DD just turned 10 months. Yes, I pumped in the spring. I don't like pumping but I will power through at least until Oct when she will be 1.
I may end up doing this, but I'm worried about managing my time as a new teacher. I think it might just be one more thing to add to my plate that will stress me out!
Post by sporklemotion on Jul 31, 2014 19:29:17 GMT -5
I'm not sure. I am working part time this summer, so DD is in day care, but I have more time to pump during the day than I will in the fall. Despite this, my freezer stash is really small, and I can't really keep up with DD. I feel like I am chained to the pump but am still struggling to produce the 15-20 oz. I need each day. I end up staying up late and waking up early to pump, and I am getting less done than I'd like because I am spending so much time pumping. I am hoping to keep her mostly BF through the summer, but we'll see-- I really thought I would be able to build a stash this summer, but my supply is not what it was a few months ago. Right now, the tentative plan is to pump what I can (1-2 times a day) but not to stress about getting the full amount DD needs. If we can do a couple of bottles and nurse at night, that will have to suffice. And on her 1st birthday, I am taking my pump into a field and smashi it up Office Space style. I hate that damn thing.
I am going to see how it goes. DD will only be 8 months when I go back. I actually didn't mind pumping in the spring because my schedule was perfect for it, and I liked being able to shut my door and have people leave me alone. This year my schedule isn't going to be as good. I only pump twice during the school day, so I'll probably keep going with that for a while, and then maybe cut back to just one pump a day and use my freezer stash if I need to.
DD just turned 10 months. Yes, I pumped in the spring. I don't like pumping but I will power through at least until Oct when she will be 1.
I may end up doing this, but I'm worried about managing my time as a new teacher. I think it might just be one more thing to add to my plate that will stress me out!
Well if you have a planning period and it is longer than 30 mins then pumping could be your excuse to relax and get centered. Escape the chaos.
You have made it this far, if you find that it is stressful then you have successfully breastfeed for a very long time. Go you!!
And stopping pumping at 10 months is unlikely to be the end of breastfeeding. I didn't even really think twice about offering DD milk (other than to contemplate whether formula was worth it for 6 weeks). I'm still breastfeeding, but she also drinks WCM and eats so many foods I can't even list them. If milk or formula is part of a baby's diet, it's really just not a big deal as they move toward weaning. I nursed DS until nearly 3, while working full time, not pumping past 1, and while pregnant.
Anyway... that's a really long way to say: I'm still successfully breastfeeding. I'm just not pumping.
Like @peggyolson, I hate pumping so I stopped at 12 months but continued to nurse until 18 months (the last four of which were morning and bedtime only) with both of my girls. After 12 months, we started transitioning to WCM in sippy cups. I only worked two days a week, so I never had issues maintaining my supply without pumping.
I stopped working after having DS so I haven't pumped in months; I built up a stash during a long weekend away that has lasted for the occasional night out since then.
eta: As they approach one year, they start getting more of their nutrition from food and have less of a need for breastmilk (or formula). After one year, it just becomes a bonus, so you can replace their bottles of breastmilk with bottles or sippies of WCM, while still nursing when you're together.
I quit pumping at DS's first birthday but continued to nurse at wake up, all evening/night/ weekends through 22 months.
I had a big deep freezer stash so he had that at daycare until it ran out around 20 mos. that turned out to be a good thing since he couldn't tolerate WCM until 18mos.
I pumped only until I was sure DD could tolerate WCM. She was MSPI so I waited until after her first birthday to start trying it. I mixed it with BM a little at a time and slowly increased the ratio. She was on WCM completely at daycare by 14 months and only then did I feel comfortable with stopping pumping, which I did gradually over the course of the next month. I still nursed her at home until 24 months.
If she wasn't MSPI, I probably would have hung up the pump at 12 months exactly because I would love to have that hour and a half per day of my life back!