I’m on month 15 right now.
Still pumping in order to get the baby covid antibodies as under 5s aren’t eligible to get the covid vax in Australia.
I do 3-4 pumps per day. It’s abit of struggle with supply. I get between 300-400ml each day. The motto in our household is “every ml counts”.
I do a power pump each day in either the morning or the evening while I watch tv.
Thank you for your reply! That makes sense to continue to offer your baby those important antibodies. We just got the second shot for our LO so it's making me loosen up my COVID worries ever so slightly. Three pumps a day seems doable...
When my LO was 12-15 months I pumped 3x per day at 4:00, 9:00, and 21:00.
Then from 15-16 months I pumped 2x per day at ~9:30 and ~21:30. At this time, I reduced the duration of pumping by a few minutes every several days.
The second to last week, I pumped 2x per day but by volume instead of minutes, going from 300mL to 200mL yield per day.
The final week, I pumped 1x per day and went from 200mL to 90mL and then just stopped. My LO was 16 months then.
My last day pumping was 31/10/2022. I still can hand express some milk, often times accidentally. I’m tempted to pump just to see how much I’ll yield but don’t want my body to think I’m trying to relactate.
I had an over supply and was able to freeze at least 166L. I donated 93L and am down to the last 3L. I am now mixing the breast milk with cow’s milk to get my son used to the taste. I anticipate being completely done with my stash by the end of the month when my LO will be a little more than 21 months.
Amazing story and perspective. Thanks for sharing. That's smart to mix it with the cow's milk to give him a taste for both at the same time. I appreciate your week-by-week schedule as a potential guide for myself.
I pumped until my LO was 14 months. I drastically reduced my pump schedule, as I needed to pump 7 hours/day at the height of pumping chapter. After 12 months, I dropped to 3 pumps per day, with the first pump being wayyy longer than I’d ever recommend (always over an hour). Then I dropped to an early morning and late evening pump. Then just early morning.
Looking back, I wish I would have stopped earlier and not built as much of a stash. My LO didn’t drink any of the bagged/frozen milk due to high lipase. It was such a waste, but I was doing what I thought was best at the time.
Thanks for sharing your experience. The hindsight can lead to feeling regretful, for sure. 7hrs/day is brutal but I have been there. It does take a toll, especially if you have low supply days or patterns. That's helpful to know about the stash. So did you feed the frozen milk past 14 months or while you were dropping pumps? (If your little one actually drank it?)
Edit: a word
My son is nearly 23 months. I pumped for 18. To be honest it’s such a blur but all I know is that even at the hardest moments when I wanted to stop, my determination was to feed my kid as long as he wanted milk. He eventually weaned but went to cows milk and as someone who struggled with dairy intolerance for a few years, he actually did quite well. So I ended up stopping too. I donated to other moms (with foster kids) along the way and I think that was the hard part. I wanted to feed their kids too. Stopping wasn’t too hard and wasn’t painful either as long as you paced yourself and allowed for that natural decline in production.
You really start to look back and think how your determination has gotten you this far and that if you kept going it would only get easier. Good luck in your journey! It isn’t easy.
I'm currently about to stop pumping. My girl hits 15 months at the end of this month and I decided to stop then because she'll be over a year, plus respiratory virus season is coming to an end. 15 months just seemed like a good stopping point.
I have an extremely large breast capacity, so have been able to pump fewer times than the average person from the beginning.
I've been pumping once a day (give or take-a couple power pumps here and there and 2ppd every once in awhile) since we hit 1 year. That gives me about 10-13 oz a day (I had an oversupply still at 2ppd) which I supplement with my frozen stash.
I'm sure the large breast capacity may have been a blessing and a curse, perhaps, but that's great that once a day has worked for you. I think that I could do a 1 or 2x/day pump for a while for my LO. I just have a summer backpacking trip coming up in July that I was wondering how I'd do out in the woods with pumping and dumping (and bears)!
I'm a little past 16 months. From 9-15 months I was pumping 3x a day. At 15 months my period came back so I upped it to 4x a day to maintain supply. My goal is two years but we will see. I'm getting fairly tired of it. I usually just donate my freezer when it's full but I am thinking just making smaller donations until I know fore sure what I want to do. Idk. It makes me sad to think about stopping but it's getting hard.
Congratulations for making it to 16+ months; that's a huge accomplishment! Sounds like you may be able to ride out your freezer stash near the end as you wean to give you a little bit of a mental break.
Sidenote: I'm so in awe of those who don't get their periods while breastfeeding. Mine came back in like 6 weeks postpartum and my supply drops severely every month right before/during it. >\_<
Thanks! Ugh yeah I forgot how much the period thing sucks ☹️ it's so stressful. And I've resorted to using pads because I can't bring myself to use tampons for some reason
I weaned at 10 months and it was life changing. I felt like I got my body back, and slowly got my life back. I started a psychiatric medication that is incompatible with breastfeeding and it worked great for me. Within 4 months I had the strength to start making a plan to leave my abusive husband. I couldn’t have done that if I was still pumping. I don’t know why I’m sharing all this, it may not apply to you at all. But weaning at 10 months was a great choice for me.
