Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

What made you stop? I have two kids and I am struggling to be able to pump, sleep, take care of 2.5 year old son all at the same time. On top of that I only make about 1.5-2oz per pump.(3 on a really good pump)

I just am struggling with knowing if its worth it to pump anymore for my own sanity. (daughter is almost 3 weeks old)

Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

im struggling with this too. i think our dd's are just a day apart, but she is my first. we are actually doing fine with the act of breastfeeding itself: she latches great, she's gaining, she has wet/dirty diapers. but lately i have agonizing razor pain in my right boob when she latches on. i cant seem to have time to pump bc she's constantly feeding. i can't imagine going out to stores etc bc i feel like by the time we get there she's gonna need to eat. i just feel chained to breast-feeding and i want to be free to be myself. but i feel guilty of course. I'm going to ask the per about introducing formula tomorrow but still nursing a few times a day.

Re: Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

By the time I got to 4 weeks things got MUCH better! The pain finally went away and she didn't want to be attached to me 24/7 anymore.

As for pumping more- have you tried the mothers milk tea or fenugreek pills?

Re: Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

I refuse to use any of that this time around. With DS I did and I went crazy and became depressed. I am just not a good milk maker. It didn't work and I smelled bad. I promised myself If it got bad I would stop but I just can't.

Edit: I am only pumping. DD latched in the hospital really well! But she lost 10 % of her body weight so we had to supplement. Now she wont latch :( I was starving her :(

Message edited 6/5/2013 8:54:10 PM.

Re: Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

I stopped when DS was three and a half weeks old! My twins were 21 months, and it was literally making me sick. Between nursing, pumping, the baby crying, the twins crying, me crying, it was rough. DS was slightly tongue tied, i mean really slightly, i found this out in the hospital. The LC came in because my nips were so sore and BADLY scabbed and bleeding and he was only 2 days old. She told me to have the ped clip it at his first appt. Well, the ped said it was not bad and did not warrent it to be clipped. Now i kind of wish i fought to clip it. I was talking to a friend a few weeks ago and her DS had the same problem. She fought to get it clipped at 6 weeks and her son was an amazing nurser after that. So now i wish i had fought, maybe i would have lasted longer. Anyway, once i stopped, i felt guilty but at the same time like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. at day 10 i developed a fever, was back and forth to my OB for about 2 weeks, went for an MRI. I'd get a fever for a few days and it'd go away. I had a clogged duct and nothing was coming out. I tried to nurse it out and the fevers got worse. Finally i went to my OB crying and he told me it was ok to stop breast feeding. He told me to wear REALLY tight bra's and to just stop cold turkey and use ice packs. I left his office and did not pump or breast feed any longer. It was a huge relief. The fevers stopped shortly after, and i was much happier, not stressed. DS wasn't stressed and it all just worked out for the better. If you want to stop, then stop. If you're stressing, that's not good for you, the baby and your other DS. You need to do what is right for you and your daughter. Formula feeding is not bad. Breast feeding is not for everyone. It's very hard with other kids around too. I was making myself nuts and my twins were suffering from it too. It's hard.

Re: Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

I had a tough recovery with my first. I tried then supplemented and gave up at 3 weeks. I was miserable bf. I felt like I let myself and DH down. It was my mil who told me you have to do what's best for you and the baby. If you're not happy then do formula. Both myself and DH were formula babies and came out fine.
With my second I bf for about 5 months and loved it, but it was a different experience. I told myself if it didn't work I'd go to formula. Even my Ped said I am not a human pacifier so do what's best.
Either way your baby will be fine.

Re: Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

My story is similar to luckysmom's story.
I just recently stopped bfing my DS (when he was 9-10 weeks old). I have 2 year old twins and DS was wanting to nurse every 1-1.5 hours during the day and was never content. I felt bad for my twins. I felt trapped, even if I did nurse in public it was nuts trying to nurse and watch them at the same time. I also got mastitis twice. Had fevers of a 103-104 and had to take care of all 3 kids feeling miserable. It was rough.

I felt bad especially since I nursed my twins for 6 months but I just couldn't do it. Within a day or 2 DS was much happier and I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my schoulders.

Only you know what it is right for you and your baby...my only advice is...don't let guilt be the reason you continue to bf.

Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

i ep'd for 6 weeks. dd would not latch because i have inverted nipples. i was so disapointed-tried LC, nipple shields etc. so i decided to pump so she could get breast milk. WELL. when i think of what i put myself through, the tears, the pressure-i realize now hormones played a huge role in this-
i never had a huge supply. i was hooked up to that pump 24/7/
had to supplement with formula anyway. my supply became less and less. the day i stopped pumping was a huge weight off of my shoulders. i am glad that i was able to give her whatever BM that i could, but in the end we had to search for the right formula for her(milk allergy) and she is fine. do what is best for you. if i could do it differently i would not have put that pressure on myself. GL

Re: Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

I stopped at 2 weeks with dc 2. It was too time consuming with 2 kids, it wasn't worth it for me. I felt so happy when I packed the pump away.

Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

I stopped around 3months but was miserable the whole time. Suffering with post partum. I hated pumping. Nursing just made me feel more overwhelmed. I wasnt producing a lot and was supplementing anyway. My dh was not so darling and was not supportive at all. He only added to my guilt that was a huge amount on its own. To top it off i was on a restricted diet which left me feeling more depressed because i could barely eat anything.

It was too time consuming and i ended up stopping. It just made me feel less like myself than ever. I hated that damn pump.
And i felt so much better i couldnt believe it! I was able to drink 10 cups of coffee if i wanted! I ciuld eat dairy! And junk food if i felt like it! Haha but most of all i finally was able to enjoy motherhood and my daughter. I no longer felt overwhelmed and resentful.
Formula is available and made to be nutritious. Yes breast is best for formula isnt bad. Your ds wont be hurt by it. My dd ended up on hypolegenic formula and shes 11 months. Shes intelligent beautiful happy and a total mommas girl. We dont have less of a bond. She isnt missing anything. No different than my friends daughter who was exclusively breastfed for the first year. Do what makes you happy! Happy mommy = happy baby!!!!

Message edited 6/6/2013 6:53:04 AM.

Re: Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

I stopped at 6 months because my breasts were just not producing anymore. It took too much effort to pump out 2 ozs for the whole day.

Re: Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

i stopped at pumping (i only pumped) at 6 weeks actually i really think at 5 weeks i always planned on stopping at 6 weeks but honestly it took everything in me to make that long i was miserable.

Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

I pumped for my DS for 6 months since he had a cleft palate and I was not able to nurse for him. This time around I have been nursing my 4 week old DD. It is very tough since my DS is 17 months old and I feel like it's taking time away from him. I keep telling myself that I will do this for 3 months. It is a lot of work, my mom did give my DD a bottle when I went out and I nurse before I go anywhere. I would love to do it longer and I love the time with my DD but Im not sure. I will not pump at all this time.

Re: Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

two things

Health and mental health

Mental:
I felt like a cow. Just a body of milk for her. I had no idenity other than constantly pumping or bf her. I felt alone and stressed with something no one could help me with. She was a great feeder but I felt alienated. I stopped caring who saw my breasts.. just feed and move on. Mind you this was ONLY two weeks!

Health: My blood pressure was outrageus so I had to take meds, meaning I couldn't BF. Honestly I was relieved. I felt BETTER after I stopped. (ETA: It was like i could blame the blood pressure but really i was overjoyed to stop, but the guilt held me back)

Reality: I knew wanted him to feed her too, so between pumping and formula it was always the path that I would quit BEFORE I went back to work, so I wouldn't leak while back at work. The longest I ever intended to bf was 3m.

For my sanity, her health and our family I think I made THE best choice EVER by quitting and never once regretted it. I would stand on a mountain and scream to the world, do NOT breast feed if you don't WANT to! Its OK!

And the bf is better routine irrates me now. Sure a lexus is better than toyota, but they have the same parts and fuction the same. same for bf and formula.

Millions of people today are fine and most dont even KNOW they were FF! No one asks that in Kinder registration or college applications "Breast fed or Formula" so why do we beat ourselvs up so much?

ETA: I always wanted him to bond with her over a bottle too. The look of a man holding his baby and feeding her tiny being is soooooo cute! And its not like if you FF you lose bonding with your child, its not a machine feeding her, you're still holding the baby, still cooing, still very much a part of it. I remember the feel of her soft hair on the crook of my arm and the warmth of her body on mine while I held that bottle. Much better than the days of wondering am I sweaty or is she slobbering, is her nose clear for air, making sure I switched sides, worry about clogs.. ugh. Hard to bond with that for me.

JMHO
sorry..
stepping down now

Message edited 6/6/2013 11:35:05 AM.

Re: Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

I just feel horrible! But every time I pump I get maybe 2 oz and thats after sitting for 30-40 minutes. My boobs and killing me I cant even hug my two kids. I am not sleeping it just sucks. I just feel like such a failure.

Re: Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

If you want to stop, then stop. The most important thing is that you feed your baby, and if you want to feed them formula then that is your choice and perfectly ok and good for your baby.

If you want to continue bf then get help. There is a LLL meeting tomorrow in Mineola where you can get free help, and I know a LC in Lake Success that takes insurance. A baby can always learn to latch - DD1 didn't latch until 5 weeks and we were able to EBF until 15 months. There are other ways to increase supply, and you shouldn't have to pump for 40 minutes and it shouldn't hurt. You can bring your pump to the LC and she can help you with that too.

You could also use bm and formula - it doesn't have to be all or nothing.

Re: Moms who stopped nursing/pumping early...

For me it was overwhelming. It took an hour to pump (I did get a decent amount) and another hour to feed her at that point. I was always pumping and feeding! I hated it. I tried really hard to get her to latch on instead of pumping and it didn't work. I was upset for a little while but I'm happy with my decision to stop. She's thriving! I'm happy and Daddy can help with feeding too. This is what worked for us.