Would you continue pumping?

[Me2mommy2b]

My milk supply's disappearing quickly.  I pump all day and all I get is enough for one feeding.  Is it better than nothing or is it time to say good bye?  DS turned 8 months yesterday.

[wannabenana]

Say GOOD-BYE!!!

[spade22]

I disagree with wannabenana - it depends on a number of factors AND there are also a number of ways to increase your milk supply.

How many sessions are you pumping for and for how long?  What grade pump do you have?  When did your milk supply start to decrease and by how much?

[Me2mommy2b]

I pump every 3 hours for about 10 minutes each breast.  I use Medela double breast electric and my milk began to diminish couple of months ago but since DS decided to wean himself and I start to pump exclusively it started to diminish very quickly.

[heatherlynn22]

i'm having the same problem!!! right after i started yaz (when i noticed my milk decreasing i stopped using it and went to progesterone only b/c before i got on the mirena) and now i can pump and pump all day long and only get 2-3 oz...not even enough for a snack for these two.

[Me2mommy2b]

Wow...that's tough.  Did you notice the supply to increase after you stopped taking yaz?

[meiram]

I am have been having the same problem since dd was about 6 months.  I started pumping for her after she stopped wanting to nurse.  I am still pumping and she is almost 10 months.  However, she is my only one and I only work part time.  Given your other obligations, I might be tempted to say goodbye to nursing.  It is a hard decision.  

[AndiJ78]

It is completely a personal choice. I am very pro-breastmilk, but can appreciate the feeling that it is futile.

Go with your gut on this one.

[kelliestarr]

I would say goodbye.

[AnnieBrooke]

It sounds like you are doing pretty much everything that you can to keep your supply up.  I did it all, Blessed Thistle and Mother's Milk Tea, and only my son's active nursing really made any difference.  Given your son's disinterest in nursing, I think I would let it go when you get to the point where you a couple of ounces.  If he were still trying, that would be another thing, but from what you say, he's ready to stop.

[waitingwithhope]

You've done really well to get this far. Do what you feel most comfortable with. If breast feeding becomes a huge chore and you are ready to let it go, then be proud of how far you've gotten and let it go. On the other hand, if you are determined to continue, don't give up, just don't put a lot of pressure on yourself to produce a ton of milk if your supply seems to be dwindling.

[spade22]

It sounds like you are doing a great job trying to keep up your milk supply.  The only thing I would suggest if you still want to feed him breast milk is to look into renting a hospital-grade pump as that can sometimes make the world of difference (stimulates the infant suckling better) -typically it costs about $40/month and many hospitals will let you rent on a weekly (or even daily basis).  Increasing the number of pumping sessions will also help but pumping every 3h is tough!

My daughter is almost 5 months old and I work full time so pump while at work and nurse at home.  I use a hospital-grade pump and havent noticed any reduction in milk production rate in the last 3 months however, now I am only just keeping up my supply with her needs so am going to try fitting in another pumping session or two throughout each 24h period......

[mum2beagain]

I had the same problems with Sam with him self weaning at. Early on in our nursing relationship I would pump and fill 2, 4 ounce bottles in less than 5 minutes. (I failed nursing my first and was scared of the same thing happening again and had EPing as a back up plan in my mind). By the time he was about 4 months I stopped pumping and we just exclusivley nursed and I had a huge freezer stash (and honestly got tired of pumping as well as nursing). Just after 9 months he began refusing to nurse, biting and so on. I though I would just go back to pumping but no luck, could barely get 6 ounces for the whole day. I just quit in the end; it felt like it was to much work with very little reward. That said I had enough frozen EBM to give him at least 1 bottle of breast milk a day until he was 11 months old.
It is a very personal choice, but I know you have 2 littles ones to care for, if your supply increases with your efforets then great but if it doesn't then don't neglect your own heath (physical and mental!) for a few ounces of breast milk.

Best wishes.

Jo

[heatherlynn22]

it increased a little bit but now...it's like nothing. occasionally the boys can get a full feeding from nursing but i usually have to have a bottle of formula on hand for them to finish.

[kellym]

Let it go! I agree that you did a fantastic job and you are a great Mom!!  I really thought I was going to have to make that decision a month ago but for some reason Blake decided to get up 10X a night and the only way for me to get him back to bed  was to  nurse him. HUH, that really increased my milk supply so I think that's a sign I should still nurse. It's hard with a 19 pounder on your boob! ha ha. Congrats for doing it soo long, you did well (applause) :)

[Me2mommy2b]

Thank you everyone for your comments.  I'm still having a hard time saying my good byes so I'm going to give it a few more days pumping every 2 hours.  If that does nothing, then I'll just give up.  I raised my concernes to the dr and he reassured me that 8 months is great and he's growing VERY well (weight wise and is hitting milestone when he should) so if I decide to go with formula, DS still got the best stuff.  I agree about the stress that it can put on a person.  That can't be healthy.