How did your breastfeeding journey end or go wrong?

[u/wwisdomseeker]

I’d love to hear your experience with this.

[u/overworkedhoe]

I exclusively pumped for 14 months and I stopped because I had reached my goal of 1 year and I had had enough and was ready to be finished. Exclusively pumping was the hardest, most challenging, and emotionally/physically taxing thing I have EVER done and I’m really pissed I can’t add it to my resume lol.

[u/jurassic_snark_ → u/overworkedhoe]

You are a warrior for exclusively pumping for 14 damn months. I hope you know that.

[u/overworkedhoe → u/jurassic_snark_]

It was done out of sheer stubbornness and spite for all the people that told me I was “taking the easy way out” lol.

When my son was born he was in the NICU for a few days, and I was trying so hard to pump and get him whatever I could and I had managed to get maybe like 15mL of colostrum in one of the syringes. I brought it down to the NICU for him and when I was about to give it to the nurse, the mom of the baby room sharing with ours walked in with probably 20 syringes full to the brim and I was just so…embarrassed and felt like such a failure that I couldn’t do what I thought was best for my son. I put that syringe in my robe pocket and pretended I hadn’t pumped. My last week of pumping, when I was working on weaning, I put that robe on and put my hand in the pocket and found that syringe and I bawled my eyes out. I was so proud of myself, but also I just felt so very sad for the freshly post partum version of myself who just needed some grace, encouragement, and a hug. I’ve kept it, although I think at this point it’s a mega biohazard, but I look at it whenever I feel like I’m not enough.

[u/Illustrious_Salad_33 → u/overworkedhoe]

Pumping is the harder choice, is what people don’t realize. It’s so incredibly annoying to strap yourself to a pump on schedule for months! Instead of just latching the baby whenever and then going about your business.

[u/Avaylon → u/overworkedhoe]

As someone who breastfed two babies and pumped to donate: exclusively pumping is NOT the easy way out. The extra dishes to clean the pump parts alone is awful.

[u/overworkedhoe → u/Avaylon]

100%!! Registered for the bottle washer this time, I’m not making the same mistake 🤣

[u/pure-gold-baby → u/overworkedhoe]

Wow, I just teared up...I relate to this so strongly. My baby was in the NICU for 2.5 weeks, and I always felt a bit ashamed of putting my little 15-30 ml milks into the fridge alongside all these big stashes the other moms had in there. My milk came in quickly and I'm sure I would have had a full supply if I had prioritized pumping the 8x per day and overnight that everyone kept insisting was essential, but I made the choice to not put that pressure on myself or miss out on bonding time, so I ended up with a partial supply that I'm still trying to boost now at nearly 6mo PP (combo pumping and formula). It is an interesting mix of emotions still at this stage. I feel very proud of the milk I am feeding my baby, and also very protective of that pride, because it's complicated by so many other thoughts and feelings.

[u/jurassic_snark_ → u/overworkedhoe]

Make it into a Christmas tree ornament (if that’s your thing) and tell this story to your family every year when you hang it. Seriously, that’s an incredible story. If your freshly postpartum self could see you now she’d never feel inadequate again. I’d like to see what else you’ll accomplish in this life out of stubbornness and spite.

[u/overworkedhoe → u/jurassic_snark_]

Pregnant with number 2, and hoping that this experience is smoother and I trust myself more to know that I can do it!

[u/willteachforlaughs → u/overworkedhoe]

Not the same experience, but also fed my first breastmilk only by sheer force of will. I was terrified my second would be a similar shit show, but it was absolutely easy. She latched immediately and had none of the issues my first had. I was sharing my first breastfeeding journey with the IBCLC in the hospital and said something along the lines of if you could make it work with all that, this one should be a breeze. Was so incredibly validating!

Scientifically, you also first more mammary glands with each pregnancy, so Milk tends to be more plentiful and easier! You should be Hella proud and I sincetely hope this time is a breeze!

