Want to stop pumping

[Feedingnightmare]

Hi all.
Apologies for the millionth thread!

I have a soon to be 9 week old DD who is EBF. She's my second baby. My first baby was combination fed because I couldn't produce enough milk for her (tongue tie snipped, etc).

This time around we had a week long hospital stay for various reasons and so I was encouraged to pump frequently. Once we were discharged, I continued to pump between feeds and basically created a bit of an over supply. After a close encounter with mastitis I decided to decrease the pumping (ideally to no pumping at all).

She's gaining good weight but is so unsettled all the time, and my first thought is always that it's because my supply has dipped since I've stopped pumping...and then I start pumping again. Then the cycle continues.

So my question is...is it actually possible to only be able to produce adequate milk if I'm pumping throughout the day (this won't be sustainable for me for much longer)? What are the signs that my supply isn't adequate while I'm not pumping?

I realise I need to get over this anxiety but I just want to make sure that my totally stopping pumping, I'm not going to compromise my supply.

Just to add, she won't take a bottle which stresses me out even more and is the main reason I can't stop pumping altogether- if my supply dips, there's no way for me to get any other milk into her.

You do seem very anxious about your supply. First I feel I should mention that a lot of women who have supply issues with their 1st actually have the opposite problem with their 2nd.

Are you saying you only know if you're making enough by seeing how much you can pump? That's not necessarily a good indicator. Your supply should naturally sync with her needs.

If she's more unsettled when you stop pumping then I'd say it's because you have too much, not too little. She's getting mostly foremilk which isn't as filling and harder to digest without the hindmilk. Persevere with feeding without pumping and just keep an eye on nappies. If poos are regular and wet and wees are plentiful and clear then the milk supply is fine. You could work towards only pumping once every 2 days if you still want to build up a supply.

I saw a really good low supply explanation from the breastfeeding network a while back, basically emphasising that nappies are the best indicator. If I can find it again I'll post it.

"You could work towards only pumping once every 2 days if you still want to build up a supply"

I meant more "stockpile" than "supply"
Don't mean to confuse things 😊

This is actually from Born and Fed but it shows similar to what I was thinking of