Breastfeeding/Breast Pumping Inquiry

When you want to quit is up to you but I think if you've gone this far and are ready to wean, then it's time!

My recommendation is to start cutting out 1 feeding per week. The first week, cut out the one in the middle of the day. The second week, cut out another middle of the day (and give formula until he's a year). I cut out the bedtime feeding last and morning feeding 2nd to last. Then I had no problems with engorgement and pain after we stopped!!

I would recommend, however, keeping on until he's 12 months old so you do not have to buy formula. If you are still getting milk but he's just not latching, why not pump and give him it in bottles or sippie cups? Yes, more work, but cheaper and more beneficial!

Great job on breastfeeding!

He needs to be on breastmilk or formula until he is 12 months, when his digestive system is able to handle whole milk. If the pumping is working for you, you should keep doing that until then, as it is much cheaper than formula. When he turns 12 mos, you can start gradually cutting out a feeding at a time. I would cut out a feeding, wait 2 weeks, cut out another, etc. If you have any stored milk, you might be able to start doing this before 12 mos. But you don't want to actually feed him less until 12 mos, because you will need to replace it with formula until you can replace it with whole milk. So if you don't have any stored up, I would wait til then. If you want to start switching to formula now, you can do it the same way- gradually take one away at a time. That will help you with not being engorged. I barely felt it when I started cutting one out a time. I would be full and tight for a day or so and then fine.

Another thing I would do since he won't latch, is see if you can start putting his milk in a cup instead of a bottle. You won't have to break him of the bottle habit later or get him to take a cup. Unless he needs the comfort of the bottle. But introducing the milk in a cup is good idea, some kids won't take milk in a cup for a while- mine included.

When you do switch to milk or formula, try doing like a 75% breastmilk to 25% whole milk (or formula) mix, to make the transition easier since it will taste different. I had to do this when I introduced whole milk, and for a couple weeks when I had to supplement with formula. I had to use frozen breastmilk and just add in a little of the other stuff at a time. After a while, make it 50-50, etc. If you decide to keep pumping til 12 mos, organic can sometimes be an easier transition because it is a little sweeter. Hope all that helps.

My daughter and I had problems with the breast feeding, too. I spent 10 months attached to a breast pump. It was terrible, but worth it to provide for her. To answer your question, Ive always heard 1 year for breast feeding. I stopped at 10 months because of my work schedule. It was very hard for the 10 months that I did it considering I work 12 hour shifts. Also, I would increase the hours in between pumping to slow down your supply.

I pumped exclusively for 9 months.

I quit when Hurricane Ike displaced my family. Stopping cold turkey did not hurt for me b/c I was not producing very much.

If it was not for the hurricane and the stress that came with it, I would have continued until she was at least 12 months.

If you are interested in stopping, slowly stretch out your pumps. Eventually, you will dry up.

You have to gradually stop. You have start skipping one of the pumping sessions for a day and then keep increasing it until you pump once per day. And when it is onces per day, you are almost done.
For me, my son never wanted to latch on me after 6 months. That made my milk drop tremendously. Even if i pumped i got very less. So if the baby stops latching, it is very easy to stop pumping, all u have to do is start skipping sessions. Your body mostly wont complain as you do gradually.

I am a mother of 4 and for the most part breast fed all of them. My youngest was by bottle due to me working. As time was getting close to switch her to milk, I started cutting back the lenth of time I pumped. For starters it was about 15 minutes for approximately 6 to 7 oz, so then I cut back to 10 minutes for 2 weeks then 5 minutes for 2 weeks and then I started missing every other session for another 2 weeks. It lowered the demand and in turn my milk supply was about gone by then so it didn't cause any discomfort to quit at that time.
Not everyones bodies are the same so it may take a different length of time for your body to react to the smaller amount of milk each step takes.

I would stop the bottle and only offer breast. True latch issues are rare in a baby that old. There are "nursing strikes" that occur, sometimes due to taste or odor issues, or easy distractability. Stop bottle for the most part, or only use it for water, and offer breast. The best times are at nap and bedtimes, or when he's fussy/upset/frustrated and needs to be cuddled. Reduce distractions, go to a quiet place/room with no TV and so forth. Getting him back on breast will stop the pumping concerns, also will allow your body to make what he needs based upon his suck and emptying of the breast, which is much more accurate and physiologic than what the pump tells your body to do. Make sense?

When he is around a year old you can gradually start to decrease the number of pumping sessions. I would suggest mixing breastmilk with the whole milk to help him adjust to the taste and offer it to him warm.

I'm not sure you still need to pump around the clock. Is he still taking a bottle at night?

Also, if you have not started offering him a sippy cup you want to do that as well. Now is a great time to do it. You can start by taking the spout out and giving him a very small amount so that he'll begin to understand what the cup is for.

Hi, I just weaned my son and he is almost 1 in two weeks. I started by not pumping during the morning, then wait a week, and stop pumping during the day, and then wait a week and stop at night Replace the breast milk with formula. The great thing is he is off the breast, and that will make the transition easier. Good Luck!