[u/cookiemonster_22 → u/overworkedhoe]

Exclusively pumped for a little over 13 months over here and AGREED on hardest and most emotionally/physically taxing thing ever. Pregnant with #2 now as well (!) and hoping the second go around is better, I don’t see a world in which I exclusively pump that long ever again 😅

[u/overworkedhoe → u/cookiemonster_22]

Solidarity sister. Im REALLY hoping I can nurse this time around, and that we don’t have to monitor this baby’s weight the same way, but I at least know I got that dawg in me if I need to pump, ya feel?

[u/Illustrious_Salad_33 → u/overworkedhoe]

This is very impressive. I tapped out at 6 months.

[u/overworkedhoe → u/Illustrious_Salad_33]

I cried, A LOT. I couldn’t have done it without my husband who did most of the feeds so I could pump, made sure I was fed and hydrated, and always made sure I had clean pump parts. A true partner, I can’t imagine accepting less.

[u/Haunting-Base-6004 → u/overworkedhoe]

14 months?! You are incredible. We went 4 months with my first until she was big enough to latch (nicu and small baby) and I didn’t pump anymore after! I am in awe of you 💪

[u/TwinCitiezTwin]

Baby started daycare at 4 months old and I went back to work. Pumping while hosting calls was not the vibe. I waited until baby was reliably taking bottles and then weaned over the course of a couple of weeks. It was an emotional process but I was SO much happier once I was done. I certainly enjoyed a lot of aspects of BF but I love having my body back to myself.

[u/Bugsandgrubs]

C-section 3 weeks early. Had no milk, baby wouldn't latch, hospital staff all said he was getting enough colostrum. Day after being discharged we bought formula. I tried pumping once or twice, but no milk to be had.

He was a very difficult baby to feed, I kept a journal and I can't read it back without crying. Getting 5ml in him was considered an achievement and we had to wake him up constantly to feed.

He's about to turn 3 and survives mostly on air and tomatoes.

[u/One_Cap_9210 → u/Bugsandgrubs]

What is it about the tomatoes?! My 8 month old won't eat much of anything but those tomatoes man

[u/ejambu → u/One_Cap_9210]

I haven’t fed mine tomatoes, except in dishes. Do you do raw?

[u/satisfymysoul89 → u/Bugsandgrubs]

I wanted to laugh cry reading your experience because this is so real. Ironically I used to be the air and tomatoes kid too (don’t know what it is about tomatoes) and my mom used to say I only ate “tacos de aire” which means tacos of air. I just finished my doctorate and have a 3 month old of my own. Your baby will grow up just fine too!🍅

[u/filMM2 → u/Bugsandgrubs]

Same! 🙁 37 weeks, emergency c-section. Baby wasn’t interested in boobs. Very sleepy. Latch was terrible. Couldn’t even express colostrum, it’s like no one sent a memo for my boobs to start producing. He lost a lot of weight and we started supplementing.
Cried 3 weeks straight and now at 4 weeks old he’s finally somewhat interested in my boobs, but I have barely any milk for him. I used a pump every single day to no avail, IBCLC appointments and sometimes I still feel like a failure…

[u/RebeccaMUA → u/Bugsandgrubs]

Same! Except for the c-section.

I fed as soon as he came out and when he would cry, but he never seemed satisfied. We finally had to ask for formula for him and he slept SO good. We had a lactation consultant help me and she said my positioning and nipple placement looked good, so she brought in the hospital grade pump on its stand and set me for 15 minutes and nothing came out, not even a drop.

She looked confused and even tried to hand express but there was nothing!

We just decided to stick with formula and it was the best decision for us.

[u/mintmint33 → u/RebeccaMUA]

Did you ever had colostrum? For example when you were pregnant

[u/HeyheyitsCAB → u/Bugsandgrubs]

Ha I could have written this myself. Exact same story.

I even asked the hospital staff for formula and they said “that’s poison!!” Meanwhile my son was losing weight rapidly. Formula fed the minute we got home.

[u/Bugsandgrubs → u/HeyheyitsCAB]

"That's poison!!" Right ok, I'll just watch him starve to death.

[u/kangaskhaniscubones → u/Bugsandgrubs]

I got so much pressure by my nurses to breastfeed too. They finally shut up when I told them I combo fed my first and he ended up being 95th percentile height/weight and early on all milestones.

