1 year - no end to pumping in sight

[@llli*ngs215]

DS turns 1 year in a couple of weeks, and I am not sure what to do with pumping.

Currently, he gets 4-5 bottles (12-15 oz) while I am at work, and I pump 3 times a day to provide that. He is offered 3 solid meals a day, but we are doing baby led solids and he doesn't seem very interested in getting much food to his mouth. He nurses at least twice in the evening and 2-4 times overnight.

I had originally planned to do some sort of pump weaning at 1 year, but I don't know that I can if he won't take solids. But I am really sick of pumping. And I brought it up at my last local LLL meeting, and they all made me feel really guilty about wanting to pump wean. They said pump weaning is still weaning, and I shouldn't do any kind of weaning until at least age 2. That was really discouraging, and I don't want to be pumping for another year!

I had thought about cutting back to 2 pump sessions at work. Just pump what I can, supplement with the freezer stash, and hope DS gets interested in solids. But then what will I do if the stash runs out before he starts eating enough solids? I can't see trying to add pumping sessions back in to increase my supply at that point. And what if he finally starts sleeping at night? Won't he need more milk during the day then? How can I provide that if I am pumping less?

Is there a solution to all this that I am missing? Or am I doomed to maintaining my current pumping pace for another 12 months?

TIA
-ngs

[@llli*bfwmomof3]

I'm really surprised that your LLL meeting said you should not pump wean until age 2! Many/most mothers (including those hanging out around the forums here) DO pump wean at a year, or thereabouts. And continue nursing for however long they want after that - pump weaning certainly does NOT mean the end of your nursing relationship! I think your plan to gradually start the pump weaning process is an excellent one. At this point, if your LO is nursing (or drinking EBM) at least 3 times in a 24 hour period - which right now he is doing - he does not need additional dairy. If he tapers off on how much he's nursing, to less then 3 times/day, you can consider cow's milk (or other animal milk like goat's milk), yogurt or cheese to make up the difference. If you get through your freezer stash and he's still not eating a lot of solids, he'll nurse more when he's with you. You definitely do not need to keep pumping three times a day for the next year! And definitely continue to offer him a variety of solids at every mealtime. Babies are variable in how quickly they take to the solids, but sometime in the next year he will gradually transition to eating 3 meals a day and snacks.

[@llli*filmmommy]

I wanted to pump wean, or at least cut back to 1x a day, around 1 year. But I'm still doing it 2x a day most days. I don't get much -- only about 2 oz each time, if I'm lucky. But I like that my LO has extra milk for when I'm not home as a comfort and to supplement her picky eating. But I decided I would pump as much as I could stand and she'd just have that, since we're nursing about 3-4 times a day when I'm home. It's a supplement, not a meal, so there are no strict rules on how much you need to leave, like there was before age 1. If you can only stand to pump 1x a day, then you can do that and use your freezer stash. I suspect the day will come when I can only stand 1x a day. I like having the excuse to get away from my crazy coworkers sometimes, so I haven't stopped yet. I do miss going for coffee in the afternoons, though!

[@llli*mommal]

Yeah, I am also surprised that you were warned off of pump-weaning at 12 months! At this point, you can make up gaps in your child's breastmilk intake with solids, or with whole goat's/cow's milk in a bottle or sippy if your LO isn't yet that interested in solids.

Sounds like the ladies at your meeting are pretty hard-core... Not that that is a bad thing, but it can be tough on mamas who don't feel like signing up for that approach! You've done an awesome job pumping until a year, and I don't think you should feel bad about throttling back at this point.

[@llli*mamamia]

Sometimes the voices at LLL meetings are the experience of the mothers in the meeting, but NOT the official voice of LLL. It might help your relationship with your local LLL if you speak one-on-one with one of the leaders.

I agree that weaning gradually from the pump will help make sure that you don't get plugged ducts or mastitis.

I agree that you can replace your milk with other liquids like another animal's milk or soy milk. Your baby might also really get into yogurt smoothies. I would avoid juice even 100% juice b/c it doesn't really provide much more than vitamin C and calories.

I also agree with above that he will start taking more and more solids, gradually. And he might really want mommy's milk when you're home, if there weren't bottles while you were gone!

Good luck!

[@llli*ngs215]

Thank you guys for the support. I was feeling pretty frustrated about this yesterday. My nipples were so sore yesterday, and the pump was making it worse, and all I could think about was pumping for another 12.5 months.

I think I might be the first working mom at my local LLL. We are currently living in a very isolated area, and it seems to be 50 years behind the times in many ways. So I don't know that my LLL is "hard-core" so much as pumping is completely foreign to them.

