Should I Stop Pumping?

I have been pumping since my daughter was in the nicu. She was born at 28 weeks and is now 6 months old. My milk supply has been low since she was around 2 months old but I’ve continued to pump anyway.
She takes both formula and breast milk throughout the day now but mostly formula some days because 1 days worth of pumping is sometimes only enough for 1 8oz bottle… 🥲
Idk if I should just stop pumping altogether or stick it out a few more months.

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I pump about 5x per day. And I only get about an ounce sometimes more but never more than 2oz unless it’s my morning pump then it’s closer to 3oz. I took the tea and all the supplements but they never seemed to help

When I tell you I know exactly how you feel. I stopped pumping at 6 months and I kept beating myself up for even the thought of switching to formula . I thought I was a bad mom. It sounds to me like you have done your absolute best and you have dedicated so many months of pumping to your baby. I personally think the mental load of pumping when you’re making not a lot ( not your fault, just life), isn’t worth it. I think although it’s hard to say I’m going to stop, you will get a little of your life back. No more pumping bras, no more washing a thousand little pumping parts, no more being glued to your house to pump. It is so liberating and your baby will be fed and they will be so happy to just have their momma happy. 💕

It's up to you and how you're doing mentally with it. Just know even 2oz of breastmilk a day is beneficial!

I was a low supplier as well, pumped 6-7 times a day and my daughter was also in the NICU for 11 days. I pumped until about 7 months and it was so hard to feel okay with stopping. I felt like I wasn’t doing enough as a mom and had all this guilt around it. My girl is now 9 months old and I don’t think about pumping one second of the day!! I have way more energy, I’m less exhausted, and I can be more attentive to my daughter.

No one can tell you when to stop but just know that you’ve done amazing!!! 😻 your daughter will be absolutely 100% fine with just formula if you feel it is time. Being a good mom is more than just breastmilk 💕

this right here👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

That after pumping energy where you realize you can do whatever you want, spend more time with baby. Idk why it’s so hard for us to stop , fed is best🥰💕

fed is best!! It’s hard to remind yourself of that when you are trying to stop pumping but once you do… it feels so good

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Baby clothes

Just out of curiosity, why do parents love zipper onesies?

Don’t get me wrong, I tried zipper ones it’s easy to zip in and out when putting it on the first time and taking it out, but I find it difficult when changing diapers especially when baby is asleep.

I prefer those kimono style buttons where it’s easy to button or too down button with crotch snaps.

Is everyone thinking the same or different? Lol

At this point I’m not enjoying motherhood

My 22 month old is horrendous at the moment🫣 biting, hitting, pushing, pulling and shoving not only adults but children he also wants what other children have and will just snatch it away from them.

We repeat ‘nice hands’ ‘be gentle’ ‘let’s share’ etc

But how do I make him understand what he’s doing isn’t very nice? At the end of the day I feel like I’ve just been saying his name all day and nothing else.

What can I do?

This might rattle some people

Ok, this might get a bit long, and a bit bumpy, so get comfy and buckle up.

So about a week or 2 ago, there was a post on here regarding sleepovers. Not letting their child go to them as you can't trust who'll be at the house etc.

Now, given recent incidents in nurseries and schools, plus my own experience back in the 90s, I am more concerned about sending my child to nursery and later school than I am to a friend's house for a sleep over.

The other day a man was jailed for abusing children at the nursery he worked at. A woman has been arrested for sleeping with an underage boy and then getting pregnant by a different underage boy while on bail for the first offence.

Young girls and boys get sexually harassed and bullied when at school, not all of them. But more than you think. And not just by other kids, but by adults who we as parents are trusting to look after our kids.

A sleepover, is a more controlled environment, with only a handful of people coming into contact with your child. A school, a club etc there can be 100s of people coming into contact with your child.

I was targeted at 7 years old by the owner of a prominent private school. Thankfully, I wasn't SA'd. In year 5 of primary school, I started to develop early, I was harassed by the boys and teachers made remarks about how my uniform didn't fit right, always "adjusting it" around my chest and legs.

Years 7-9 of secondary school were hell. But it was all under the guise of "we're just messing around". A teacher twanging my exposed bra strap (none uniform day) is not "messing around".

Boys pinning me down trying to rip open my shirt to see my breasts.

I fear for my daughter. I hope she takes after my father's family, flat chested.

We need to educate all our children, what is acceptable behaviour. And to come to us, as their parents should ANYTHING happen.

Dummy

My baby has had a dummy since about 2 weeks old (now 5 months) and over the course of the last month we weaned her off it during the day only for naps and night (which was fine) and then 5 days took it completely away during the day.

The first day no dummy was fine, the second bit rougher. But now it feels impossible she just moans and cries all the time it takes ages for her to go down to sleep (she’s always been an amazing sleeper)

I thought it was meant to get better as time went on not worse. I’m at my wits end I dunno what to do.

Currently typing this as she screams uncontrollably in the car and I cry with her cos I can’t do anything.

Help

My LO every feed. Drs don’t seem to think it’s a problem the whole Muslim cloth gets soaked so much I’m using towels now. I’ve tried size O teats he gets really frustrated and still spills it out :(

How to help my husband understand why I'd like to breastfeed

My husband is very supportive, but he is also someone who wants to make things as easy and as stress free as possible.

With our first child, I tried to breastfeed, but due to my own medical issues postpartum, baby and I were separated a lot and my milk dried up so quickly. We introduced formula around 2 weeks PP, and I tried pumping as much as I could, but it just lead to nothing. It was heartbreaking. It definitely ruined a lot of those early weeks for me, I was wrecked with guilt and sadness. I cried every day and felt like such a failure.

Now my son is a healthy, happy 2 year old and I eventually came to terms with formula feeding him. He was quite content with the first formula we tried, never had feeding or gas issues etc, so it felt like a much easier option.

Obviously my husband witnessed all of this and now we're expecting our second baby, he sort of assumed we'd just go straight to formula.

I told him pretty early that I'd like to try breastfeeding again, and although I won't be putting so much pressure on myself this time, I've also done more research and I'm more prepared for the hard times that might come up in the early days/weeks, and I'm trying to prepare for any complications.

He's very supportive and says it's totally up to me and hasn't tried to sway me either way, but I do get a feeling the moment things get difficult PP he will automatically be buying formula. And he won't mean it in a bad way, he'll just be trying to make things easier for me and take off the pressure. He won't understand that it's unhelpful.

His thinking is that as long as baby is fed that's all that matters, and I agree mostly! But I also understand how beneficial breastfeeding can be and want to give it all my effort if I'm able!

So I guess I'm asking, are there any good resources I could send him to read? Preferably nothing too long/wordy, but something that explains the benefits and how to best support me during this time too? (Also something preferably from the UK as I know guidance can differ depending on country)