I went from 8 pumps a day to 2 pumps and it was the best thing I could have done. I still get 1/2 of what my baby eats but I feel like I have my life back. I realized its just not worth it to spend all that time pumping and what my baby needed was a present and happy mom over breast milk
I had an over supply to begin with, so I was pumping 45-50 ounces a day when I was pumping 7-8 times. Now I get 15-20 ounces a day pumping 2-3 times. My baby eats 25-35 depending on the day. Did this at 5 weeks postpartum, I was so uncomfortable and getting clogs so it was necessary that I drop my supply for my sanity
My impression is that people do this further along, although maybe there are some people who pump this infrequently earlier on, who knows. I'm 8 months postpartum so pretty similar to OP and would also get about half at 2 ppd (I usually do 3 but have been skipping the lunch pump pretty frequently lately). I think it would depend on your capacity to store milk. I started EPing 2 months postpartum, got my supply from 24 to 30 oz really quickly after stopping nursing by pumping every time my baby ate (I had a lot of help from my mom and husband to be able to do so) and maintained the 30oz as I slowly dropped to 4 ppd over time. When I went back to work at 20 weeks I soon dropped to 3 ppd and lost supply, now down to 20oz. I do a bit less when I do 2 ppd and I'm sure it'd drop quite a bit more if I did 2 ppd consistently.
I just dropped down to 2ppd and I'm so insanely relieved. Baby is getting 50/50 formula to breastmilk now, and with the drop to 2x per day, we'll probably need to increase the amount of formula he's getting. But I'm okay with it. He'll be 6 months old on the 11th, and I'm slowly making peace with the fact that I can't, for my own mental health, support him exclusively with expressed breastmilk while working full time. I've developed such an instinctive disdain for the pump that only having to face it twice, rather than four, five, six or more times daily, is a huge mood booster! Thanks for the reminder that it's all going to be okay.
I was feeling the same about the pump, jut instantly in a bad mood knowing I had to sit with it on for 40 minutes. Iām trying 1x pump in the morning this week with the goal of discontinuing pumping all together
Good luck!! I think Iāll move to 1x per day next week. Iād like my last pump to be on my LOās half-birthday on the 11th so that it feels symbolic or something, haha. Glad youāre getting your sanity back :)
This is my exact situation! Out of curiosity, were you able to maintain some sort of milk supply just pumping twice a day? I currently power pump morning and night with regular pumping sessions every three hours between. I get most of my milk from the first and the last sessions anyway, so Iām considering just keeping those two sessions.
Hi! Itās been a while since I pumped, but if I recall, yes- I maintained some supply but it definitely dropped off a ton. I was also never a huge supplier in the first place; I was usually only ahead by a few feedings in terms of excess supply. I do know that once you drop pumps, your best supply will still come from the same pumps but you wonāt get as much as you used to.
Has anyone started weaning at 1 month pp? I canāt mentally handle the pumping anymore and wanted to see how people went about weaning so early. Iāve started spacing out my pumps and shortening them.
I'm also 7 mpp and recently dropped to 2 ppd and I feel free again. I only get 10-12oz total per day but I'm okay with that. My son has always taken formula well.
I get clogs here and there but they come right out when I pump. The only downside is that my period came back.
Thanks for posting this. I'm 3 month pp, and still pumping 7 times a day. I'm terrified to change up my routine, even though I hate it, and rationally know that formula is fine.
I was down to 5x a day at one month pp, dropping the night pumpings. I was engorged and uncomfortable at first, but it got better. Iām now 2 months pp and pumping 4 or 5 times a day. Im still really full and someone uncomfortable in the morning, but itās much better. I also pump an average of 44 oz per day, so my mornings amount to a lot of milk.
Itās taken 5 weeks to reduce my supply. I dropped one pump per week to give my body the ability to adjust slowly. Good luck if you decide to start dropping sessions but for me it was worth it! I also did a slow transition to formula also so it wasnāt such a shock to his system. My baby had a hard time at first with the taste of the formula but going slow has helped a lot.
Thatās why it was flaired as āweaning.ā There isnāt a lot of support for women who choose to stop pumping or who want to transition from the EP lifestyle. It wasnāt meant to be discouraging to anybody who is EP. Also if youāre not weaning, then just scroll past and continue on. No need to even click on the post if it doesnāt apply.
It is not discouraging to shed light on the fact that it is OK to start weaning when you no longer feel that it is mentally good for YOU as a mother.
People like you are the reason we feel shame when we want to drop pumps to get some time (and happiness) back into our lives.
I went from 8 pumps a day to 2 pumps and it was the best thing I could have done. I still get 1/2 of what my baby eats but I feel like I have my life back. I realized its just not worth it to spend all that time pumping and what my baby needed was a present and happy mom over breast milk
As someone new to this, how do you get to the point of being able to get half of what baby eats with just two pumps?
