BFing/pumping support, week of 2/2

[wildflowers]

I am going away from LO this weekend and I am really nervous. I am equal parts afraid it will 1) be a total disaster and h won't be able to soothe her, or 2) it will be nbd and she won't take the breast when I get back. I also don't have a ton of milk. I have no idea how much I need.

[starfisher]

wildflowers That does sound stressful, but it also sounds wonderful! I hope you can take some time for yourself and to relax. Have you started the WCM transition?

[shellbell]

I'm not pumping at work tomorrow. I'm nervous and excited. I have enough milk to get to the end of Feb, and I'll really appreciate the extra time. I was only pumping about 4oz at work. But part of me is nervous for some reason I can't quite vocalize. Maybe because it's really my first step in the weaning process?

[starfisher]

shellbell That is awesome!! Congrats on letting go of the pump. I have a few weeks left due to zero freezer stash left, but I can't wait to get here. I understand the mixed feelings though.

[wildflowers]

starfisher - LO had a milk protein allergy. It is much better, but she still spits up and has a tummy ache if she has dairy, so no wcm just yet.

[starfisher]

wildflowers That's right, LO has mspi too although we are on week 2 of her dairy trial and it's going well. I hope your LO grows out of it soon as well!

[wildflowers]

starfisher That is great that it is going well!

[wildflowers]

shellbell - That is exciting! I despise pumping and do it as little as I can get away with. Usually when you stop pumping it doesn't limit your bfing unless you want it to. You can still bf during the times you are with lo.

[wildflowers]

@unicornofthesea- Last week she had lots of large spit ups, belching, and was really fussy. But she doesn't seem to be having any problems with me having dairy anymore.

[starfisher]

Feb 2, 2015 20:28:34 GMT -5 @unicornofthesea said:

Feb 2, 2015 20:23:05 GMT -5 starfisher said:

wildflowers That's right, LO has mspi too although we are on week 2 of her dairy trial and it's going well. I hope your LO grows out of it soon as well!

Curious as to what symptoms your LO had to dairy? Did you have to transition very slow? I'm so ready to wean but I'm dealing with the dairy allergy as well.

Our symptoms were fussy behavior, sleep disruptions, bad diaper rash, eczema and blood in her stool. Per the pedi we started with a few bites of yogurt and gradually increased. Then last week I did 0.5 ounces of WCM in each of her bottles. She had no issues. This week I am doing 1 ounce of WCM. If she has no issues this week I will consider her to have outgrown her allergy. I haven't had dairy since she was 4 weeks old so I am very excited about this! The restrictive diet really contributed to my anxiety and this feels like a weight has been lifted. I can go out to eat again!

[shellbell]

Feb 2, 2015 20:31:58 GMT -5 wildflowers said:

shellbell - That is exciting! I despise pumping and do it as little as I can get away with. Usually when you stop pumping it doesn't limit your bfing unless you want it to. You can still bf during the times you are with lo.

I only work two days and pump once while I'm at work. I'm thinking it's not going to impact my overall supply.

[tessymessy]

shellbell I left my pump in the car the first few days I dropped my last pump at work. It was like a weird security blanket. I knew if I needed it I could walk out and get it. Dropping the last pump didn't do anything to my supply. I know I have said it before but it is amazing how the body adjusts!

My boobs are so sad and empty. LO still nurses at night and in the morning and he seems satisfied. I feel like I have my own deflategate going on in my bra. They are just so.... sad

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[shellbell]

Feb 2, 2015 20:57:23 GMT -5 tessymessy said:

shellbell I left my pump in the car the first few days I dropped my last pump at work. It was like a weird security blanket. I knew if I needed it I could walk out and get it. Dropping the last pump didn't do anything to my supply. I know I have said it before but it is amazing how the body adjusts!

My boobs are so sad and empty. LO still nurses at night and in the morning and he seems satisfied. I feel like I have my own deflategate going on in my bra. They are just so.... sad

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This gave me the giggles. Sorry.

[tessymessy]

Feb 2, 2015 21:15:24 GMT -5 shellbell said:

Feb 2, 2015 20:57:23 GMT -5 tessymessy said:

shellbell I left my pump in the car the first few days I dropped my last pump at work. It was like a weird security blanket. I knew if I needed it I could walk out and get it. Dropping the last pump didn't do anything to my supply. I know I have said it before but it is amazing how the body adjusts!

My boobs are so sad and empty. LO still nurses at night and in the morning and he seems satisfied. I feel like I have my own deflategate going on in my bra. They are just so.... sad

( ) ( )
 .   .

