Transitioning from Nursing to Exclusively Pumping for 6 Mo. Old

I've been pumping exclusively for 4 mths now and my daughter is 7mths old. She has also been on solids for a month. Before she was on solids and now I get away with only pumping 3 times a day. But you'll have to give it a try. My little one never ate 8 times a day and she is quit big about 85% for her age so I think they tend to eat more and less frequently when taking it from the bottle. Just remember pumping is a pain but worth it for the little one. Good Luck.

E.,

I think you have a great transition plan- it will make weaning very easy and biting is extremely painful. It has been a while since we did this- but I would pump about three times a day at work and then feed three times outside of that plus a night feeding(although that was more like a buffet). Everyone is different but this is what happened to me, when I would cut out a pumping session, my supply at the next session would be greater for a week or so. So for a while I think I pumped like 6 oz during a session, then when I would cut one off the next time I would pump maybe 8 oz or something. Eventually my sessions would go back down. I don't want to discourage you from doing this, because I was at the same point that I just couldn't do it anymore. She is 6 mos old and has enjoyed the benefits of bm for a good while. If you have to introduce formula it is not the end of the world. When we introduced formula it was hard on me mentally, but after a while I was glad- it took some of the burden off of me. You have done a great job- and if you want to make this transition for whatever reason then do it. :)

Before doing this, please talk to a lactation consultant or go to a la leche meeting.

I think you have some very severe misunderstandings/misconceptions about breastfeeding and you obviously want what is best for your little one.

You will need to continue to pump as often as she eats or your body will start to think that it doesn't need to make milk. That's how it works... demand=supply. The other issue with exclusive pumping is that your body doesn't interpret your baby's needs. Did you know that your body will sense that your baby is getting sick through the saliva at your breast and will begin to produce the appropriate antibodies?

Save yourself the psychologoical drama and don't wean at a year. The benefits continue past the one year mark.

When my daughter was born, I wanted to strictly breastfeed. Due to some trauma I experienced after delivery, I couldn't breastfeed through 4 feedings. My milk didn't come in enough to exclusively nurse, so I supplemented with some formula. However, I continued nursing as much as possible until I couldn't take the chapped nipples anymore (no amount of ointment helped, and she was latching on just fine) and was working and interning. So I decided to just pump. That was working great for about a month, until I broke my pump. You can pump exclusively. Just make sure you're pumping as much as you can so you can keep the amount of milk you want. My milk levels didn't go down until my pump broke (which, as I said, wasn't much anyway, but was all I could get out). I personally would start off by pumping almost as often as she feeds, and then maybe work it down to the 3 times a day just so you get as much milk as possible. Good luck!

You would need to pump the same amount of times she eats. I used to pump 3x a day at work and in that time my son would take 3 bottles at daycare. Also, it may not work out. I was able to pump for 14 months, but my son was also nursing at least one time a day so my breasts were still getting the nursing stimulation. Pumping is not as effective as nursing and over time your supply will decrease, so it is impossible to tell if you will need formula or not, every person is different as far as how your body reacts to the pumping.

FWIW, I know you don't want anyone trying to convince you, but pumping and using bottles is a huge pain. It is kind of like doing the work of nursing and doing the work of formula feeding both. I had to pump exclusively for the first month of my son's life because he wouldn't latch and it was a huge pain in the butt. With a 6 mo old it might be a little easier but still a pain. Also, no matter when you wean, there is always going to be some psychological drama to both you and the baby. It is inevitable. And, biting really isn't an issue. They might do it a couple times just out of curiosity and trying out their new chompers but once they realize that it hurts you and if they do it they won't get to nurse, they stop that REAL quick. Anyway, I wish you luck.

Can you do it? Maybe. I would join the Yahoo group "pumpmoms" and ask the ladies there. A number of them exclusively pump and can probably offer you some experienced advice. From what I've read in that group, some people can get down to 3 big huge pumps a day and some can't. Most moms on the group will probably tell you that it's a lot easier to keep your supply up if you nurse, rather than pump. Also, you'll want to invest in a good pump.

ps: The biting thing is really not an issue - they learn VERY fast if you're firm (I had a 3 strikes and you're out policy and it only took 1-2 days). I haven't weaned my 11-month old son yet, so I can't comment on that issue, but I doubt it would be much less traumatic at 6 months... :)

E.,

I slowly transitioned to all pumped milk starting when our son was about 6 weeks since I had to return to work at 8 weeks. He was completely bottle-fed breastmilk by 10 weeks. I had to pump about every 3 hours or so at work. Was it a pain? Sometimes. BUT, it was also nice as a full time working mom to give my husband a turn with the night feedings (and the bonding with Jacob) and still give our son the benefits of my milk. I will do the same with the next baby, too.

I can tell you that my supply was dwindling by the time I started switching him to formula (7 months). I spoke with the lactation specialist at the hospital and she said it was due to the exclusive pumping since it doesn't stimulate milk-production as much as nursing. But, it could be partially due to the fact that he was eating less with the addition of solids, too.

So, in short...I think it can be done, but probabaly not with pumping only 3 times a day. I would think you would need to pump more often or else start to supplement with some formula.

Good luck with it, whatever you decide to do!

T.

