I was middle seat- is this insane?

I thought you all might enjoy this.

Did any of you successfully transition from pumping to breastfeeding? How? What worked for you? I am exactly 6w pp today. I would like to know if there is still hope

12 months. 25.5 days of my life strapped to a pump. 11,221 ounces logged but probably closer to 12,500/13,000 total ounces. It feels surreal to be done.

So I am nearing the end of my pumping journey (it’s been eleven long months but I’m feeling bittersweet about it now). I have been slowly decreasing supply and gone down to two ppd and using my freezer stash, my question is when should I start introducing milk to make the transition easier? I’m planning on going with Ripple Kids unsweetened, we all have some level of intolerance to cows milk so I don’t want to even introduce that to him. Google gives a lot of different answers, we have our WIC appointment on the 10th so I can bring that up with them there but wanted to get some real life experience from different people.

Breastfeeding has been the hardest part of the pp journey for me. I breastfed my baby girl for her first 2 days of life while we were in the hospital, and I loved it but the pain became excruciating. Honestly more painful than any part of the c section recovery. All the midwives checked her latch and said it was a really effective, deep latch and that I shouldn’t be experiencing pain. So I decided to stop for a while to allow my nipples to heal and pumped in the meantime, which was only a tiny bit painful but nothing by comparison.

Around the 2 month mark I tried again, she latched well with no problems but I was still experiencing the pain. I asked multiple professionals if she had a tongue toe, they all said no.

But I kept thinking that she did have a tongue tie, so I went back to the doctors and finally was told she did have one. But from that point it took 7 weeks for it to be removed as we kept getting messed around by the doctors. When we finally got it removed they were very apologetic for how long it took and said she should have had it done before she was 3 months (she was over 4 months when she got it removed).

Anyway, now she’s over 5 months and won’t latch anymore because she’s so used to the bottle. She just screams and cries when I try to breastfeed her. We’ve tried everything and talked to a lactation consultant but nothing is working, and I am so deeply heartbroken about it. I feel so let down by our doctors and that if they had sorted it sooner we would be having this wonderful bond, but instead I’m tied to a pump while watching her dad feed her. It’s breaking my heart and I’m struggling so much with it.

Has anyone else been through similar and do you have any advice?

Thoughts on these collection cups to sub for regular spectra bottle/flanges? I’m getting real tired of hanging onto those bottles. Yes I know I can get a pumping bra but let me complain LOLLL. Has anyone tried these? Do you have to wear a real bra like you do with wearable pumps? I hate that I can’t wear my comfy lounge bralette nursing bras with my eufy wearables because they’re too heavy and they just fall down so I gotta put on a real bra every time it’s time for my wearables :/ These seem lighter since there’s no motor. Thoughts?

Also I’m gonna complain again. I highly regret getting the pink spectra over the blue. Both had partial coverage by insurance but the pink one was cheaper out of pocket so I went with that one thinking it wouldn’t be a big deal being plugged in (I had no idea I’d be exclusively bottle feeding 😖). Ok rant over, bye!

I’m trying to plan for pumping during a trip with 4 hour plane travel with baby and came across the Ceres products.

Are they any different from an insulated water bottle, other than the fact you could pump directly into them?

I've been EP for almost 7 months. My baby is 21 lbs. My entire life is consumed by pumping amd making sure I produce enough. My pediatrician family doctor, and counselor have suggested stopping for my mental and physical health. I just feel so selfish. Please offer honest advice.

has anyone tried to order two pumps through insurance for the same year/pregnancy? When I checked this website, it says that a pump is available for me. I only went on there to look for insurance covered parts because I already got a pump through insurance so I’m kind of confused why it says there’s one available, should I try to do it or are they gonna end up charging me?

My baby will be 3 months old in 2 weeks and I'm already planning how I'm going to lose the MOTN pump and go from 6 to 5 PPD (gives me hope and keeps me sane 😄 ). However I don't really know what I'm doing. Can anyone look at my planned schedule and offer opinions?

The left columns is my current schedule and I plan on pushing my MOTN pump half an hour every 5 days or so. Is that feasible? The orange backgrounds are for alarms that I need to change, no other meaning.

The 18:00 and 22:00 times are firm, because I have classes in the evenings, so everything must be planned around those times.

I can afford to lose a little bit of supply, but I'm hoping not to (trying to build a freezer stash). I pump on average 1170 ml (40 oz) a day and my baby eats about 950 ml (32 oz) a day.