This gave me the giggles. Sorry.

My nipples don't lean to the left like that.. I guess I didn't format my boobies right :thumbdown:

[blondemum]

shellbell, congrats on loosing the pump!
tessymessy, i LOL at the deflategate, but I sympathize mama.

Doing well over here, X is still nursing on demand like crazy when we're together but I did go from 2 to 3 pumps during the work day.
X is getting very 'self serve'. He'll crawl over and pull down my shirt and try to just get on. It's adorable but a little inappropriate sometimes too depending on where we are/who we're with.

[annie0714]

We have officially started weaning here. I am sad about it. I stopped taking domperidone last week and am down to pumping about 2 oz over 10-11 hrs. I had hoped to breastfeed morning and night until age 2 or so, but I don't think he will be very interested now that there is almost no milk. We shall see how long it goes I guess. I just can't justify staying on (and paying for) domperidone now that he is almost a year old. He has also started to refuse bottles and sippies this week. This wasn't a problem before, but he's drank only 2-3 oz today. He was sleeping when I left for work and I didn't want to wake him, so he hasn't even nursed to get a little extra yet today. Now I'm worried that he is going to go on bottle/cup strike and I will not have any milk to nurse him with. He's lost a little weight now too so I hope he drinks more this week.

[dizzycooks]

I'm not planning on dropping my morning pump yet at work but I'm only getting one bottle from it. I'm mixing it with wcm I get 2 -4oz bottles for her at daycare. In torn about sending wcm for her sippy or doing the daycare milk (nonorganic). I don't want to be done nursing and we will continue at home but I don't know for how long since it's easier to leave the house and I'm obviously not pumping to replace if I'm out when she goes to bed. We do know that dh can get her to sleep without a bottle so that's a relief. I just don't know where my baby went!!!

[jammersc]

We're still hanging on too. We've dropped to two nursing sessions (wake-up and bedtime) and the rest of her milk (about 1/3 BM, 2/3 WCM) she gets in a sippy cup at mealtimes. I'm pumping once a day during her morning nap to get the breastmilk for her sippies, but I'm planning on dropping that on her birthday. At this point, we'll probably continue the two nursing sessions as long as it's working, but if she starts biting again, we'll be done and I've reached the point where I'm ok with that.

[wildflowers]

I am sitting in my rocking chair feeding LO and just demand H get me popcorn and a beer. MFFC: I am dreading weaning because I won't be able to sit on my ass and demand H bring me treats!

[MissDemeanor]

For us, BF is still going just fine. It's all other kinds of feeding that has me getting nervous. LO is getting plenty of nutrition from the milk, I know, but he still shows only a mild interest in "people food" or WCM/almond milk in a cup. He can drink from the cup, but he doesn't swallow it, just kind of lets it run out of his mouth. I'm hoping this is just a phase. He'll eat food, but it still doesn't seem like very much. I'm worried that I'm not doing this "right". I have just come back from a week with my mother though, after spending a week with MIL, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I have some kind of complex now.

Just wondering how the whole cup and/or table food thing is going for those who are still planning to continue BFing?

[wildflowers]

MissDemeanor- DD1 would do that with almond milk to. I think she just didn't like the way it tasted. I started giving her the unsweetened vanilla and it helped some, but she just wasn't into it. She was also slow about solids. She was probably 18 months or so before she really took off eating. I think you have some time before you need to be concerned.

[jessasaurus]

I'm officially starting the weaning process too. E won't be 1 until 2/20. I have enough milk stored to get us there, but I'm having trouble letting go. We just worked so hard to get here, and I'm having all the feels too.

[LBS2012]

I haven't pumped in a month. I just realized this! I was only pumping one day a week when I worked but between lack of workload and illness, it's been 4 weeks. I go back Thursday and will take my pump just in case but hope not to need it. This feels liberating!

[LBS2012]

Feb 3, 2015 7:15:50 GMT -5 bookshelves said:

Feb 3, 2015 1:04:50 GMT -5 MissDemeanor said:

For us, BF is still going just fine. It's all other kinds of feeding that has me getting nervous. LO is getting plenty of nutrition from the milk, I know, but he still shows only a mild interest in "people food" or WCM/almond milk in a cup. He can drink from the cup, but he doesn't swallow it, just kind of lets it run out of his mouth. I'm hoping this is just a phase. He'll eat food, but it still doesn't seem like very much. I'm worried that I'm not doing this "right". I have just come back from a week with my mother though, after spending a week with MIL, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I have some kind of complex now.