I never had the chance to breastfeed my daughter since she couldn't latch. I did pump for about two weeks but didn't produce enough. But weaning is about the same for bottle or breast except with the exception of engorgment. So long as your son will eat his solids and drink from a sippy or a bottle then he most likely is ready. My daughter was weaned early. She went to regular milk at 10 months with no bottle or pacifier. She had her sippy cup. by the time she turned 1 she was a pro with her cup and a lot less fighting trying to break the attachment to the bottle.

How we did it was she gradually reduced the amount of formula in her bottle with regular milk. first it was like an oz of milk to 7 oz of formula and so on. it didn't take us long to get her to straight milk.

Hey V.. Boy do I miss College Station. Lived there 8 years. Taught in Bryan.

Anyways, like others said, your son needs breastmilk or formula until age 12 months. If you're not annoyed or ready to be done with Breastfeeding, then I would suggest you continue to pump for him, as it is healthier for him than formula (and cheaper!).

When my son was 1 year old, he was nursing 6 times a day, yet he was getting so active that he started weaning himself off the breast only wanting 5 times. So I skipped the 'after breakfast' nursing and gave him a sippy cup with whole milk instead (but only do this after he turns 1 year old!). So when he got used to 1 feeding with whole milk and 5 nursings, we cut out one more nursing, so he took his sippy cup for 2 of his regular feeding times and nursed only 4 times. We kept this up until he was only nursing before naptime and before bedtime and was drinking milk from his sippy cup all other times. The last feeding to go was the night time going-to-bed feeding and my body just got the message that I wasn't feeding him as much, so my body started producing less, and so I dried up.

For you, since your pumping, then I would try a similar approach. Tell your body that you're going to start cutting out he 10am pumping session by pumping only 2-3 oz to reduce engorgement and pain. You'll probably have to do this for about a week. So now you'll pump at 6am, skip the 10am (pump a little if need be), then again at 2, then again at 6pm ..... Then after youre done with the 10am pumping session, try getting rid of the 6pm pumping, so that you're pumping at 6a, not at 10a, then at 2p, not at 6p .... Do you get it? Sorry if it's hard to explain. Now at the same time, I would suggest whoever is taking care of your son give him formula or whole milk (at 12 months) in place of breastmilk so that he gets weaned and your body gets weaned too.

Good luck. Sorry if what I said was confusing!

It's really up to you and your baby, but I think the easiest time will be at 1 year, when he is able to transition to regular milk. That's what I did with my son.

I had to stop nursing when my daughter was 11 weeks old so I could start chemo. Though I couldn't nurse, I did pump for the next week to prevent engorgement.

I started pumping 5 times/day, went down to 4times/day, etc. Eventually, my body adjusted. I was never uncomfortable and had no problems with engorgement. It may take you a few weeks if you're producing a lot.

With our son, I'd been able to nurse for a year, and I'd hoped to do the same with our daughter. My body had different plans for me.

Don't let anyone else make you feel badly if you have to stop early. It sounds like his refusal to latch is a sign he's ready to be weaned. As long as you're either providing pumped breast milk or formula, you should be fine. It's not for a lack of trying on your behalf. But, at a year is when the American Academy of Pediatrics says it's OK to move from breast milk/formula to Vitamin D milk.

http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/f...

http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/f...

http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/f...

how long to provide= the first six months greatly reduse childhood cancers, and help with everything else. so since you made it six months the real bennifit is already there. your child needs formula or breast milk for the first year and then switch to cow's milk. as for the quit pumping i dont know that answer. CONGRATS on being able to keep up with the pumping for this long.

Everyone has provided great advice. I pumped from when my son was 6 weeks until he was a year, due to him not latching on. You are to be commended. I know how difficult it can be to pump for SO long.

Something I wanted to add...You may want to take Tylenol if you do start to get engorged. I did and it was painful. Also the nurse told me to wear a tight fitting bra or sports bra and even put an ace bandage to bind the breasts tight. I've even heard of cabbage leaves in your bra to help relieve discomfort as well when weaning.

GOOD LUCK!!!

I had to leave town on trips around the 11 month mark with each of my boys and had been exclusively nursing. I could not get enough stockpile for ALL of their feedings, so I decided to introduce some formula and began the weaning process at 10 months. Essentially, I replaced 1 feeding with formula for a week, I started with the shortest feeding which was mid-day around lunch. Then after a week I replaced a second feeding with formula. I was only nursing 5 times/day at that point and kept the first morning and last evening feedings which were longest and during which we had the most bonding time. I kept those up until 1 year when milk was introduced and then slowly lost the morning feeding. Night was last to go and I kept it up until 14 months. So, you don't need to go cold turkey or stop them all immediately. Just go slow. My breasts never got engorged with the slow wean either. Good luck and way to go for keeping up the breast milk as long as you did while pumping. You rock!

My daughter transitioned from 4 feeding sessions to 3 around 10 months, and we offered a sippy of water or milk during the day just to keep her fluids up, but she didn't take much that way.

I weaned very slowly. I started when she switched to 3 feedings. Then a few weeks later I dropped the lunch one, so I was only nursing morning and night; she got a bottle of formula or a sippy of milk instead for lunch. A few weeks after that, I skipped the nighttime one (alleluia, freedom for mommy!). By the time I stopped nursing at exactly 12 months I was drying up anyway.