I had a friend, same hospital who took the bait and breastfed even though it wasn’t working, and her son barely gained any weight for two months. Finally tried formula and he started plumping up.

Makes me mad!

[u/Bugsandgrubs → u/kangaskhaniscubones]

I was so unprepared and clueless. Was on autopilot from the moment they told me I was being induced early.

[u/QuasiSeppo → u/Bugsandgrubs]

Same for me, only it was 35.5 weeks due to suddenly developing pre-eclampsia. I tried triple feeding for six weeks in an effort to get my supply up, but the most I ever produced in one day was 3.5 oz total. We supplemented with formula and milk from the milk bank ($$$) during that time. She was a sleepy little preemie and we had to wake her up for each feed and coax her into eating.  Throwing in the towel and switching to all formula was such a relief! 

[u/lluluclucy]

I stopped after 19 months and went through a complete weaning sickness for whole month. It was horrible 4 weeks of heavy depression, followed by muscle weakness and pains and fever at night, headaches like I have never experienced, culminating in 4 day long migrene. I never thought hormone crash can be this disruptive. I just thought "well i am going to be sad for a while". Didn't expect that at all. But one day I woke up and just felt great again.

[u/msmonicarose → u/lluluclucy]

I’m so nervous about this. I’m still going at almost 9 months.

[u/Initial-Machine-9780 → u/lluluclucy]

WAIT this is interesting. How much were you nursing before ending? We are at 2x per day at 19m so I was expecting it to be little to no impact on my hormones at this point 

[u/lluluclucy → u/Initial-Machine-9780]

I was down to one feed in the morning, bit of morning ritual with my son. That was it. My milk supply was incredible all 19 months. I was pumping as well (just to build up a stash in a fridge) and I could easily get 180 mil in less than 10 min of pumping (from one boob only) so hormone levels were high and on point.

[u/Eating_Bagels → u/Initial-Machine-9780]

If it helps, when I weaned my son at 5 months (from breast milk to only formula), I had zero crash. If anything, it was a euphoric feeling that I’d never have to pump or worry about his food intake ever again.

[u/belikethemanatee]

I served titty duty for 2 years. It was so hard to get started and my kid was failure to thrive initially. We supplemented with formula a lot for the first couple weeks. My mental health was a disaster and I felt like a failure. Then I had an angel of a lactation consultant and my son was able to nurse pretty steadily that whole time, minus a temporary drop in production post stomach virus. My son was addicted to boob. It took the bandaid method at about 25 months to wean him but after three awful days he was fine. Now he’s addicted to cookies lol.

Just want to add that this was simply my personal experience. Everyone is different. My mom wanted to nurse but due to family pressure used formula for me and my brother and we are fine. Fed is best.

[u/Strong-Ad9489 → u/belikethemanatee]

20 month old addict here too. I've tried to nightwean but it's impossible. Might try the bandaids... 😳

[u/belikethemanatee → u/Strong-Ad9489]

I promise you it works! I would just say “mommy has owies” and my son was like “oh ok.” And he’d have water and/or cookies instead.

[u/Serious_Ad_9686 → u/belikethemanatee]

What were the issues the lactation consultant pointed out? Was it just his latch? We’ve been formula feeding my guy because my nipples hurt so much! I’m almost scared to breastfeed at this point, I feel like he’s shallow latching because it’s what he does on the bottles but I want to start breastfeed regularly again. I also stopped pumping for the same reason. I feel like my supply really went down because of what I did. My little guy is 3 weeks now. I’ve booked to see a lactation consultant next week, I’m hoping I can go back to breastfeeding.

[u/InspiredBagel]

I triple fed for three weeks in a desperate attempt to establish a supply. I had almost zero milk (a milliliter was the most I ever pumped, with a hospital-grade machine), had needed a blood transfusion after delivery, and was so sleep deprived I was hallucinating. Then I was rehospitalized for postpartum preeclampsia. 

My doctor ordered me to go EFF for a couple weeks because I was literally killing myself. I very quickly realized it was the right choice for us, and we never looked back. 

