i don’t wanna pump anymore

B

brandon_d

New member
i’m only 2 weeks pp. the dad doesn’t exist and i’m living alone and doing everything on my own. i feed her every 2-3 hours, and i’d try to pump after. i’ve found this to be unsustainable and im only be able to pump around 2-4 times per day.

since im by myself, most of the time im holding the baby and it’s hard to get around to doing other tasks unless i try to do everything with one hand while carrying her and feeding at the same time

i pump 1-2 oz at most each pump and ive been trying to pump a lot to increase my supply

but i dont wanna pump anymore

its discouraging to only pump 1-2 oz per breast and very time consuming with all the cleaning and sanitizing after

will this hurt my milk supply

or can i just strictly breastfeed w/o pumping and still sustain my baby’s life
 
@brandon_d It’s totally ok to feed baby directly without pumping. That’s what humans did for all of history before pumps were available. You might want to look into baby wearing too, I was NOT coordinated enough to let baby nurse inside a carrier but found the carrier great for naps and when I wanted my hands free. I know your situation is really tough, and I wish you the best. I know there are a lot of things to do, but to the extent you can, I’d really try to prioritize taking care of baby and taking care of yourself. I know the to do list can feel endless, but the reality is that some things are just going to slide and that’s OK.
 
@morganpettit97 thank you!!! i’ll def look into a carrier. and prioritizing my baby and myself is a must,
i do feel that my lack of interest to pump is in someway neglecting her though
i’m in a moral conflict about this whole thing
 
@brandon_d Not at all. I pumped in the beginning for a few weeks because my baby had a hard time latching, as she grew bigger and better at nursing I switched to nursing only and didn’t pump. Milk supply was fine. It’s not a requirement to pump and plenty of people don’t do it. Breast milk is great. Formula is great. The best thing you can do for your baby is take care of yourself so you can take care of her.
 
@brandon_d Something a midwife said to me when I was struggling to produce at the start was that even if you stopped breastfeeding now you have already given your baby so many lasting benefits that nobody can take away. You've already helped your baby
 
@brandon_d I just want to add that I was also trying to pump to build supply and also to have backup for when my mum babysat. It affected me so negatively and eventually I stopped pumping. Baby still got as much milk as he needed, and when he was with my mum he had formula. I stopped breastfeeding when he was 10 months old as I got pregnant again and lost my supply. I am proud of myself and him for making it so far and there is nothing wrong with supplementing formula if you need to, or even switching. As long as your baby is fed and loved you are not failing them.
 
@simongrow250 Same. Zero pumping until back at work. Did use a haaka and did one boob feeds and worked up quite a stash from just that the first 16 weeks.
 
@bobandyortan i work from home. but this is copied from a comment i left under someone else’s:

so i was advised to pump because my first 2 days pp i wasn’t producing milk at all so the lactation specialist said to pump 2-3 hours to stimulate lactation, she also said to keep doing this (and didn’t specify a solid plan of how long) to keep my breasts stimulated and make sure they are making milk constantly. since i’ve followed her advice i have no problem making enough to feed baby i just assumed that you’re always supposed to pump after to tell your body to keep making milk.
 
@brandon_d id actually advise you to stop pumping.. like asap..

if you're producing enough for baby to eat + you're pumping right after you're basically telling your body you have twins and are creating an oversupply that's only going to hurt your body later on.

pumping is good for people who need extra help, want to create a freezer stash, etc but at this point you're only putting yourself at risk for clogged ducts or mastitis if you forget - or decide to have a lazy day

i also pumped immediately and ended up with clogged ducts in pretty much the entirety of both breasts.. not a fun time
 
@guest66503 Yes yes yes, stop pumping! You’ll end up with oversupply and clogs etc. If it’s just you and baby, and you’re already producing enough for baby, then you’re hopefully now all set for a fantastic easy feeding journey. No washing, no waiting, no cost: easy peasy.* You will have things tricky enough on your own without including pumping. I’m annoyed that the feeding consultant didn’t tell you that you could stop - really irresponsible.

*I’m being facetious- breastfeeding obviously isn’t free of issues or difficulties. It’s time consuming at best! But there’s no need to make it harder by pumping unnecessarily as well.
 
@guest66503 Yes! This! Pumping was overwhelming to me when I was struggling with latch issues in the first 4 weeks, and the best advice I got was to focus on getting breastfeeding down first then worry about pumping later (for context, my babe was getting some supplemental formula and had no problem gaining weight). It was an immense stress reliever!
 
@brandon_d Your proper milk doesn't come in until day 2/3, before then just colostrum.
So for me this is weird advice. As someone said above, humans have been only breastfeeding for millenia.
I didn't pump at all until 6 weeks and even then only a few ounces about twice a week when I needed to leave some for my husband to feed him.
I fed him for 12 months with zero forumla and he gained weight perfectly.
You're doing great!
 
@crystalsherie I am also surprised that she is saying to feed every 2-3 hrs. Breast milk is digested in 90 minutes and that is from the START of the feeding. So if you feed for 30 mins then you should be feeding again within 1 hour.
 
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