Help please! Going to throw my pump out of a moving vehicle!

[easyrhumba]

First Im not sure Im in the right spot... but I will give it a shot!

Little guy is currently getting half breastmilk and half formula.

When I went back to work in mid January I started exclusivley pumping and was not able to keep up with him. I did not have a good pump in the beginning and was not able to have a good freezer stash. So after a few weeks we had to start using formula half time which I was totally okay with.

Now I am beginning to absolutley despise pumping. I pump before work, three times while at work, when I get home, before bed and still cannot get more than the next days worth of milk. With all the pumping, cleaning pump bottles and steralizing parts its really another full time job. Plus when at work my pumping schedule gets conflicted with the others lunches and breaks so I suffer at my desk feeling like im going to explode or someone has to wait because of me. At what point to you just stop? I feel like a slave to the damn thing (the pump not the baby ). I know its what is best for my baby but Im loosing it!

My husband keeps trying to encourage me to keep on going but hes not the dairy cow of the house.

I guess what I am wondering is when did you know it was time and how did you deal with it? Sorry to whine but AHHHH!

 

[ktod]

I think the best thing to do is decide what YOU want and do that. Don't worry about other people's opinions.

 

[zizii]

When I spent too much time pumping and not spending time with my daughter.

I was formula fed as was My DH and his family - we are all healthy!

Thing is I pumped for 2 months and a week I think. It was mind numbing sterilising the pump bits then the Storage bottles and then the drinking bottles. Drove me nuts having to go to the fridge to get milk all the time then watching my daughter drink it and when she left some I would get like noooooooooooo don't waste because pumping was so long!

Anyway she hardly spent anytime with me. Some people can pump some cant. My milk supply was good I produced enough but it wasn't enough to make a freezer stash!

 

[rbourre]

I decided to stop pumping last week. I was barely pumping anything and now that my daughter is wanting to play more, I found I would only pump about 3-4 times a day and was usually uncomfortable.

 

[bubbles123]

When I looked at the pump and literally started crying at the thought of having to use it AGAIN. Breast pumps are in my opinion a form of torture.
When you choose to stop is up to you but burning the thing or stamping on it is perfectly reasonable in my opinion!

 

[Rachel_C]

If your OH is encouraging you to continue expressing, why don't you ask him to take responsibility for all the cleaning and prep work? You're working hard enough so he can help out where he can!

 

[melfy77]

I was also mix-feeding when DD was 2 weeks old due to no weight gain (not poor weight gain, no weight gain at all) Then I got fed-up with breastfeeding because DD is just impatient and milk flow was not fast enough for her. She would nurse for 5 minutes and stop, so not getting the ''fat milk''. At night, nursing was every 30-45 minutes and I was going nuts. I was pumping 3 times a day and able to get 15-20 oz, and DD is not a big drinker so it worked. The rest was formula. But like you, i just got fed-up. Spring is here, I want to spend time with my daughter, go out with friends, spend time with DH. Not sit on the couch to pump!! So I dropped pumping to once a day, at night. Now I have a plugged duct and my supply is pretty much dry up, but I'm ok with it. I've got a decent amount of BM in the freezer, DD loves the formula, and I'm not ashamed to say that I hated breastfeeding and much prefer bottles. I still bond with my daughter!!

I was formula fed and turned out just fine. No allergies or anything

Stop when you want to, just don't do it too fast because you could end up like me, with a super sore brest the size of a football

 

[sammiexsue]

im with u on that.. i decided to stop today. i was excussively pumping because baby wouldnt latch and last night and today during pumping i got absolutely nothing but a teeny dribble.. and i dont produce enough and now my production is gone. i never got my milk in full not once. so me and my husband decided to just formula feed our baby its to hard and i tried for 4 weeks and enough is enough. so i understnad ur frustration i completely feel like im letting my daughter down..

 

[josephine3]

Im sick of it too. My daughjter wont take a full forumla bottle tho so i am mixing it with breast milk. I pump 4 tines a day and only get enuf milk for the next day. She still has bf at morning and night too. I wish she wud take full formula and i didnt have to pump again

 

[melfy77]

Im sick of it too. My daughjter wont take a full forumla bottle tho so i am mixing it with breast milk. I pump 4 tines a day and only get enuf milk for the next day. She still has bf at morning and night too. I wish she wud take full formula and i didnt have to pump again

Have you tried different formulas? They don't taste the same (yep, I've tasted them) I'm lucky DD isn't picky, but she really likes Good Start, it's pretty sweet, just like BM.

 

[Indi84]

Stop when you want to, no one else!
I pumped for a month and to be honest I got incredibly fed up with it, I missed one session over night because u was so tired I just wanted to sleep and woke up with mastitis, the hv sent me straight to the doctors!
My lo is thriving on formula and I was thrilled I gave him that first month of bm, happy mummy

 

[Porcelain]

Stop when you're ready.
I switched to a hand pump which is a lot easier on me. No hook-up the the wall and it isn't as uncomfortable. I get about the same amount as the electric double pump with the one hand pump in less time.
I wasn't breast fed at all and have terrible allergies and was sick a lot as a young kid so I wanted my babies to get my milk, as little as I can get them, to at least help with that a tiny bit in the future. To be honest, though, there are a ton of people who were formula fed and were/are 100% healthy so I really wouldn't worry about it at that level
I also wanted to save some money. I don't know if I'd pump without those two elements- I'd take the extra sleep instead.
I'm surprised your husband is encouraging you to keep pumping. Mine keeps begging me to stop. I get so little for so much energy.
You want to be 100% with your little one. If pumping is keeping you away from LO or making you exhausted so you don't enjoy the time with them, maybe it's already time to put the pump away.

 

[marron]

Do you have a Medela pump? Use the bag attachment if you do-- I haven't had to wash a bottle since. And I put my pump parts in the fridge between uses.

 

[MrsButterfly]

I survived a month of exclusively pumping. Then combi fed for a couple of weeks then moved over to eff. I found it so hard and have nothing but admiration for all you mummies you keep going for months and months. You're heroes.

I just knew when it was time to stop - I was resenting the pump as it took me away from lo and his appetite started to soar and I just couldn't keep up with him.

Just know you've done an awesome job so far and do not feel guilty at all if you choose to stop.

 

[wamommy]

I think a happy Mommy is more important than what you get out pumping, honestly! Do what is best for you and what feels right.

I'm writing this as I pump right now, and know exactly how you feel!

Although I think I may hook it up to DH and blast it to high power just so he has a little respect for what we do!!

 

[horseybird]

I agree with all the other replies. We each have our own breaking point 'where we think enough is enough'

For me, it was when I was only getting 4 Ozs a day, it just seemed a lot of work for so little. It sounds like you've done brilliantly xxx

 

[VSubasic]

Wow this situation is very similar to me. I had my baby girl on March 14 and decided to breastfeed, I felt like she wasn't getting enough from me so I did half formula, once I got home I started pumping, so I can know how much she was getting. Well it was so overhwellming because cleaning the parts, etc took a toll on me. After a week i noticed that my supply was not increasing and that I was being drained out of energy. I made the decision to just formula feed my baby, it was a very hard decision, but now I am glad I did. She is on Similac Sensitive because the Advance was making her constipated and very gassy.