I stopped nursing Emily when she was about 4 months old. It was hard to nurse, pump at work, find a schedule that worked for both and keep up my supply. So I made the decision to stop nursing and just pump. It didn't bother Emily at all. She didn't care if she nursed or got her milk from a bottle - all that mattered to her was that it wasn't formula (she REFUSED formula).
So I've been pumping 4-6 times per day since then and I'm sick of it. I'm tired of the machine. I'm tired of trying to plan my day around it. I'm sick of having to stop what I'm doing at work or at home. I'm just tired of it.
It takes me 20-30 minutes to pump each time. When I was pumping 6 times a day, I could spend up to 3 hours a day (or 21 hours a week) hooked up to that stupid machine. That's A LOT of time each day. A lot of time I can't do much else.
(Yes, I know this is selfish. But I don't care. I'm allowed to be annoyed with pumping. And I know the machine isn't stupid - it's saved us a TON of money, allowed Emily not to have to take formula, and for that, I'm grateful And I'm proud of myself for keeping it up for so long).
I'm counting down the weeks until Emily's first birthday (7 weeks) and she can have cow milk. I'm doing research and trying out to figure out the best and most healthy way to stop pumping. I have no desire to stop, cold turkey. I'm glad that I have a freezer full of breast milk to help in the weaning process.
Any tips for weaning? Any thing that has worked or not worked when switching your kids to cow milk? I'm open to all suggestions.
Wow! Way to go! I stopped nursing at 8 months and could only keep up with the ep-ing for another month. As for weaning from the pump, I just decreased my pumping sessions by one for a couple of weeks, and then cut out another one for another week, etc.
ReplyDeleteI feel for ya! I pumped with Sawyer for the last 5 months of his first year and I vowed to not do it with Emi even if it meant I never left her the first year (which I only did for a few hours at a time). 7 more weeks. I recommend "The Nursing MOther's Guide to Weaning" by Kathleen HUggins. I used her book on how to nurse and it was amazing. I have the weaning book ready for when I am ready to wean. Good luck Carrie! You have done so wonderfully thus far!
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe your little beautiful red-head it going to be one already! Cutting down the length of each session by even just 5-8 minutes for 1 week will help when you cut out a session all together. Especially cut night/late evening pumping down. It is when your hormone that produces milk is at its highest.
ReplyDeleteOur kids take Soy Milk in sippies. Make sure you still cuddle them. [like nursing or bottle feeding] We start introducing it to them at story book time right before bed. Their resolve to revolt is less when they are tired too. Good luck!