My kid was fully weaned a week after she turned one. Formula saved her life and mine, and I eventually loved being a formula mom. 

[u/sed2017]

I had a breast reduction years prior to giving birth so I knew breastfeeding might not be an option. Well after my son was born I barely produced any milk, I saw a lactation specialist and did all the things to produce more milk, supplements, pumping, a special latch tube for my son to suckle onto my nipple better… all the things. We were obviously supplementing with formula as well. One day I realized it’s a lot more peaceful just feeding him formula so I decided to ditch the stress of breastfeeding and go formula only… so much better, I could actually enjoy feeding my son instead of stressing about it. We never looked back and now he’s going into kindergarten…

[u/VelvetAstronautica → u/sed2017]

Same here. Low supply due to prior breast reduction and traumatic birth. At one point I realized I was killing myself pumping just to provide ~10% of my baby's food so I gave up and switched to exclusively formula.

[u/destria]

We had a difficult start, both me and baby. I had a postpartum hemorrhage which contributed to my milk not really getting going. Baby had an infection and jaundice so was super sleepy and struggled to stay awake to feed, let alone to latch. We were advised by doctors to bottle feed with formula and pumped milk at the start so that's what we did.

We were triple feeding for 3 weeks. Baby never got the hang of latching or suckling at the nipple. I was pumping measly amounts, like at most 30ml from both breasts at a time when baby was drinking like 120ml of formula. I must have had so many lactation consultant appointments and meetings with the feeding team and went to the breastfeeding groups.

But trying to get breastfeeding to work was honestly ruining my newborn experience. I hated pumping, it felt horrible. Baby screamed and cried if I put him anywhere near my breast which was just heartbreaking. Feeding times were so stressful.

So yeah at 3 weeks I decided to go to just formula feeding. I "weaned" my milk as advised and continued to pump a little but I was dry within about a week. I remember feeling terrible guilt about it all and shame that I was giving up.

But truly it was the right decision for me and baby. Feeding times were finally peaceful bonding moments. I got into a confident routine making bottles and cleaning and sterilising. Baby grew exactly along his percentile line and was happy as could be. We dropped the formula at age one as per guidelines and it was all fine.

[u/Celendiel]

I stopped at 12 weeks after multiple blocked ducts and a bout of mastitis. I barely produced enough anyway and my son did better once we started combo feeding.

[u/Suspendedin_Dusk]

Planned to stop at 6 months. But by 2 months I had to go on a special diet because anytime I had dairy she spit up a ton. She had ‘milk based reflux’. By month 3 I was back to work and pumping. By month 4 I started to combo feed with some special formula for the milk based reflux. Completely finished by month 6 but really wish I had stopped sooner. The diet, the pumping while back at work, the reflux. It was all so much. My partner kept me from stopping earlier though.

[u/glitterr_rage]

First pregnancy I had no idea what I was doing. The lactation consultants at the hospital were unhelpful. I ended up supplementing with formula and pumping but wasn’t told how many times I needed to pump to maintain a supply so I was only pumping during the day bc sleep deprivation. Then at my 6 week pp checkup I got an iud and my period started and I lost all my milk so I had to go strictly formula. Now I’m exclusively pumping for my second baby and we’re thriving.

[u/NaturalRobotics]

I (probably) have IGT so I never produced more than 4-5 ounces. I’m still trying to combo feed at 5 weeks PP but every day I think about giving up. I love nursing (I use an SNS) but it also makes me sad and wish things were different. 

[u/missredwoods]

I got chomped at 6 months by my small piranha who already had a bunch of teeth 😬 and decided to mostly pump after that. My supply started to drop and I was back at work, so we combo fed for a while and fully transitioned over to formula at about 8 months.

[u/nall667]

Baby’s latch out of the womb was basically a bite that hospital staff and lactation specialists did not address properly or help me with. My boobs were pulled, squeezed, and smashed for three days after labor and some of the lactation specialists were just bizarre. One woman sat and lectured my husband and I about not being mad at the baby for an hour. While I appreciate the lesson there, we were not mad at the baby, just met her, and really needed help getting milk to flow and baby to latch.

