Pumping milk for 1 year old

[sprollie11]

Hello

My son has just turned 1 years old. He eats really well but also loves milk. I am breastfeeding and he has milk first thing in morning/mid morning/mid afternoon and before bee. And when he wakes at night.

I'm happy to do this and I'm in no rush to finish.

He is at nursery and has one bottle of breast milk in the afternoon only. Therefore to provide this i am pumping once at lunchtime during my working days (3 days a week) to freeze/give him the next day.

I was looking online/here about pumping for a one year old and could see very little! So now I'm wondering whether I'm doing the wrong thing and should be making more of an effort to wean him off.

I did aak nursery to try my milk in a sippy cup over a bottle but they said he wouldn't take it, and as he has initially been quite unsettled starting nursery, I was thinking that I would rather he had it for comfort. But again should be be having it in sippy cup not bottle, and if at all? Should he be cows milk only?

Thank you for any advice or experiences

At one your supply shouldn’t be impacted by not feeding him when at work but you could pump for your own comfort and use it in food. Personally I’d drop the cup at nursery as he doesn’t sound fussed and he won’t really be feeding from you for the milk rather the relationship and closeness which has the benefits of milk, nutrition and antibodies.
So really it’s up to you. If he likes yoghurt he could have an extra yoghurt or fruit as an afternoon snack instead of milk?

My son continued to have expressed milk in a straw cup up to around 15 months at nursery. Most of it however ended up being from my freezer stash. I really struggled to get anything out past 1 year, which may be why you don't hear me many women doing it.

If your happy to keep doing it then carry on, but if you want to stop them id say cut it all together and give water instead. He'll soon realise that the other option is cows milk and decide if that's better than water.

By one I don't think he needs breast milk from a cup or bottle at nursery for comfort. If he still likes milk it's probably the sucking from you that he likes.

It's entirely up to you if you would like to wean or not. If you like to continue nursing you can just feed first thing in the morning and last thing at night? Giving him so much milk might slow down his desire and intake for solids which he will be needing more with his age?

It’s more of a case of what you want to do? Carrying on is great, stopping that pump is ok too! What works for you?

It's fine to carry on if you want to.

I think most people don't bother with pumping to feed at nursery at that age. When Mum's go back to work it often just naturally decreases to a morning/bedtime feed and they eat food during the day.

Both are fine. He doesn't need milk four times a day, but it's not going to hurt him to have it (as long as he eats solid food too).

Agree OP it’s completely what makes you happy. My 17m DS didn’t ever take a bottle, so he drinks water from a cup at nursery/ with grandparents and we just feed when together, including during the night it’s probably still 5 times in 24h, more on the weekends when we’re together. Your DS definitely doesn’t need to be on cows milk only, despite loving yoghurt and cheese my little one refuses milk in a cup or bottle so sticks to water.

As long as he’s getting 3 meals a day of solids then I’d carry it on as long as you’re comfortable to

Thank you all for your replies, really interesting to hear what others do. I think I will carry on expressing 1x a day so he has milk for nursery for one more month, then he will have done almost 2 months doing his 2 full days there , so should have adjusted nicely by then. Then start to reduce and see how he gets on. Then Bf when we are together if he wants to. Thanks all