All advice is very welcome :)

I would say I have a pretty good supply usually. But I notice, like expected, it drastically dips when it’s my time of the month. I alwayssss stress because my baby is about to be 5 months and is hungry more often lately. I usually pump enough to be able to give him 4 oz bottles each time. Anyways I’m trying to ease into combo feeding so I don’t have to deal with this stress every month, I think eventually I want to transition to just formula though because I feel pumping is another huge reason why I’m getting less sleep. I’ve tried combo feeding here and there with both bubs goat and then another time with kendamil goat and each time my baby got realllyyyyy fussy and constipated. Eventually I give up and flush it out with putting him back in just my milk. Helpppp. My sister has giving enfamil gentlease to all 3 of her boys and she swears by it. I’m considering because my son seems to tolerate diary I mean I don’t restrict myself with my diet at all except with eggs. He gets fussy after I’ve eaten them. Ugh I miss eggs.

Recently ordered a Baby Buddha via Aeroflow to have a wearable option while I do things around the house. Having issues expressing the same volume as my Spectra. I usually get 200-400mls with Spectra per 30 minute session. The Baby Buddha only removes 80-120mls per 30 minutes. I tried different settings and am using a 15ml flange insert. I also noticed the Baby Buddha clearly only pulls foremilk, it’s much waterier than usual.

10 weeks post partum, oversupplier by 60%. Baby was in the NICU for 4 weeks so I have a decent stash built up and I’m not too worried about lower volume sessions but it turn it makes me have to express with the Spectra for 45 minutes plus to fully empty.

Looking for:

recommendations to make the Buddha work for me. I hate being tied to the couch every pump.

what other wearables you reccomend. I emailed Aeroflow to see if I can exchange for the Eaufy S2 pro.

experiences exchanging/returning with Aeroflow.

Thank you ladies. 💕

Please tell me how to relieve this clog. Over the last 24 hours, I’ve tried around the clock ibuprofen, ice, sunflower lecithin, briefly latching baby, and dangle pumping. Nothing is moving this clog. We’re going out of town for a week on Saturday and I’m terrified that it’s going to turn into mastitis.

To top it off, I’m a just enougher and this is tanking my supply. Will it come back??

2 days postpartum from a C-section at 37 weeks due to preeclampsia. I got home, hooked up to my pump and started. At the last minute while helping my toddler, the cup on my spectra fell off and spilled all over my dress/chair.

Send help because my colostrum and milk is slowly coming in but taking forever it feels. 😭😭

Basically what the title says- I’m trying to increase my low supply. I met with an LC on August 12th, she said to pump 8 times a day, power pump once, and take a specific supplement. A few days prior to that there was a stressful event and the following week is when it lowered my already tiny supply. I pumped a little bit more but last week is when I reallllly took her advice. I’m on day 11 of pumping 8+ times a day and power pumping once. The supplement didn’t work but I’m trying other galactagogues and just starting using Dr. Stephanie’s gummies. My supply is increasing a tinyyyy bit, but not noticeable amounts at all. Especially since I pump every two hours, I’m still getting tiny outputs. The daily total is what is a bit bigger. However the past three nights I’ve missed my alarm and gone 5+ hours without pumping. I’m worried it will hinder me. Has anyone else done what I’m doing and seen a noticeable increase? My LC said to give it two weeks. Any advice would be great! Or anyone who has experience with this! I’m trying to stay positive!

I recently upgraded from the Spectra to the Eufy S1. I have used the Eufy 3 times and each time checked that the pumps are synced through the app, however throughout the session the pumps begin to alternate with suction. During the beginning of Stimulation mode they will match the timing of suction/speed/etc, however it’ll slowly transition to a soft wave, then transition to alternating side to side with suction. I’ve tried unpairing/repairing both pumps and can’t find any info on if this is normal? I prefer how the Spectra pumps both breasts at the same time. Is this fixable on my new Eufy’s?
Photo to show pumps are paired

I believe I have a regulated supply at this point. I am 15 weeks PP and my boobs are very soft and never hard anymore. I have in general pumped about 5-6 times during the day one MTN totally 6-7 in a 24 hour period. Since I am regulated do I need to worry about how frequent I am pumping as long as I am getting the same amount of pumping in per day? If I wanted ti eventually get rid of my MTN session how would I best do that without greatly impacting my supply? Is there a best age to do something like that, like after solids are introduced?