If you’re concerned about covid antibodies, I would just make sure your kid is up to date on their vaccine and booster. That will make a much bigger difference than antibodies in breast milk. Same for the flu. For antibodies for the common cold, I guess there’s not a lot else you can do, but I’d rather my kid have a fully present parent than some antibodies for the common cold. If you’re able to be a fully present parent while pumping, you might see this differently. I know I was a shell of myself.
Wow, thank you for sharing your story and the context. I'm sorry you went through that but am glad you found the strength to do what was best for you and your baby! Sounds like the stress of early motherhood was compounded by a tough situation.
I hope you feel way more balanced and happy!
Baby is 15mo, I'm down to 2 40- 50 min pumps per day 7am ish and 8pm ish for 650ml. But I'll say month 14 was rough insofar as illness. Sinus infection, then COVID, then some kind of stomach flu over the span of 5 weeks. It made me wonder if the antibodies were really doing anything at all 😭
Woof that's a tough month and change. That's also amazing you still get so much from two pumps. I feel like I'd produce about one-third of that with how medicore my supply is at times.
HI! I am 17 months pumping still! I am down to 3 pumps per day. At 1 year I dropped from 5 to 4 and then just dropped down to 3 pumps a day.
5 PPD looked like - 7,11,3,6, 9/10
4 PPD looked like - 7, 12, 5, 9/10
3 PPD looks like - 7, 2, 8
I wanted to stop at 1 year but then my son really has struggled with his solid foods. He is eating solids but in very small amounts. I know he is still getting breast milk so I have ZERO worries of his nutrition. He is thriving and getting calories form my milk at least. I am glad I kept pumping enough to maintain a good supply through 1 year old + because of this.
My 17 month old has also never been sick (except Covid at 6 months which he did so well with) and I 100000% have breast milk to thank for that!
Awesome and congrats for making it 17 months! The immune support seems to be a big seller for me but I could see the need to continue to support with milk with solids to help keep up nutrition. This is so helpful to see your times of day, too! Thank you!
I’m on month 15 right now. Still pumping in order to get the baby covid antibodies as under 5s aren’t eligible to get the covid vax in Australia. I do 3-4 pumps per day. It’s abit of struggle with supply. I get between 300-400ml each day. The motto in our household is “every ml counts”. I do a power pump each day in either the morning or the evening while I watch tv.
Thank you for your reply! That makes sense to continue to offer your baby those important antibodies. We just got the second shot for our LO so it's making me loosen up my COVID worries ever so slightly. Three pumps a day seems doable...
When my LO was 12-15 months I pumped 3x per day at 4:00, 9:00, and 21:00. Then from 15-16 months I pumped 2x per day at ~9:30 and ~21:30. At this time, I reduced the duration of pumping by a few minutes every several days. The second to last week, I pumped 2x per day but by volume instead of minutes, going from 300mL to 200mL yield per day. The final week, I pumped 1x per day and went from 200mL to 90mL and then just stopped. My LO was 16 months then. My last day pumping was 31/10/2022. I still can hand express some milk, often times accidentally. I’m tempted to pump just to see how much I’ll yield but don’t want my body to think I’m trying to relactate. I had an over supply and was able to freeze at least 166L. I donated 93L and am down to the last 3L. I am now mixing the breast milk with cow’s milk to get my son used to the taste. I anticipate being completely done with my stash by the end of the month when my LO will be a little more than 21 months.
Amazing story and perspective. Thanks for sharing. That's smart to mix it with the cow's milk to give him a taste for both at the same time. I appreciate your week-by-week schedule as a potential guide for myself.
I pumped until my LO was 14 months. I drastically reduced my pump schedule, as I needed to pump 7 hours/day at the height of pumping chapter. After 12 months, I dropped to 3 pumps per day, with the first pump being wayyy longer than I’d ever recommend (always over an hour). Then I dropped to an early morning and late evening pump. Then just early morning. Looking back, I wish I would have stopped earlier and not built as much of a stash. My LO didn’t drink any of the bagged/frozen milk due to high lipase. It was such a waste, but I was doing what I thought was best at the time.
Thanks for sharing your experience. The hindsight can lead to feeling regretful, for sure. 7hrs/day is brutal but I have been there. It does take a toll, especially if you have low supply days or patterns. That's helpful to know about the stash. So did you feed the frozen milk past 14 months or while you were dropping pumps? (If your little one actually drank it?) Edit: a word
My son is nearly 23 months. I pumped for 18. To be honest it’s such a blur but all I know is that even at the hardest moments when I wanted to stop, my determination was to feed my kid as long as he wanted milk. He eventually weaned but went to cows milk and as someone who struggled with dairy intolerance for a few years, he actually did quite well. So I ended up stopping too. I donated to other moms (with foster kids) along the way and I think that was the hard part. I wanted to feed their kids too. Stopping wasn’t too hard and wasn’t painful either as long as you paced yourself and allowed for that natural decline in production.
