Pumping to exclusively breastfeeding... now when do i stop pumping

[Betheney]

Ok so Remi was born at 33+5, he was given a gastric tube straight away. So I began pumping every 3 hours and 4 hours at night. I seemed to of given myself a massive supply. I didn't really think much about how much i was pumping when he was in hospital but first pump in the morning (which i know is when supply is highest) i was/am getting about 150mls per boob. Remi was only down for 40mls per feed. later on in the day it would range from 50mls-100mls per boob.

Remi came home at 36 weeks gestation with us breastfeeding and doing EBM top ups after each feed. So i kinda felt pumping was still necessary.

At 37 weeks gestation (3 weeks old) we moved to exclusively breastfeeding.

Now my problem is i'm still pumping by habit and i don't know when to stop, should i just stop cold turkey now. What did everyone else do. I tried to cut down yesterday and only pumped after 2 feeds rather than all of them. Is this a bad idea. I keep worrying that he doesn't drink enough per feed because of his tiny tummy to just allow my supply to adjust to what he needs, the idea of only having 20mls in each breast per feed just freaks me out. Also some feeds he's too tired to take to both breasts and i just don't like the idea of having one breast completely not be fed off for a feed when his fluid requirements are so low that breast's supply would surely suffer wouldn't it. I also think that if i have a big supply then he doesn't have to work hard for it and he'll be able to feed easier which is important for a baby with such little energy.

But to those mummas who pumped constantly to be able to breastfeed i'm sure you understand my pain and hatred at the pump. I'm so sick of pumping, it's so time consuming and just a pain in the arse. I take it everywhere i've pumped in carparks, in the car while hubby is driving, in shopping centre bathrooms, at friends houses. I'm just so sick of the damn thing and now we're exclusively breastfeeding i'm eager to stop using it. But i keep reading all this stuff about the importance of establishing your supply in the first 6-12 weeks. is he going to be taking that much more fluids at 6-12 weeks i don't want to establish a low supply because he's a premmie and takes low amounts and then have that effect us forever.

 

[gryphongrl]

I am in the same boat. It feels very weird to stop pumping after establishing this giant (mostly unneeded) supply... but I did find info on the La Leche League site that advised to stop pumping completely. Now that I have too much milk, I sometimes have to pump BEFORE feedings to make the boob soft enough that she's able to latch on. And maybe this is making the oversupply worse?! Looking forward to reading the responses you get to your questions!

 

[Betheney]

Yesterday I pumped before a feed once for the same reason but also because i dont think he gets much hindmilk at all. After I feed him and I pump I'm still getting all foremilk.

 

[hekate]

this might be of interest to you https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/weaning-from-pump/

 

[inperfected]

I had massive oversupply too. The way I managed to was by pumping slightly less at each feed each day (i.e. 10ml less each feed for a day, and another 10ml less the next day). Trust me, go slow or you likely could end up with mastitis, and have to pump it all out to try overcome the infection, so slow is best by far. You can slightly lengthen the pumping times too

 

[Srrme]

I stopped pumping once I began exclusively breastfeeding. I am still breastfeeding both of them, and have been breastfeeding for 2 years.

 

[Betheney]

I stopped pumping once I began exclusively breastfeeding.

How old were the kiddies at this point? Am I doing it too early at 3 weeks old?

 

[hekate]

I stopped pumping once I began exclusively breastfeeding.

How old were the kiddies at this point? Am I doing it too early at 3 weeks old?

I don't think it is too early, just try what you are already doing - cutting back slowly
I can't quite remember how I reduced it, but I started pumping less often as soon as we left hospital....
baby was in hospital for 3 weeks and was 36 weeks when we left....
your supply will adjust quite quickly I think....how often does baby feed?
I remember having to hand express occasionally (just a few drops to ease the fullness) for a few weeks/month after stopping to pump

 

[Srrme]

I started breastfeeding as soon as they both came home from the NICU. Fenix was 3 weeks old, and Elias was 8 weeks.

 

[gryphongrl]

We are doing about one bottle a day now (of expressed milk) but breastfeeding the other 11 or so feedings... I have cut down pumping to about 5 times a day from 8 - but weird thing, no matter how much she eats I always pump the same amount. Is that normal?

Also, is it true that you can tell whether baby is getting hindmilk by the color of their poops (green means too much foremilk)?

 

[hekate]

We are doing about one bottle a day now (of expressed milk) but breastfeeding the other 11 or so feedings... I have cut down pumping to about 5 times a day from 8 - but weird thing, no matter how much she eats I always pump the same amount. Is that normal?

Also, is it true that you can tell whether baby is getting hindmilk by the color of their poops (green means too much foremilk)?

frothy green poo can mean an imbalance of hindmilk/foremilk or could be a sensitivity to something in mama diet or an illness

the link I posted above "kellymom" is a really good resource

might be worth looking at oversupply or how to reduce milk, but really I think it is far to early days for both of you to say that....

I used to feed my baby on one breast only at each feed (for a long time...say several month or until he "asked" for both sides each feed)
that way I always felt he would get enough hindmilk

 

[momo51519]

Hey ladies. I talked to a friend recently who has a 9 month old. She was a micro preemie like mine. I askd her th same thing. She said to just keep pumping cause to have the extra is good. She dried up without wanting to and she said she is gonna run out of milk this month. She said she wished she had been able to pump longer and breasfeed. So I am gonna pump for a while just to be safe.

 

[gryphongrl]

Her milk went away while EBF? I didn't know that could happen...

 

[Betheney]

So I had my first health nurse visit yesterday. She recommended I don't stop pumping until baby is about 3kgs (6.6lbs). Although her thinking was that if we suddenly have weight problems while he is stil under 3kgs I will have a decent supply to fix those problems quickly. I said I'm trying to cut down to only 2 pumping sessions a day does that sound okay to her and she said yes.

 

[Srrme]

Hey ladies. I talked to a friend recently who has a 9 month old. She was a micro preemie like mine. I askd her th same thing. She said to just keep pumping cause to have the extra is good. She dried up without wanting to and she said she is gonna run out of milk this month. She said she wished she had been able to pump longer and breasfeed. So I am gonna pump for a while just to be safe.

How does she know it's drying up?

Once I stopped pumping, my supply dropped to the amount my babies ate. If I tried pumping, I barely got anything, and would have sworn my supply was diminishing, but it wasn't, and I'm still breastfeeding 2 years later.

 

[colourful20]

I was advised to stop expressing once my DS was taking the breast at every feed. I expressed a couple of times after this as my breasts were too full. My son was born at 31 weeks and started taking the breast at 4 weeks old. Initially as I had over stimulated my supply he was just getting the foremilk (I.assume) as his poo turned a khaki green and his weight dipped. Once my supply evened out about 3 days his poo went back to normal. Now he is 11 weeks old and doing well.

 

[calypso]

I exclusively pumped for my 33 weeker for one full year. Right around her birthday she finally started being able to breastfeed. We switched to nursing, except for when I am gone for many hours (usually 1-2 times a week, 1 pump) while I am at school. I also have a ridiculous freezer stash.

If your baby is a successful nurser (gains weight, empties you), then just start replacing pumping sessions with nursing sessions. Preemies often aren't too good at emptying your breast so they could either not gain much weigh - less hind milk getting in - or the not empty breasts make less and less milk. You'd be more likely to dry up. Extra milk does not hurt to store. It was nice when I just didn't want to pump or went out to know I always had a backup.

Personally, I wanted to give my little girl breastmilk for as long as possible, so I endured pumping. This led us to have a successful breastfeeding experience. Let me know if I can help at all.