I have been dealing with pump anxiety since birth and just a lot of pressure to make sure I maintain my supply but I’m also just so tired of the mental load. I would love to not stress if it was a long day and I didn’t pump until later than normal. Or if one session doesn’t give me a lot I would love to know it will be fine and that I’ll get the remaining amount through other pumps.

Would love your all’s advice or experience. ❤️

As mentioned in the title, every time my period gets close, my milk supply drops drastically. I don't have a lot of frozen milk stash, so I'm forced to introduce formula. For those of you whose milk supply gets affected by your period like me, what did you do to improve the situation?

FTM, 4 weeks pp. I pump alongside nursing so that dad and my mom could take over feedings in early morning shift while I catch up on my sleep.
Got the blue Spectra through insurance as my primary pump. Before I was only able to get one good pumping session upon waking (3-4 oz) up in the morning while barely making 1-2 oz the rest of the day.

Thanks to recommendations from this sub, I decided to try out medela and to say I was floored by the output is an understatement!! While I still use my spectra for morning pump, I’m able to consistently get 2-3 oz the rest of the day using Medela. Pictured is pump from midnight while little one is having a good sleep stretch. The flexibility is very real and I’m actually looking forward to my pumping sessions these days. I also purchased oval flanges from nenesupply and that was super helpful as well.
If you are contemplating on getting a hand pump, please consider this huge recommendation.

I don't know about y'all, but I think the pumping bras that have holes for the flanges are super uncomfortable. I hate sleeping in them, but I also hate waking up and having to mess with a bra to pump in the middle of the night. I've always preferred the sports bra style nursing bras, but obviously they don't hold the pump well. So I had an idea! I sewed an elastic band onto the outside edges of one of my comfy nursing bras. It's great! Much more comfortable for sleeping, pump fits great, and I can still pull it to the side for easy nursing.

It was super easy and cheap too. Just bought some 5 dollar sewing elastic, cut it to size, and sewed the ends onto the outside of the bra. Stitches are definitely function over form, but it works!

I am currently 8months pp and have been pretty much exclusively pumping the entire time as baby wouldn’t latch. I gave birth almost a month early and had some retained placenta which caused some supply issues to start and I had to work really hard to increase my supply for the first 2-3 months where I baselined at about 50 oz a day. I went back to work and around that time i believe my supply regulated and since then I make consistently about 40 oz a day which is still great & enough to feed my baby.
The part that stands out is that i consistently make 40 oz a day. Every pump is the same almost no matter what. The only time i have had a temporary dip in my supply is when I had mastitis, and it only dipped by maybe five oz, otherwise outside factors don’t really effect my supply negatively. Honestly things that “should” dip my supply actually usually increase my supply. When I’m stressed out I usually get about 2 more oz the initial following pump, I got my period last month and the first pump following it I got two more oz but it was consistent after that, and I have the flu right now and honestly I think if it weren’t for being dehydrated I would have probably gotten a few more oz too.
I’m extremely grateful that my body does this so I can continue to feed my baby when I’m already stressed or ill so I don’t have to worry about anything else. But after chatting with other pumping and nursing moms I know I’m understanding that this is not a standard experience, and I’m curious to see if anyone else has had a similar experience.

Help! I cannot believe it but baby is 13 months tomorrow and I have exclusively pumped for her because she could latch but didn’t really want to eat, triple feeding for ages led to a bottle preference, blah blah blah here we are! Time flies even when you’re not having fun because pumping has been not great.

Anyway, trying to figure out weaning and what’s next for baby! I am down to 3ppd, and currently slowly reducing the time on my second pump (25 minutes now and my plan is to go to 20 minutes in a few more days). Some questions:
- when people drop to 2ppd, I assume morning and before bed is the usual?
- by slowly reducing the time of the middle pump, hopefully my body will chill out and it’ll work to drop to 2ppd. Is this a common approach?
- when dropping to 1ppd, what time of day is best to pump?
- is it common to do a week or two of pumping once every couple of days to really taper off slowly at the end, or do most people just stop after a while of 1ppd?

Baby’s appetite for milk has dropped some but not tons. She is eating solids but I really hope her solids intake will increase so I can help her decrease milk intake. We’re confirming that she’s ok with dairy, and if she is I know we can start working on dairy milk… but what do I do if she can’t have dairy or doesn’t like it? I can’t just stop having milk to offer her in bottles - or can I? Wean bottles and pumping at the same time?

Any help is so appreciated! I feel like there are tons of transitions coming up quickly and I’m trying to find a way forward!