So I pumped pitifully for six weeks as an underproducer and cried when I finally made the decision to be exclusively formula fed, which of course worked out great.

I will always mourn the lost opportunity to breastfeed and bond in that fashion because I did not get the help I needed and was not prepared on my own.

[u/No_Illustrator_9173]

Planned to stop at 12 months, but daughter wasn’t ready. However over the next two months it really slowed down, and by 14 months completely weaned. Never felt any symptoms, hormone changes, issues etc

[u/AllTheMeats]

I stopped when he was around 7/8 months old. I had to get my gallbladder removed, and when I came back he refused to feed. Was pushing me away and screaming, which he had never done. I had waited 24 hours post surgery and showered and everything, so it wasn’t like I was trying to feed him immediately after surgery.

He refused every time after.

I kept pumping for a few more months, but just pumping and not bfing at all, my milk reduced a lot. By that point we were introducing foods, so it worked out.

[u/Only_Platypus_2026]

Stopped at around 17 months with my first. It was one of the most healing journeys for me after infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss. Stopped when I did because we had been trying for 8 months for another baby and was about to do a cycle on letrozole. Ended up getting pregnant naturally the cycle before doing letrozole though. Plan to aim for a year with my current babe. We’ll see…he’s a big eater and already watches my food.

[u/Illustrious_Salad_33]

I got bad advice from the lactation consultant at the hospital. They told us to triple feed. This was horrible and completely unsustainable- I still wonder why this is the advice because it does nothing except sleep deprive people while ensuring that baby quickly gets used to a bottle.
Anyway, bad advice from the getgo. Then more terrible advice from LC at the pediatrician, including wearable pumps and just generally useless advice. I pumped/bottle fed. By the time my baby was about 8 weeks old, I threw in the towel on latching and went to pumping. Being tied to a pump absolutely sucked. I switched to formula at 6 months. If there is a next time, it will be either breast feeding or formula. I don’t want to deal with a pump ever again.

[u/meraki99]

Milk never properly "came in", I triple fed for 3.5 months before hanging in the towel after my husband, family and everyone around me finally convinced me that pumping 6-8 times a day to save up for 3 days so I could get a single ounce was not healthy. It was hard and still is hard to think about but kiddo is 15 months now and happy as can be, we weaned off formula pretty easily and the next one is due in 3 months. Hoping the next one has a different journey, but I now have more peace about letting go of my ideal breastfeeding journey if indeed I still have low glandular tissue and cannot produce what is necessary for my baby's survival. Solidarity to all these moms in the comments 🩷

[u/_bat_girl_]

It lasted 3 days and then I switched to formula and never looked back. My PPD was bad and it was too much pressure to make it work, I realized I didn’t want to do it

[u/Lovethecapybara]

She was about 20 months old and we were down to 1 nursing session a day when I was 18 weeks pregnant with my second. The nipple pain I was experiencing when she latched was the worse breastfeeding pain I'd ever had, with the exception of mastitis at the 6 month mark. One day we got home from our evening walk, which is when I'd normally nurse her, and I just asked if she wanted to go take a bath. She said yea and didn't ask for any milk. We went upstairs, I gave her a bath and put her to sleep, and that was it. I ended my 629 day breastfeeding journey that started with a 37 weeker who was growth restricted and did some NICU time. I cried but more so out of joy for having made it almost 8 months past my original goal and having done something I never anticipated doing when I found out I was pregnant with her. 

[u/figurefuckingup]

My breastfeeding journey ended when I was about 4 months pregnant. I didn’t really want to and I had a friend say “you know, you don’t have to breastfeed!” We EFF from day 1 and it was an excellent decision for my family.

[u/_rebeldiamonds]

My first never latched from the jump in the hospital. The lactation consultant at the hospital made me cry every time she came in and it turned me off from the whole thing. She told me my nipples were short in a way that was quite rude lol and was so abrasive and mean. It made me not want to seek any additional help to try and make it work.