The overwhelming majority of people I've compared notes with (and that's a lot of people since I had bfeeding/pumping problems!) said supply dropped off when they started pumping. Also, the overnight feeding is really important to keeping up supply when you pump.

For what it's worth, I didn't know that 1 year was supposed to be a big transition and I weaned my second son at about that age, so it is possible to do it pretty painlessly.

Actually, I think the reason I have such a negative reaction is that I loathed pumping, and I've never known anyone who said they liked it! And breastfeeding was so wonderful and relaxing for me. But that's just me - whatever keeps the baby healthy, formula, breastfeeding, whatever! It's really not a huge deal. Just know that you may be pumping more often than you might want to.

I exclusively pumped the whole time with my son. He wouldn't latch on so I was left with no choice. I started out pumping 6 times a day and slowly worked down to 3. And yes, I had enough milk for him. My advice is to start one week and pump 7 times instead of 8. The next week do 6 and so on. If you start to notice your milk supply is getting too little to support your daughter's needs then don't cut back anymore. I did rent a hosptital grade pump the whole time and I think this makes a difference, maybe allowed me to only pump 3 times instead of more.

L.

Sure it is possible to continue giving her breast milk in a bottle. I agree trying to wean at age one is more difficult than 6 months. I am a nurse but new to the field so I would call your local hospital preferably the one you gave birth at and ask to speak with a lactation consultant. I am sure she/he (usually a she with boob issues, lol) could answer your questions regarding how often you would need to pump.

I know breasts produce milk in a supply and demand way. Your breasts will produce milk and provide as much as your baby requires. So I would guess you might need to pump more than 3 times a dayif she is eating 8 times per day. Goodluck!
Nurse A

I think you would have to pump more than 3x/day for this to work. I worked 60+ hrs/week out of my home and pumped at least 5x/day for her to have enough supply while I was at work and then she nursed while I was home.
I had a very good supply and was able to pump quite a bit, but it did vary how much from day to day.

You do have some great sites and recommendations so far, but here is another site to try, a forum with a board called "Breastfeeding Challenges"
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?s=5...

For what it's worth, my baby did not get teeth until she was a year old and even then only attempted to bite me twice (just got a glimmer in her eye and I felt pressure.) You can prevent this by pulling baby close to your breast so that their nose is covered for just a second and saying "no!" and it will stop it in its tracks!
It will probably be pretty traumatic for her to transition to taking all bottles from you if she knows that you still have supply as well- babies can smell your milk and sometimes won't take a bottle when they know they can go straight to the source! I would try one feeding a day at first and gradually increase if you are determined to do this- it is really going to take a lot of persistence and hard work on your part- because you still have several growth spurts ahead of you when all she will want is to nurse, which will mean that you have to increase your supply more and more and that can be VERY hard to do with exclusive pumping... but I'm sure it CAN be done if you are determined. I would definitely make an appt with an LC for advice.
One another note- I nursed my daughter and practiced CLW or "child-led weaning" and she stopped on her own when she was 3.5 yrs. Some children wean as early as 18 months. If you let your child wean herself, there is no psychological drama at all! Not to mention that you have less chance of abrupt hormonal changes, infections, etc. in YOU from weaning suddenly.

I hope you can find a method that works out. Congratulations to you on nursing for 6 months- that in itself is reason to celebrate!!!
Amanda
Aspiring IBCLC

I think it varies person to person, but with 3 times a day I would think you would need to supplement with formula some. My boys ate 4 times a day at 6 mos. and when I supplemented with a bottle I think it was 6-8 oz. Nestle good start seemed to be the formula that babies take easier when they haven't had it and they are an older baby. Similac & Enfamil worked for a short time and then he refused them, somebody said to try good start and it worked well for him. So, there's that just in case you find you need to supplement with formula. As long as you are diligent with pumping, stay hydrated and relaxed and all that, I would think you could pump most (if not all) for your baby. Best wishes to you.

E.:

yes it is possible. I have had mothers pump exclusively for their infants for some time. Most ( not all) rent a hospital grade pump as they are more effective and more efficient.

there is a book - Exclusively Pumping Breast milk by Stephanie Casemore that you might want to read.

You can do this.

P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com

I would say that if you don't still actually nurse some of the time your breast milk supply will plummet and you will be forced to supplement with formula. I have been successful at supplying both my children with breast milk (and no formula) while working full time and pumping 3 times a day for their first year of life (one of them is now 3.5 the other 15 months (and he still nurses some of the time), but it required nursing them while at home. Despite my continuation to nurse I still noticed a drop in production. I am not one of those crazy folks that believes in nursing them forever, and while I appreciate the closeness I experience and great cuddling, I have let them tell me when they are done with nursing. I experienced no engorgement with my daughter and it was a very easy drama free process. My 15 month old is going thru a bout of stomach flu right now, and boy am I glad I still have breast milk to give him-- its one of the few things he can keep down. Good luck whatever you decide.

I think you will probably have to pump at least the same amount of times she eats in a day in order to have enough milk. The baby actually gets more out of the breast than the pump does so you may have supply difficulties, especially if you only pump three times. Not to be disccouraging, many women are able to pump exclusively. Have you checked out www.kelleymom.com? Lots of great info there. Good luck.