(Very long) I can't standing pumping one *@!#(@)$%& more day!!!

[ppshah]

Goat's milk? May I ask why?

p.s. You've done a great job pumping for soooo long!

[mharling]

Great job Tara!!! I admire your dedication.

I just wanted to add that Lane started drinking whole milk when he was just under 2 weeks away from his first birthday. Like Charlie, he has no indication of allergies and eats about anything. We did not have any problems.

Good luck!! And pack up the pump. ;)

Mary & Lane 4/6/03
[link:www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b370a2992536|Birthday Pics!!]

[nitaghei]

Tara,

You've done a great job!! Pumping is hard - BTDT, too. And if it's stressing you out so much, it's definitely time to let it go. Be proud of yourself - you've given your son a wonderful gift. And a little bit of cow's milk is just fine. That's what we're doing - DS gets one sippy of cow's milk (to replace the pumping session) and we nurse the rest of time.

I HATED the last couple months of pumping, but it's also hard to let it go. But, when you do, it really is liberating. I started enjoying DS so much more once I put away the pump.

Nita (14 months)
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

[Timmersmom]

Congrats are definitely in order for all your hard work. You've done an amazing thing and deserve a pat on the back for a job well done.

I remember what a chore pumping gets to be after awhile. I definitely could relate to the issues you were describing about pumping interfering with your productivity at work. . .that could have been me. What a feeling of liberation it was to finally pack away that pump.

I just wanted to say that I stopped pumping at work when my son was 10 months, and we kept nursing twice a day on work days (we'd do at least three a day on nonworking days) for a couple of months. We stopped around 1 year b/c he was losing interest, but supply was never an issue. Wishing you and your child the best!

Elizabeth

Timothy 3/11/02
DD due 7/5/04

[sntm]

tara - you've done an awesome job and you should be really really proud! i definitely think it is okay to transition to cow's or goat's milk. i just think you need to think that also. also, once you can set your mind one way or the other, i think pumping will be less of a chore. does that make sense? so that even if you decide to stop or cut a session (i don't know how often you are pumping) feeling better about things will make those fewer sessions less awful.
and don't worry too much about amounts. any is good. plus mature milk is very different than younger baby milk and is usually more concentrated, so your 4 oz has been more than you might think.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03

[wagner36]

Thanks Shannon!
I've officially cut it down to one pumping session during the afternoon (as opposed to trying to do two, and feeling guilty about only doing one). I'm still getting about 4 oz per session (I can't believe I used to pump between 17-22 oz a day!). I add a second pump if I'm working late.

DS has been taking WCM in a sippy quite nicely. We haven't tried Goat's Milk yet, as the ped thinks that it is lower in vitamins. The comparison charts I've found show Goat's Milk as being higher in most, except for Folate (obviously important). DS is already taking TriViSol with Iron (he was *very* anemic at his 9 month appt - including a functional heart murmur, despite having a good iron content in his diet), and I haven't checked to see if it contains Folate yet. If so, do you see any other disadvantages to Goat's Milk?

I think that DS is going through a growth spurt as well, since he's been nursing ALL night. Either that or those pesky bottom molars are finally breaking through!

I really hope to phase out pumping in the next few weeks, unless I'm working late. We'll keep nursing for quite some time - we'll see how it goes. Once we move, I'm hoping to get him adjusted to less night-wakings. I can handle a few, but he's still waking up every 3 hours to nurse and cuddle, and he nurses about every hours from 4:30 am to 8:30 am. That's a little excessive, I think!

[sntm]

i'm not very knowledgeable on goat's milk, unfortunately. if it makes a difference, they put folate in everything these days, so if he gets any adult cereal, it's probably folate-fortified. was his anemia iron-related? it could be totally unrelated to his iron intake. if so folate is more important (prevent megaloblastic anemia.) and re: pumping, i used to get 20+ oz with 3 pumpings a day. now down to 2 and get around 10-12 oz. it does seem weird, but talking to people, it's totally normal.

i hear you on the night nursing! though, surprisingly, since we started cosleeping more regularly (like for most if not all of the night), jack nurses LESS at night. usually once between 11 and 1, and once between 4:30 and 6:00. he's nursing more now that he is teething again, but even now it's super short sessions. the one positive of reverse cycling is he'll keep your supply up even with reducing pumping.

how many teeth does charlie have? could he be getting molars all ready? jack's a crank-pants with these teething round, needing acetaminophen/ibuprofen round the clock. he's got 6 teeth so far. man, i thought we had longer before molars.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03

[sntm]

was just thinking -- wheat germ is an excellent source of folate and easy to add to cereal, muffins, yogurt, spaghetti sauce, etc., if you decide to go with goat's milk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03

[jacksmomtobe]

Tara,

I think you have done an incredible job. I am a new Mom (baby Jack born 3/26/04) and had logged on to find out more info on pumping. I am a stay at home Mom so I am just looking to add a bit of freedom to my life. I find it amazing that you have persevered through not only breastfeeding almost a full year but to be pumping and working so hard! And to see you are getting up at night. It is incredible that you are functioning..forget about doing all these things. Not many woman would have stuck with it. There is too much guilt involved in breastfeeding. You need to give yourself a break. You have given your child such a healthy start. You should be very proud of yourself. Enjoy your child!

Take Care,
Kim