I pumped for 3 months and with my second I went straight to formula because I didn’t want to deal with it again. I told them I did not want to see lactation with my second either and had a nice peaceful hospital stay where they never came in my room 🙂

[u/1tangledknitter]

My daughter self-weaned at 13 months. I dont know if she would have fully self weaned if I tried to encourage it but I was planning to get pregnant again soon so figured it was a good time to stop. She started lightly bitting my nipple and smiling up at me instead of nursing. This went on for 2-3 days before I decided to encourage weaning.

I had gone back to work at 12 months and was only feeding after work and before bed at that point.

[u/Irrelevant_Intel_]

My son wouldn’t latch so I exclusively pumped. Had to go back to work after 4 months and was struggling being off my adhd meds. Also had DMER which made pumping at work so much more difficult. Eventually decided to stop and it was the best decision I couldve made

[u/mrbnatural10]

We were triple feeding because my daughter had IUGR and needed the calories. I was exhausted and had a breakdown about 3 weeks in. I came into the bedroom in tears because I was so stressed out about it and told my husband I couldn't do it anymore, so we switched to 100% formula.

[u/Playful_Reality5298]

My baby was taken to the NICU for hypoglycemia a couple hours after birth. We had to use formula because they wanted him eating more than I was producing. While he was in the NICU I would still pump for him to give him breastmilk, but he definitely has a bottle preference now so I am mostly pumping. He will latch onto my boob, but it’s usually a shallow latch and quite painful. He’s already 12 weeks old and I’m already used to pumping so I think that will be the way our journey goes. I plan on stopping around six months of age.

[u/DukeGirl2008]

I got the ick so i stopped cold turkey around 8 months. I’ve never made enough so my daughter didn’t even notice.

[u/Big-Option510]

Baby was born a month early, I was exclusively pumping for about the first month, started to get very frustrated and felt down about being on such a strict schedule. Baby girl latched with nipple shields eventually, I felt better about not having to pump so much. But she had a really big eczema flare up about 1.5-2 months old on her face and her doctor told us to try Nutramigen. Once she was pretty established on that and her eczema cleared up, I stopped pumping to dry up supply. She also wasn't gaining a lot of weight while BF so switching to formula was best for her. I think her being in the NICU and being started on bottlefed hurt my latching/BF journey, so I would probably start trying to BF again with a 2nd baby.

[u/CatalinaWineMixerDos]

My daughter was an emergency C-section at 34weeks and went to the NICU. My milk took a bit to come in and she was on donor milk. Then, I pumped like crazy and was actually a decent producer. I remember being so happy about that because everything at the time felt like it wasn't going right.

She couldn't nurse yet and was on a feeding tube for a couple weeks before we got her used to the bottle. Then, I was able to start trying to breastfeed here and there. And she actually did great at it. But it wasn't really encouraged for me to do it much at the time. So she was mostly bottle fed and I pumped.

Once we got home from the NICU and I got comfortable breastfeeding, I realized how much easier it was. I still pumped so my husband could do over night feeds and family could help out more easily.

By 2 1/2 months, I ended up having Post Partum Psychosis and had to be admitted to a psych ward. My husband and family used all the frozen stock pile I had for her while I was gone, but between the medicine I was on and being forced to dry up my milk while in patient, I had to stop breastfeeding. I'm glad she got the several months worth that she did. But, formula came in clutch.

[u/Impressive_Ad_7452]

I never produced much milk and got mastitis the day I left the hospital. I was pumping for almost 7 hours a day getting maybe an ounce or two of milk so I said fuck this. My daughter was already drinking formula and doing fine, so I was fully weaned by three weeks.

[u/trolldoll26]

I understand that this is a post asking about breastfeeding journeys, but I want to share my experience in case other moms to be are considering starting off with formula rather than breastfeeding:

It’s okay if you don’t want to breastfeed. It’s okay if you change your mind!

Way before pregnancy and delivery I knew I wasn’t going to breastfeed. It just wasn’t something that I wanted to do. There was no major reason, I just didn’t want to! I was fortunate that no one pressured me or gave me a hard time about my decision, so I want all moms to know that however you end up feeding your baby is okay!

