Done breastfeeding/pumping 6mo PP

No one talks about how to stop BF so I figured I’d share my story.

I EBF for about 3-3.5 months. When I started work I pumped every three hours while there but my Lo quickly learned the bottle (she was getting at daycare while I was at work) was way easier than the boob. At 4 months PP I was exclusively pumping around the clock every 3-4 hours. But as my LO got bigger my supply ran lower and lower. I knew that the end of my journey was near when at about 5 months PP as I would pump at the three hour mark she would be crying because she was hungry. I was only getting 3-4 ounces every 3 hours if I was lucky.

I started supplementing formula and honestly it was such a relief. I had so much anxiety trying to pump every three hours and I knew my baby was hungry so it was stressful. I started doing two ounces of formula and whatever I pumped mixed In a bottle. Then started cutting back on pumping. Writhing three weeks I went from pumping every three hours to every four hours to every five hours. Then for about a week I pumped 3 times a day. Then for the last few days I just pumped as I felt the need. Today I didn’t pump at all. So far so good.

It was an amazing journey and I loved it but I am so glad to be done. If I could EBF and didn’t need to pump at work I could have breastfed forever. But pumping every three hours, constantly washing pump parts, and never being about to be without the pump was exhausting emotionally and physically.

Now I’m doing 50/50 breast milk and formula until I run out of breast milk. My LO has been good so far.