Done pumping?

[ncat]

I'm so tired of pumping at work and want to be done soon, but don't want to give DS formula. I probably have about 40 onces of breastmilk in the freezer. DS is 10.5 months old. I plan to nurse morning and evening until next spring.

I currently pump 2X at work. DS drinks about 12 ounces at daycare each day. Would it be terrible to stop pumping in a few weeks, use up my freezer stash, and then transition him to whole milk? Or should I wait until he officially hits his 1st birthday?

Should it work OK to drop one session, wait a week, and drop the second?

Also, when do I transition DS from bottle to cup? Should cups be warmed like bottles? Should I wait until he's drinking cow's milk so there are no homogenization issues?

DD never took a bottle, and I wasn't working, so this is all new to me.

Thanks! I got so much helpful advice here about beginning pumping at work.

[elektra]

When DD turned 10 months I hit my limit with pumping. I ended up breastfeeding her mornings and nights and she got 2 formula bottles during the day, until we went cold turkey to both cup and cow's milk at about 13 months. I don't regret stopping pumping for one second! I had just had ENOUGH, IYKWIM.
We still nursed but I did end up weaning shortly after that, but you could still go much longer with just mornings and nights if you wanted to of course.
I wanted to wait till a year with no formula too but for me personally, it just wasn't in the cards.

[Snow mom]

I would go to formula rather than cows milk at this point. I know you said you don't want to give formula, but really it's a better choice than cows milk. Maybe try dropping one pumping session and moving the other to a more central time in your work day (or keep the earlier session when your milk production is higher and drop the later)? That might make your pumping at work a bit easier. Another thing you could try (if you aren't currently doing it) is pumping before your DS wakes up in the morning. My DD also gets 12-14 oz of milk at daycare and the majority of this comes from pumping in the morning. I'd say I typically pump 8-9 oz first thing in the morning (I do this even on weekends) and then 3-4 oz pumping 1x at work. I hope you don't mind these suggestions. If you want to quit pumping altogether, I understand that also.

[mommylamb]

I think formula gets a bad rap sometimes. It's ok to use it. I stopped pumping at work around the 10 month mark (DS started getting a mix of formula and BM by about 7 months), and I just nursed in the mornings and the evenings until he was 12 months. It's ok. It doesn't mean you're a bad mommy.

[Momof3Labs]

He's 10.5 months old. If you pump 3-4 more weeks, he'll be 11.25 or 11.5 months old. Then you have a week's supply in your freezer. That will get him within 1-2 weeks of his first birthday. I'd say that is close enough to try switching to whole milk (though keep in mind that not all kids can tolerate whole milk even at their first birthday, so you may still have to use formula for a while). You'll have to adjust how much he drinks, though, as they really shouldn't drink more than 16oz or so of milk per day (it isn't as nutritionally complete as formula and breastmilk).

[stillplayswithbarbies]

With my older daughter, I had a large freezer stash so I thought I could quit pumping sooner than 12 months and go to cow's milk at daycare. Welll, I am glad that I got advice here not to try that. She was unable to tolerate cow's milk until she was 15 months old. I pumped until 15 months and then used up my stash and then went to all cow's milk at daycare. (still nursing morning and evenings after that)

My younger daughter just turned one and we have started mixing in some cow's milk and she seems to be fine with it. You just won't know until you try it.

[ncat]

When I switch to/introduce whole milk, are there recommendations for total milk consumption (cow + human)? Or just keep the cows milk under 16 oz. total?
I nursed DD until 17 months, introducing cows milk with meals.

[ncat]

Thanks! I know its OK. It just isn't my first choice and it seems more complicating to transition to formula for just a few weeks then change to milk. I'm tired of pumping in general, not just at work, and would love to done washing pump parts as well!

I'm hopimg that if he tolerates it it won't be a big deal for me to introduce limited amounts of cows milk 2 weeks early. I'm just not sure what happens at 1 year that makes cows milk ok.

[elektra]

You can actually actually introduce cow's milk now. It just cannot be their sole source of liquid nutrition. They still need BM or formula as the main source until 1 year.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

at about one year is when the digestive system is mature enough to digest the large proteins in cow's milk. It doesn't happen at one day after their birthday. :)

for some babies it doesn't happen until later. I guess it can also happen earlier, but you have no way to know for sure until you try it.

[ncat]

Great - I suspected something like that! I will try in a few weeks. If it doesn't go OK, I can suck it up and pump a little longer.

It is sad that my favorite part of weekends and holidays is no pumping and no bottle and pump part washing.

[mousemom]

It is sad that my favorite part of weekends and holidays is no pumping and no bottle and pump part washing.

Just wanted to say that you are not alone on that - I love that about weekends and holidays too! It's amazing how much time cleaning all that stuff eats up. I am definitely looking forward to being done pumping as well.

[pb&j]

Just wanted to say that you are not alone on that - I love that about weekends and holidays too! It's amazing how much time cleaning all that stuff eats up. I am definitely looking forward to being done pumping as well.

:yeahthat:

DD is 11 mos, and I am still pumping 2x/day at work. Next week, she is going to start getting a little cow's milk during the day at day care, with the goal of being off breastmilk/bottles entirely by her birthday. I can't wait to be done with bottles and pumping!

FWIW, she has done well with other types of dairy (yogurt, cheese), and has had a little cow's milk with no ill effects. I followed roughly the same plan with DS when he was this age, and it worked fine. By 11.5 mos, he was getting EBM & cow's milk at day care, and he was nursing morning and night at home. He was fully weaned after his first birthday.

[carolinamama]

I know some think this is wrong, but I was done pumping at 11 months and wanted to start weaning DS anyway. We went to cow's milk in a cup since he never really took a bottle well and refused all together by 8 months. He probably would have just spit out formula if I had tried it. I nursed morning and night and gave milk during the day. My pedi is the one who suggested this approach as it is what his wife did with their DC. DS was fine with cheese and yogurt and eats a varied diet. There is nothing magical about exactly 12 months - it is just a guideline.