advice on continuing to pump...

Please bear with me...

DS is over 10 months and loves to BF and snubs the bottle while I'm at work. At most he will drink 2-3oz of the 5oz I leave for him while I'm away and sometimes he doesn't drink anything, but eats his solid foods just fine.

I'm trying to decide if I should continue pumping at all when I go back to work next week. I was pumping 3x a day at work and sometimes even at night after DS went to bed, but I've been on vacation the past 2 weeks and haven't pumped at all. Is it worth it for me to continue to pump at work when I only get a bottles worth of BM and DS doesn't even drink half of it? I have about 12-15 bags in the freezer and I'm thinking that if I split them up and give him 2-3oz the 4 days I'm away from him (so I don't waste milk or run out) it should get me through until he turns 1 and we switch to cows milk.

If I stop pumping will that ruin my supply? I plan on BF before and after work, like I have been, I'll just be cutting out the afternoon. Should I call the Ped and see if I can start transitioning to cows milk?

Any advice is appreciated! TIA!

advice on continuing to pump...

I say quit it... Especially if he isn't taking much. Do have frozen to last until he is 12 months? I recently stopped pumping. Ds is 11months old. Dr said since he nurses so much when we are together, no real need for milk during the day. Meanwhile, supply has been fine. He has all he wants when I a home, including on the weekend. My biggest issue is that on Mondays when I am back at work, I get a little engorged. But I hate pumping so i am suffering through. Lol. Gl!

advice on continuing to pump...

I also stopped pumping around 10-11 mo, with probably a couple of week's worth of milk in the freezer (i work part time). we switched to cow's milk right before 12 mo for both of my kids.
one liked the bottle and i think he probably got cow's milk first, since we'd run out of breast milk....my little guy never took a bottle so we went straight to a cup. I guess it probably hurt my supply a bit, but they were eating regular food, so it didn't matter, and i wanted to cut down on nursing anyway. My oldest stopped nursing at 15 mo, and my baby is still going strong at 16 mo. So for me it was the right thing to do.

edit: if you're only getting a bottle's worth, it probably won't hurt much. Pumping sucks bad, so if you don't have to, i wouldn't.

Message edited 8/29/2012 9:47:05 PM.

advice on continuing to pump...

thanks ladies! i did pump once today at work because I was getting uncomfortable. i got about as much as he would drink when I'm not with him, but of course he didn't even drink what i left him today. I'm not sure how much longer I'll do it since it doesn't even seem worth it. plus, it's such a pain in the you-know-what!

do you think I should call the ped about it and find out about starting cows milk early or adding more to his lunch?

advice on continuing to pump...

I wouldn't start cow's milk too early, especially if you have freezer stash. It's rough on little bellies. Is he drinking the bm out of a cup? If so, I'd just give him that and get as close to 12 m as possible. Mine were both a bit early, but only by 2-3 weeks.

advice on continuing to pump...

Both my older DCs started whole milk before 12mos. DS1 I was able to stop pumping at 10mos because I had a month's freezer stash, and he was on whole milk at 11mos. For DS2, he switched at 10mos, and I was more worried about him because he had sensitivities to milk protein during the first six months. Both DCs were fine.
I'd stop pumping -