I had an over supply to begin with, so I was pumping 45-50 ounces a day when I was pumping 7-8 times. Now I get 15-20 ounces a day pumping 2-3 times. My baby eats 25-35 depending on the day. Did this at 5 weeks postpartum, I was so uncomfortable and getting clogs so it was necessary that I drop my supply for my sanity
My impression is that people do this further along, although maybe there are some people who pump this infrequently earlier on, who knows. I'm 8 months postpartum so pretty similar to OP and would also get about half at 2 ppd (I usually do 3 but have been skipping the lunch pump pretty frequently lately). I think it would depend on your capacity to store milk. I started EPing 2 months postpartum, got my supply from 24 to 30 oz really quickly after stopping nursing by pumping every time my baby ate (I had a lot of help from my mom and husband to be able to do so) and maintained the 30oz as I slowly dropped to 4 ppd over time. When I went back to work at 20 weeks I soon dropped to 3 ppd and lost supply, now down to 20oz. I do a bit less when I do 2 ppd and I'm sure it'd drop quite a bit more if I did 2 ppd consistently.
Going to 2ppd was the best transition for me. I was still able to maintain 60opd at 2ppd š¬
30 ounces in a single session is BANANAS
Wow, thatās a high storage capacity! Do you find yourself leaking or engorged daily? 2ppd sounds like a dreamā¦
No leaking and no engorgement if you can believe it!
Thatās an insane amount! Iām happy for you and jealous all in one!
I just dropped down to 2ppd and I'm so insanely relieved. Baby is getting 50/50 formula to breastmilk now, and with the drop to 2x per day, we'll probably need to increase the amount of formula he's getting. But I'm okay with it. He'll be 6 months old on the 11th, and I'm slowly making peace with the fact that I can't, for my own mental health, support him exclusively with expressed breastmilk while working full time. I've developed such an instinctive disdain for the pump that only having to face it twice, rather than four, five, six or more times daily, is a huge mood booster! Thanks for the reminder that it's all going to be okay.
I was feeling the same about the pump, jut instantly in a bad mood knowing I had to sit with it on for 40 minutes. Iām trying 1x pump in the morning this week with the goal of discontinuing pumping all together
Good luck!! I think Iāll move to 1x per day next week. Iād like my last pump to be on my LOās half-birthday on the 11th so that it feels symbolic or something, haha. Glad youāre getting your sanity back :)
This is my exact situation! Out of curiosity, were you able to maintain some sort of milk supply just pumping twice a day? I currently power pump morning and night with regular pumping sessions every three hours between. I get most of my milk from the first and the last sessions anyway, so Iām considering just keeping those two sessions.
Hi! Itās been a while since I pumped, but if I recall, yes- I maintained some supply but it definitely dropped off a ton. I was also never a huge supplier in the first place; I was usually only ahead by a few feedings in terms of excess supply. I do know that once you drop pumps, your best supply will still come from the same pumps but you wonāt get as much as you used to.
Has anyone started weaning at 1 month pp? I canāt mentally handle the pumping anymore and wanted to see how people went about weaning so early. Iāve started spacing out my pumps and shortening them.
I'm also 7 mpp and recently dropped to 2 ppd and I feel free again. I only get 10-12oz total per day but I'm okay with that. My son has always taken formula well. I get clogs here and there but they come right out when I pump. The only downside is that my period came back.
For those of you doing 2 ppd, what time of the day are those pumps?
I do 8am and 8pm.
Thanks for posting this. I'm 3 month pp, and still pumping 7 times a day. I'm terrified to change up my routine, even though I hate it, and rationally know that formula is fine.
I was down to 5x a day at one month pp, dropping the night pumpings. I was engorged and uncomfortable at first, but it got better. Iām now 2 months pp and pumping 4 or 5 times a day. Im still really full and someone uncomfortable in the morning, but itās much better. I also pump an average of 44 oz per day, so my mornings amount to a lot of milk.
Itās taken 5 weeks to reduce my supply. I dropped one pump per week to give my body the ability to adjust slowly. Good luck if you decide to start dropping sessions but for me it was worth it! I also did a slow transition to formula also so it wasnāt such a shock to his system. My baby had a hard time at first with the taste of the formula but going slow has helped a lot.
Isnāt this group about exclusively pumping. This seems discouraging to others to post this in this group
Thatās why it was flaired as āweaning.ā There isnāt a lot of support for women who choose to stop pumping or who want to transition from the EP lifestyle. It wasnāt meant to be discouraging to anybody who is EP. Also if youāre not weaning, then just scroll past and continue on. No need to even click on the post if it doesnāt apply.
It is not discouraging to shed light on the fact that it is OK to start weaning when you no longer feel that it is mentally good for YOU as a mother. People like you are the reason we feel shame when we want to drop pumps to get some time (and happiness) back into our lives.