Weaning from Pumping/ Formula Recommendation

[BayAreaMom]

I've been pumping at work for the past 2 months and am trying to make it a few more weeks until my daughter is 6 months old. It's been very time consuming and i'm glad i've made it this long- kudos for those of you who go all the way! It's a hard decision and I really struggled with it but finally know it's what I want to do. I am wondering if anyone has suggestions for weaning from the pump- fortunately Liz takes bottles for all but one small feeding each day (at most, sometimes its no bf at all if i'm working late), so i don't anticipate i'll have any problems weaning her (thankfully- but i know i will miss the bonding and convenience at times). Kellymom says that I can either 1)drop one session every 3-7 days, 2) gradually decrease pumping time for every session or 3) gradually increase the length of time between each pumping session. Which of these have people used successfully? Usually I pump three times/day (6:30 am, 10:00 am, and 2:00 pm) and bf or pump at night around 6:30 pm. My am supply is ample-sometimes 12 oz in one session and it diminishes later in the day. I think option #1 might be best for me as well as reducing my yield of my first pumping session since that's when i get my biggest yield. I am hoping that this won't be painful- I don't know what to expect.

Also, does anyone have any tips for breastpump (PISA) storage (besides cleaning everything very well) and what parts I can't reuse- I will be using it again for baby #2 in about 2-2 1/2 years.

Last, does anyone have any advice about formulas? It seems they're all about the same since they're regulated by the gov, but my dad (who is a pediatrician) advised me to use one with ARA and DHA and not go generic/store brand. I bought some Similac Advance w/ Iron since I have a bunch of $5 coupons. But, I read that Enfamil Lipil has 17 mg DHA/100 kcal where Similac has only 8 mg. So I wonder if maybe I should use Enfamil Lipil for this reason?

Thanks for your help!

[bensmom]

I don't really have any suggestions, but thought I'd commiserate with you. I'm struggling with the same thing right now (DS is 5.5 months), especially because I don't seem to be getting much when I do pump. I've decided that a happy mom is a better mom and you need to do what works best for you. Congratulations on making it this far.

On weaning, with my first (I was nursing, not really pumping at the time), I just dropped one session every couple of days. I started with the middle of the day first and then some of the afternoon sessions. It generally worked well for me.

On formulas, I thought that they were all pretty similar. Some babies prefer one over the other, but DS1 never seemed to care.

[megs4413]

just drop sessions. let more time go between sessions, etc...supply demand thing. i dried up over the course of a few days if you can imagine! i just had less and less time to pump and eventually was missing pumping for an entire day...

you will be able to use most things again, but since you won't be able to use all of the PISA parts again, you'll have to get another accessory kit, so basically....it doesn't matter what you can use again...you have to buy another accessory kit anyway! i'm sure plenty of women use it all again, and i don't think that's a very big deal. IMO you should definitely get new membranes, if nothing else. clean everything well before you store it and put it in your maternity clothes box or something...

i don't know the difference between similac and enfamil, but you definitely want to go with the ones with DHA and ARA and you also need to stick with whichever choice you make. I think you get better coupons with Enfamil, but that's not really a big bonus or antyhing...