The other complicating factor is that my son appears to be allergic to both cow's milk at soy. I have had to be off of them for several months. I am hoping to try re-introducing them in the next couple of weeks, but I am not optimistic so I am assuming cow and goat milk are off the table.

I think I can stick with pumping 2x a day for now. I do appreciate the break from my co-workers too I just need to feel like I am taking a couple steps away from being tied to the pump. My husband has been pointing out that 3 30-minute pump sessions 5 days a week is 7.5 hours, and I could find something a lot more fun than pumping to fill that time. Sleep is at the top of my list! But I will get there eventually.

I currently nurse around 4AM, pump at 7AM, 10AM, and 1PM, and nurse around 4PM. If I drop down to 2 sessions, does it really matter when I do them? Do I need to keep things as evenly spaced as possible 4AM/8AM/noon/4PM? Or can I go with times that work best with my schedule, probably 4AM/7AM/10AM/4PM?

And I just have to keep reminding myself that DS will start liking solids eventually.
Thanks.
-ngs

[@llli*bfwmomof3]

You can go with the times that go best with your schedule. As filmmommy pointed out, the great thing about breastfeeding after a year is that you are not the sole source of nutrition anymore. So it's less important that you produce x ounces over y amount of time.
I think you're right about the working mother thing. I mean that if you are a stay-at-home mom you would gradually be decreasing how much you breastfeed starting at age 1, as your LO's intake of solids started to increase. So you are just mimicking that when you start the pump weaning process at a year. But if you're with LO all the time it's less of a conscious decision and maybe therefore less noticeable when you are simply responding to LO's demand, as opposed to scheduling the time in your day when you pump.

[@llli*djs.mom]

I would really step your efforts around solids. Normally I am very gung ho about people pump weaning at a year....but if your baby is still drinking 12-15oz a day while away from you that sounds like he is really NOT eating ANYTHING while away from you. Because that is literally HALF of what a child who is being exclusively breastfed eats in a day! So while I am WANTING to tell you all will be fine, he if he isn't eating and you ARE still his sole source of nutrition....the only way to NOT BE THAT is work on it diligently. Like everyday. Are you are the point where he is included in mealtime everyday? And if so what are you feeding him? Because I think it's time to really look at it. I don't think that babies just magically up their solids intake. I think it takes a very concerted effort on the part of the parent. So can we talk about solids?

[@llli*mommal]

I think I might be the first working mom at my local LLL.

But you won't be the last!!! I hope you keep going to the meetings, to provide a different perspective on the varying possibilities of nursing past a year.

[@llli*ngs215]

I would really step your efforts around solids. Normally I am very gung ho about people pump weaning at a year....but if your baby is still drinking 12-15oz a day while away from you that sounds like he is really NOT eating ANYTHING while away from you. Because that is literally HALF of what a child who is being exclusively breastfed eats in a day! So while I am WANTING to tell you all will be fine, he if he isn't eating and you ARE still his sole source of nutrition....the only way to NOT BE THAT is work on it diligently. Like everyday. Are you are the point where he is included in mealtime everyday? And if so what are you feeding him? Because I think it's time to really look at it. I don't think that babies just magically up their solids intake. I think it takes a very concerted effort on the part of the parent. So can we talk about solids?

So yes, we have had a rough time with solids. And I am open to any ideas about how to get him interested. We started them late (8.5 months) because we were having issues with diarrhea, bloody poop, etc and we didn't want to introduce solids until that was figured out. So then we started doing solids, and less than a month later, he got sick. And that led to almost 2 months of on and off again vomiting. So he has been on and off solids during that time because there were multiple weeks in there where he was throwing up at least twice a day, and our priority was keeping him hydrated and not solids. But I believe we finally have him healthy again.

And in the last 2 weeks, I have really been trying to up the solids. Sometimes he is interested, and will go after everything on his tray, but that is rare. Most meals, he just takes the food and throws it off the tray.

On weekends, we do 3 meals a day. During the week, he gets lunch at daycare and dinner with us. He did just move rooms at day care, which means that the kids now eat lunch together. They circle the high chairs, and I was hoping that would help encourage him since he is eating with other kids. But the room change also means that he is not napping well at day care, and he is exhausted in the evenings, and I think that's why he is not interested in dinners this week.

As far as what he eats, he mostly gets what I eat. This week we have had: cheerios and blueberry bagel for breakfast. For dinner, Italian chicken with roasted carrots and broccoli, pot roast with steamed squash and baked potatoes, and baked chicken with carrots and rice. He sometimes gets an apple or banana after dinner. The only things that he really seems to like are carrots, beef, and cheerios. And even then, he doesn't always eat them when offered.

So please let me know if you have ideas to get him eating more solids.
-ngs