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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

How to finish expressing?

6 replies

KirstyDaisyBBandFifi · 22/06/2012 20:48

Hi - I am exclusively expressing for my 4mo and will be weaning soon.... At that point I want to stop expressing - can anyone advise how I stop without making myself ill?

OP posts:
CoronationWigeon · 22/06/2012 20:49

Do you mean weaning from breast milk onto formula, or weaning onto solid food?

KirstyDaisyBBandFifi · 22/06/2012 21:05

Weaning to solids - as she had to have formula for two weeks when I was on medication after birth - she refused it and therefore my plan has always been to wean her onto solids and then it won't matter if she refuses formula because I will add it to her food so that she will be getting calories without milk until she gets used to the taste etc.

OP posts:
TruthSweet · 22/06/2012 21:27

Kirsty - there are a number of ways you can try weaning from pumping. Some ideas below:-

a) Lessen the time spent on a particular pump session dropping a minute or so daily until you don't pump at that time at all.
e.g. 12pm pumping is normally 25mins, so on the first day of dropping you pump for 23mins, 2nd day 21mins, 3rd 19mins, etc. If you find you coping well with that you can drop quicker or switch to method b).

b) Don't pump at that time but bring the pumping session before the dropped one later and bring the session afterwards back
e.g. you pump at 6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm & 12am, you plan on dropping the 12pm session and you wanted to try this method you would bring the 9am session forwards to say 10am, and bring the 3pm session back to 2pm then you would be pumping 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm, 9pm and 12am.

c) Rather than dropping time spent pumping you could also drop mls pumped in a similar fashion (for the session to be dropped)
e.g. Rather than pumping 150mls a side (I'm going with big numbers here that I could only dream ofWink), you try to pump 125mls a side for a day or so, then swap down to 100mls a side for a few days, then 75mls for a few days then 50mls (perhaps at that point you might try skipping the session altogether). What you express may be completely different so do adapt to suit, as if you are expressing great amounts the dropping would be slower than if you were getting only a little.

Like with bfing directly you would need to drop one pumping session at a time rather than all together so picking the least favourite/most awkward session first is probably the best idea and then work from there.

KatAndKit · 23/06/2012 06:55

when she is on solid food she will still need breast milk or formula, probably about a pint a day, until the age of one. milk is still the main source of nutrition for an older baby even when they start getting extra calories from food. if you want to give up expressing you will need to persevere with the formula. getting calories without milk isn't an option at that age. perhaps try mixing breast milk and formula and gradually reduce the breast milk in the bottle until it is all formula. start with 90 percent breast milk and reduce gradually. Will she not breast feed directly?

KirstyDaisyBBandFifi · 24/06/2012 21:58

Sorry KitKat... I know it is really important for her to have milk - My comment about calories is meant as a short term thing if she refuses formula whilst she is getting used to it... She has never been successfully latched and has an "inefficient suck" - she only swallows every 4 sucks and therefore can never latch correctly - My feeling is that I will stop expressing when I have successfully weaned her onto solids - I know she will need formula from that point - My feeling is that I want her to be eating formula in her solid food to start getting used to the flavour of it... Then introducing it as her drink... I Am concerned though as I will have to stop the expressing... and am not sure how to go about it....

OP posts:
barleysugar · 24/06/2012 22:04

Couldn't you mix her usual milk with a little formula to start with then gradually increase it? So aim to be half and half in a week or so? Its probably better to do that than introduce solids if there are no other signs of readiness?

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