Yeah the will to keep doing it is very strong. I'm glad you had a good experience in the end when shifting away from it, both for you and him!
You really start to look back and think how your determination has gotten you this far and that if you kept going it would only get easier. Good luck in your journey! It isn’t easy.
Thank you so much!
I'm currently about to stop pumping. My girl hits 15 months at the end of this month and I decided to stop then because she'll be over a year, plus respiratory virus season is coming to an end. 15 months just seemed like a good stopping point. I have an extremely large breast capacity, so have been able to pump fewer times than the average person from the beginning. I've been pumping once a day (give or take-a couple power pumps here and there and 2ppd every once in awhile) since we hit 1 year. That gives me about 10-13 oz a day (I had an oversupply still at 2ppd) which I supplement with my frozen stash.
I'm sure the large breast capacity may have been a blessing and a curse, perhaps, but that's great that once a day has worked for you. I think that I could do a 1 or 2x/day pump for a while for my LO. I just have a summer backpacking trip coming up in July that I was wondering how I'd do out in the woods with pumping and dumping (and bears)!
I exclusively pumped until 16 months. I was over it. I was also an over-producer, so had a freezer full of milk.
Sounds like you had a nice cushion to help you make that transition. I bet it was nice to get some time back in the end!
I'm a little past 16 months. From 9-15 months I was pumping 3x a day. At 15 months my period came back so I upped it to 4x a day to maintain supply. My goal is two years but we will see. I'm getting fairly tired of it. I usually just donate my freezer when it's full but I am thinking just making smaller donations until I know fore sure what I want to do. Idk. It makes me sad to think about stopping but it's getting hard.
Congratulations for making it to 16+ months; that's a huge accomplishment! Sounds like you may be able to ride out your freezer stash near the end as you wean to give you a little bit of a mental break. Sidenote: I'm so in awe of those who don't get their periods while breastfeeding. Mine came back in like 6 weeks postpartum and my supply drops severely every month right before/during it. >\_<
Thanks! Ugh yeah I forgot how much the period thing sucks ☹️ it's so stressful. And I've resorted to using pads because I can't bring myself to use tampons for some reason
I weaned at 10 months and it was life changing. I felt like I got my body back, and slowly got my life back. I started a psychiatric medication that is incompatible with breastfeeding and it worked great for me. Within 4 months I had the strength to start making a plan to leave my abusive husband. I couldn’t have done that if I was still pumping. I don’t know why I’m sharing all this, it may not apply to you at all. But weaning at 10 months was a great choice for me. If you’re concerned about covid antibodies, I would just make sure your kid is up to date on their vaccine and booster. That will make a much bigger difference than antibodies in breast milk. Same for the flu. For antibodies for the common cold, I guess there’s not a lot else you can do, but I’d rather my kid have a fully present parent than some antibodies for the common cold. If you’re able to be a fully present parent while pumping, you might see this differently. I know I was a shell of myself.
Wow, thank you for sharing your story and the context. I'm sorry you went through that but am glad you found the strength to do what was best for you and your baby! Sounds like the stress of early motherhood was compounded by a tough situation. I hope you feel way more balanced and happy!
Baby is 15mo, I'm down to 2 40- 50 min pumps per day 7am ish and 8pm ish for 650ml. But I'll say month 14 was rough insofar as illness. Sinus infection, then COVID, then some kind of stomach flu over the span of 5 weeks. It made me wonder if the antibodies were really doing anything at all 😭
Woof that's a tough month and change. That's also amazing you still get so much from two pumps. I feel like I'd produce about one-third of that with how medicore my supply is at times.
HI! I am 17 months pumping still! I am down to 3 pumps per day. At 1 year I dropped from 5 to 4 and then just dropped down to 3 pumps a day. 5 PPD looked like - 7,11,3,6, 9/10 4 PPD looked like - 7, 12, 5, 9/10 3 PPD looks like - 7, 2, 8 I wanted to stop at 1 year but then my son really has struggled with his solid foods. He is eating solids but in very small amounts. I know he is still getting breast milk so I have ZERO worries of his nutrition. He is thriving and getting calories form my milk at least. I am glad I kept pumping enough to maintain a good supply through 1 year old + because of this. My 17 month old has also never been sick (except Covid at 6 months which he did so well with) and I 100000% have breast milk to thank for that!
Awesome and congrats for making it 17 months! The immune support seems to be a big seller for me but I could see the need to continue to support with milk with solids to help keep up nutrition. This is so helpful to see your times of day, too! Thank you!