Just wondering how the whole cup and/or table food thing is going for those who are still planning to continue BFing?

MissDemeanor My LO has really only picked up her interest in the past couple weeks. In so many cases still, it depends on the time of day, too, and what she's eating. Generally, what she's most interested in is what we're eating, and she is MAD if that's not what she gets.

I wouldn't stress it yet... although I can imagine how the time with the grandmas could make you do that!

Same here. Some days we do great with solids and then he'll only want banana for two weeks. He runs really hot and cold. I just keep offering a variety and try not to put too much pressure on him or myself.

[wildflowers]

I have a clogged milk duct. My first ever. It hurts so bad! bookshelves what do I do? I only nursed LO on that side all night and this morning. How on earth did you deal with this? Apparently that nonsense about underwire bras is true.

[carissalynp]

I'm weaning for reals now. I'm working on dropping my last pump, I'm down to 10 minutes (from 45). I feel a little better about it this week, maybe because I know I made my goal of 1 year? I expect to be a mess still when I actually put my pump away though. Physically... oof. I don't know for sure this is from weaning, but I basically feel like I'm back in first trimester, which apparently isn't uncommon, but doesn't get talked about much? Besides the obvious discomfort and leaking, I've been really nauseous, and exhausted. Last night I also had a low grade fever and chills, and was starting to freak out thinking I had mastitis, but it's gone this morning. At this point I just really want to be done.

[carissalynp]

Feb 3, 2015 10:54:07 GMT -5 wildflowers said:

I have a clogged milk duct. My first ever. It hurts so bad! bookshelves what do I do? I only nursed LO on that side all night and this morning. How on earth did you deal with this? Apparently that nonsense about underwire bras is true.

Try massaging it in the shower, or even use a comb on it. When you nurse you want LO's nose pointed in the direction of the clog, and try to massage it toward your nipple while he nurses. Dangle nursing might work too although logistically I imagine that's harder with an almost 1 year old! I hope you can get it unclogged soon, the pain is so frustrating!

[carissalynp]

Feb 3, 2015 11:13:52 GMT -5 bookshelves said:

Feb 3, 2015 11:09:29 GMT -5 carissalynp said:

I'm weaning for reals now. I'm working on dropping my last pump, I'm down to 10 minutes (from 45). I feel a little better about it this week, maybe because I know I made my goal of 1 year? I expect to be a mess still when I actually put my pump away though. Physically... oof. I don't know for sure this is from weaning, but I basically feel like I'm back in first trimester, which apparently isn't uncommon, but doesn't get talked about much? Besides the obvious discomfort and leaking, I've been really nauseous, and exhausted. Last night I also had a low grade fever and chills, and was starting to freak out thinking I had mastitis, but it's gone this morning. At this point I just really want to be done.

That sounds awful. I'm glad you're feeling a little better. My mom sort of cryptically referred to "weaning being tough on the mom" the other day... part of me wanted her to elaborate, and the other part didn't.

Congrats on making it a year! You have definitely earned a break from that pump!

It's funny, I started googling and found 2 different blogs that basically listed my symptoms, and complained that they had no idea it was normal either. I don't know if in general we just don't talk about weaning enough? I also found it frustrating that a good number of sites that talked about weaning prefaced all of the info by making sure you know you don't have to wean at 1 year, benefits of extended nursing, etc. I get that that info should be out there, but when the article is about weaning, do we need to make people feel guilty right off the bat? Hopefully this isn't something everyone will have, but I do wish I'd known ahead of time so I didn't wonder WTF was going on with my body. IF I wasn't so sure I wasn't pregnant I would be convinced I was!

[wildflowers]

Thank you, thank you carissalynp bookshelves & mamosey‌!
I am at work, but have been pumping every few hours and will keep trying.

[boogerbear]

carissalynp - I hate that so many weaning posts/advice is so "you don't have to!!!!" because it definitely gives the impression that Mom is doing something wrong, but I think it's because Mom definitely hears "you have to at a year" from a lot of sources. It's a tough line to dance. Sometimes I want to punch my sister because I mentioned something about weaning LO1 and how I was having to push him, blehblahablah and her response was "Just let him nurse if he wants to, he'll wean eventually." I realize he would, but I'M DONE.

Anyhow - yes, the drop in hormones can cause lots of unpleasant side effects which seem to be brushed over from all angles. Blah. The good news is, it's a temporary blip and your body will adjust.