Dropping Pumping Session (Attempting to Wean to Mornings/nights Only)

Whether 9 hours is too long depends on you, and your milk production. If you are engorged and uncomfortable than it sounds like it is too long. Mastitis is no fun, nor is being full and hurting at work. If you pump at 3, you'll still have milk. Pumping is not nearly as effective as nursing your little one, you can also just pump enough to relieve the pressure. I can go from our 5pm session to the next morning when DS gets up at 7 without getting too full, but that's me.

Whatever you do, I would not attempt to wean a child, when it is a growth-spurt time.
15 months old is a growth-spurt period developmentally. And kids at growth-spurts get hungrier and feed more frequently.

But you need to trouble shoot your engorgement. I would pump a little out or you will start to hurt and have pain and breasts will get hard. Like a rock.

Some may get mastitis. Some may not.
9 hours to me, is a long time to go without pumping or nursing.

Drying up... takes TIME.
Put it this way, once my kids weaned, even at 1 year later, I still had a little milk in my breasts.
Or ask your OB/GYN, and I believe there is a drug you can take to dry up the milk.

Don't let yourself get too engorged cause yes you can get mastitis and it's NOT fun at all. I got it with both my kids and made me SO sick. If you feel you can wait without too much pain do it but if not you need to pump.

Good luck and God Bless!

I would not totally drop the pumping yet. It is painful to get so full. When my daughter turned one, even though we still nursed, I dropped one pumping session and moved my other an hour later. Then I slowly--over a month or so--moved it another hour and cut it down by a few minutes. By the time she was 16 months, I was easily able to stop pumping and no pain. We still nursed at night. I actually had to kind of force her off me at almost 2 yrs old. It took acouple of weeks for her to understand that we were done with that stage I was more her comfort tool that nutrition.
I am pumping now for my son and hate it. I agree it is a royal pain in the caboose but I feel it is better for my son. In a way I cannot wait until he is a year old but then again...time flies.

I quit pumping at 12 months but continued nursing nights/weekends with all 3 of my children. It was uncomfortable at first but my body did adjust and I had no supply issues and no issues with engorgement.

Have you checked out kellymom.com? I don't know if that is discussed on there.