Pump weaning a week or two early??

[@llli*tampamama]

So I, like many others, can't wait to get rid of the pump. My LO turns a year on August 14. I have a really bad week at work that week and I am wondering about weaning a week or two early. It is going to be hard to get many breaks to pump that week. What's the magic with 12 months? Am I risking losing supply to continue nursing at home if I pump wean a little early? Thanks!

[@llli*manitobamommy]

There is no magic thing that happens at 12 months. Some people continue well past the 12 months mark. If it makes sense for you to stop a few weeks early, your child will be just fine!!! If you were to pump wean significantly earlier, yes it could impact your supply (but some people's supplies are more flexible than others'), but a few weeks will not matter.

[@llli*still.here]

I agree, a couple weeks isn't going to make a difference. But pay attention to your body that week, even if you're crazy busy. You don't want to end up with plugged ducts or mastitis because you tried to move to quickly with it.

[@llli*djs.mom]

I think that the issue is more where are you going to be with solids at that point. Because the "magic" of 12 months is really about that being where weaning should begin. So if you are wanting to be DONE pump weaning at a year rather than BEGINNING then, then you need to start working more diligently on solids NOW. Because pump weaning isn't an overnight thing. It's something that you do gradually over a period of weeks to a month. And ultimately when you are done doing it, unless you have a freezer supply, the 9-12 oz a milk your child is getting while away from you needs to be replaced by something else. Not all babies will take cows milk right away. So you need to focus on what solids you are going to feel OK with replacing your milk. So that by the time you get there, your baby is still getting the right amount of nutrition even though your LO is getting less milk.

[@llli*sprocket]

My LO is going to turn 1 next week and I gradually started pump weaning about a month ago. Very, very gradually.

I was comfortable doing this (well, I was nervous at first, but in retrospect, it has worked well!!) because I had enough milk in the freezer to get her to her 1st birthday with the same bottle intake at daycare, even while slowly dropping pumping sessions. Also, I would say when she was 9 or 10 mos old, I started to notice that my milk supply just FELT more even... in the sense that I felt like I could go longer between nursing and still have plenty of milk for my baby when she wanted it. That was more intuition than anything, maybe. But things like how my breasts didn't feel like they were going to burst if I went 4 or 5 hours without nursing or pumping, and how she still seemed to get as much milk as she wanted even if I had just pumped--those seemed kind of like clues to me that my milk supply was really well established and not going anywhere even if I dropped the pumping. And my daughter has been great with solids so I don't worry as much about her nutrition if she starts to get a few ounces less of milk while we're together just a few weeks before her first birthday; also, she gets lots of breast milk at daycare due to my freezer stash. Finally, I am able to nurse at lunchtime so that has made it a lot easier. I'm not sure if I will be able to go the entire day without pumping or nursing any time soon!

Like I said, it has gone really well, and I am glad I started pump weaning a little early. It has made my life at work a LOT easier and my supply didn't fall off the cliff like I had feared. It has also given me the patience to go slowly which I think is important. Good luck!