out a pumping. For some women, pumping does not work as well as breastfeeding in keeping your milk supply in. You may notice in the next few months that your supply drops, especially as your hormones shift and you start having periods. If you are one of the lucky ones and you milk supply stays great until you wean, there is not a reason that you can't continue to give the breastmilk even after your son is older than 1 year, and you are no longer pumping. Breastmilk can go into a sippy cup also.
R.

Hello! I ended up exclusively pumping for my daughter. Pumping is a LOT of work so good for you for hanging in there. When I went back to work it was extremely difficult to get in the amount of pumping sessions/length of time to keep my supply up. By the time my daughter was 6 months old I had decided that it would be best if I stopped pumping. I didn't really want to and I felt horribly guilty about it. With my work schedule, stress, etc. I was afraid I would run out of supply. Around her 6 month bday I got sick and my husband/family had to take care of her and she was supplemented with formula. She seemed to transition well so I stopped pumping. Do some online searching for "eping" or "exclusively pumping" for helpful information on supply decrease/pumping frequency, etc. The longer you go between pumping sessions and the less often you pump, the less milk you will produce. I would talk to your pediatrian about how much to gauge for your child and what they recommend for baby foods, etc. You can also contact a lactation consultant at a local hospital for information (they might be helfpul?). My daugther is 10 months and is still drinking about 30+ ounces a day with 2 things of baby food. The breastmilk/formula is the most important nutrion for your child so you won't be swtiching to just solids (baby food). Every one is different and I'm sure you will get lots of opinions/variations. I'm sorry this probably isn't super helpful, but maybe you can get better info online. Good for you for sticking it out and I hope you make it work best for you and your child. My goal was to make it to her first birthday too and it didn't work. Again, I felt guilty, but the formula worked, it was TONS easier and convenient and we made it the first 6 months which is more cruicial anyway....BEST OF LUCK!

I'm sorry, I don't know about the pumping. However, I do know that starting solids should in NO WAY affect how much breastmilk he gets. You always start with milk until he's full and then about 30-60 minutes later you offer a small amount of solids. Keep to a regular bottle schedule and just give bits of avacado, banana, sweet potatoes, etc...
You can skip cereal all together. Use your breastmilk to thin anything you make. If you still have extra milk, then cut back one pumping session at a time. You can always donate whatever extra you have to either milk bank or on milkshare.com.
It's great that you make so much milk and fantastic that you take the time to pump exclusively:) Pumping can be hard a lot of women give up and start on formula. YAY!