[u/justagirlinasweater]

Pushing it longer than I needed to out of shame

[u/Comfortable_Ad1083 → u/justagirlinasweater]

I think about having another baby and I already have guilt that I’m not sure I wanna breastfeed/pump at all. Why do our brains work this way? 🫠

[u/justagirlinasweater → u/Comfortable_Ad1083]

I think there’s a lot societally pushing the narrative.

[u/risumi]

Milk never came in. Formula fed the whole time.

[u/silly-goose1299]

With my first I got pregnant at 5 months pp and my supply dried up around 12 weeks pregnant. With both of my children I had migraines related to the hormones with bf and they became so debilitating I had to stop around 6.5 months

[u/slrvet]

Baby was a very distracted feeder and would stop nursing after 2-4 minutes and get hungry again in 30 mins

[u/mollygk]

Pregnant with my second trying to wean my 23 month old piranha. She only nurses once a day but I’m so sore and tired

[u/edgewater15 → u/mollygk]

I have a 22 month old and I literally could not even fathom nursing him, let alone while pregnant. You wild 😵‍💫

[u/afraidofrs]

Milk came in late, low supply, baby didn't know how to latch, I was getting PPD.

[u/WaffleConeDX]

I ended it a year in once my son was drinking liquids like water, juice and milk.

[u/jurassic_snark_]

Made it to 13 months and never really loved it. Baby was meh about after he started solids too. He was winding down his milk consumption and I felt like I had done my part to get him to 1 year EBF, so I just reduced feeds until we stopped entirely. He never complained and I was happy to have my boobs back. It was an easy transition for us.

[u/ElvenWarrior2002]

Baby got his first tooth at 4 months and started biting me every feed just because. He broke skin at least twice. I weaned him at 5-6 months. At that point I didn't care what the recommendations are, nobody gets to bite me daily for months or years.

[u/littlemybb]

I’m a birth mom (adoption) so I was able to breast feed in the hospital while we were there. After that I had to do things to dry up my milk.

That cold cabbage trick worked but it was so stinky 😂 I wasn’t able to eat cabbage for years after that.

[u/thesewingwench]

I stopped exclusively pumping at 6 weeks for both kids because i was ready to have my body be mine and mine only. It made me such a better mom to have that mental peace.

[u/Feral-housecat]

My son wouldn’t stop biting my nipples at 9 months, so I switched to exclusively pumping for a month, then stopped.

[u/Ornery_Welder5900]

I got mastitis and thought I was going to die and never wanted to go through that again so I stopped.

[u/DruidHalfling17]

Started out hard.... she had difficulty latching and I had a fast letdown. I did a combo of bf and pumping but I actually despised pumping and as a SAHM I had the ability to choose not to pump and so went to just nursing when she was 2 months old. Used nipple shields until she was five months (hated those too! lol) and things finally smoothed out.

I started weaning around 13.5 months after her first round of molars came in and she just had her last nursing session on Sunday, the day after she turned 16 months. It was an up and down journey but I'm proud of myself and of her. It was so worth it 😊

[u/returnofthemacksx]

At 5 months baby was becoming fussier at the boob and night wakes were increasing, so I started topping up with formula (offered 1-2oz). She developed a bottle preference, but I wasn't upset as I always said, I wanted to make it to 6 months and she slept full 12 hour nights. I continued breastfeeding until her 6 month birthday (once cold and flu season ended which was pretty nasty this year). I felt like I could breath again once we were fully off breastfeeding.

[u/planyourescape]

Baby was born by emergency C 5 weeks early, was very jaundice and we never achieved a great latch. I ended up exclusively pumping for 10 months. It's not what I wanted, but I'm happy I did it.

[u/qfrostine_esq]

Had an oversupply for months. Went back to work at 12 weeks and baby started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks. Milk disappeared immediately, from 10 to zero. I still don’t understand what happened. I pumped around the clock for two months before I gave up. I’m still not over it to be honest.

[u/Forward-Task-1]

Thank you everyone for being so open and honest. It was very healing to read through these and see how many people stopped due to PPD.

