Pump weaning and supply

[@llli*stonesmom]

Thanks to everyone's support I have almost successfully managed to pump wean! I'm still pumping 1x a day just to add a few more to the freezer stash but I'm down from 3, 15min sessions a day !

I still nurse on demand mornings, evenings and all weekend long. DS is 13mo old

It's great to pack away the pump, but sad as I'm definitely seeing my supply dwindle quickly. With my 3 pump sessions I used to go home with 12oz a day. Now with one session I'm lucky if I can get 3oz. And I never feel "full" any more

As long as I'm nursing the frequency I mentioned above, do I have to fear my supply dropping completely? I'm planning to nurse at least another year or more.

Thanks all
xoxo

[@llli*mommal]

As long as you continue to nurse and your baby continues to be interested in nursing, you will continue to make milk. It probably won't be a whole huge lot of milk if your LO nurses just a few times a day, but there will be some.

It sounds like you're doing great! Congrats on mostly hanging up the pump, and on making it well beyond a year with pumping! That's a lot of dedication, right there.

[@llli*stonesmom]

As long as you continue to nurse and your baby continues to be interested in nursing, you will continue to make milk. It probably won't be a whole huge lot of milk if your LO nurses just a few times a day, but there will be some.

It sounds like you're doing great! Congrats on mostly hanging up the pump, and on making it well beyond a year with pumping! That's a lot of dedication, right there.

Thanks Mommal! It feels really good to have made this far, and hoping to continue even further! He has such an interest in food and other beverages that I felt safe removing milk from this daytime routine, and he still nurses plenty when we are together so i'm hoping this can be our rhythm for a long time to come.

[@llli*joshuas.mommy]

Yes, I think you'll be fine. I remember being really worried about my supply with pump weaning also, and I couldn't fathom how it was going to happen that I would still have milk for him during the day on weekends if I wasn't pumping during the week, but somehow it does work out. My DS is 21 months and still nurses 5-8 times per day before and after work and overnight. I can still feel strong letdowns a good deal of the time and on the few occasions I've tried to pump since pump weaning, I can still get about 3-4 oz, so I guess my supply is still pretty good. Not enough milk for a newborn, certainly, but I'm not feeding a newborn anymore and neither are you! I know what you mean about feeling sad about getting less milk when you pump, but that feeling will soon be replaced with a feeling of liberation that you no longer have to pump at all!

[@llli*mercystreet]

It's great to pack away the pump, but sad as I'm definitely seeing my supply dwindle quickly. With my 3 pump sessions I used to go home with 12oz a day. Now with one session I'm lucky if I can get 3oz. And I never feel "full" any more

As long as I'm nursing the frequency I mentioned above, do I have to fear my supply dropping completely? I'm planning to nurse at least another year or more.

Since I *just* went thru this I will tell you what my experience was: I also used to pump 3x/day at work and bring home 12 oz. I gradually pump weaned over 2 mos (with the help of the wonderful ladies here!). I've been fully pump weaned for 3 weeks now. Yes, my supply did go down, and I never feel so full as to get uncomfortable anymore -- but I think that's a good thing. My LO still nurses frequently when we are together (including overnights) and there is always milk for him when he wants it Granted there is no way to "measure" supply in the breast so I couldn't say how many ounces and when ... but he's always happy at the breast and seems sated whenever he asks for it. It know it's hard not to worry about it -- I did! -- but I think you can trust the good advice here and have faith it will be OK. These ladies won't steer you wrong