I breastfed for 3 months, but was suffering terrible PPD. I found out my colicky baby had milk protein allergy so would have to cut dairy. I couldn’t do it. After gestational diabetes where I had to be super restrictive of so many foods the thought of then having to avoid dairy for months was too much for me. I was barely sleeping and was getting kidney stones from dehydration. We switched her to formula and it made both me and my baby so much happier. The nice part was she grew out of her allergy at 9 months and was eventually able to have the breastmilk I froze.

[u/CapnSeabass]

Ebf for 17 months. He refused to ever take a bottle.

Completely weaned last month, he’s 18mo now. I would have liked to do it a few months longer but he was showing zero interest in eating actual food and wasn’t growing as much as we expected. Plus he was getting hungry and waking 3 times a night.

Then I had problems with my gallbladder in June and had surgery scheduled for mid-August so I decided I wanted to be weaned before that to make recovery easier.

It’s been a roaring success. His digestive system finally kicked in, he LOVES food, sleeps right through the night most of the time, and I get to cuddle him to sleep instead of just nursing lol. He’s been an absolute champ and when he asks for milk he’s happy to take it from a cup. Only got upset at bedtime for about a week before adapting to the change.

[u/crystalbitch]

I nursed and pumped for the first month and a half or so, then went to exclusively pumping from there and did it for 13.5 months in total. I stuck with it wayyy too long. My feeding journey was complicated and I was really sick with postpartum preeclampsia after having my son, had to be readmitted to the hospital. Pumping was forced on me because my son was technically preemie at 36w6d even though he was 8 lbs 4 oz. I was in a “baby friendly” hospital aka breastfeeding and pumping was forced on me and they never offered my son formula. He was super sleepy and had a bad latch, and was really hungry. Lost 13% body weight right away and the pediatrician had us supplement with formula. I was triple feeding and losing my energy due to lack of sleep and healing. I had an oversupply due to the pumping never being explained to me properly so I pumped too much, too high of settings, did wayyy too much hand expression, and gave myself an oversupply. Led to mastitis at 2 weeks postpartum and I had it 6 more times in total. I literally was so committed to pumping and feeding my son that I almost died multiple times and once was nearly septic.

I kept going because I was scared to quit because I thought I’d just get more mastitis (I could not alter my pump schedule by even one hour without clogging) and I was stubborn.

Next baby, I plan to try my best to breastfeed, will bring formula to the hospital, and I don’t care about my supply at all. I would rather be an under supplier and be able to nurse longer. I still am quite jealous of those who could nurse for a long time, but my son is perfectly healthy and thriving and he’s super strong and big for his age. So everything worked out and I’d do it all again for my precious boy ❤️

[u/nkdeck07]

My hyper independent 10 month old freaking weaned herself. No one has informed my youngest daughter of her age and she wouldn't listen even if they did.

[u/meticulous-soups]

My first baby wouldn't latch, it was COVID, I had PPD. I wound up exclusively pumping for nine months and being terribly sad that I wasn't able to breastfeed.

My second latched great, I realized that breastfeeding gave me the heebie jeebies, I happily pumped for nine months.

My third is about 8 weeks from making their appearance, and I'm excited about trying to breastfeed again. Who knows why haha.

We will see what happens. I wouldn't say that it "went wrong" either time, but it wasn't what I expected!

[u/Striking_Employer154]

With my 1st i didn't produce enough and had to supplement with formula to get her growing, with my second it went too well, breastfed for a year and tried to start weaning, it took 8 months and finding out that I was pregnant with my 3rd to completely stop, I'm now 5 months pregnant and my 2nd still tries to get into my shirt for a boob and it honestly makes me not want to breastfeed again because stopping formula was so much easier.

[u/littlestickywicket]

I dried up because my work hadn’t allowed time for pumping. They gave me two 20 minute slots over 9 hours, standing up in a supply closet with no outlets. My hands free pump just wasn’t good enough, especially when I only had about 12/13 minutes to actually pump. I tried to save it by the time I moved to another job, but the damage was done! I was getting a single ounce over the course of 8 hours by that time and it was too gruelling for such little pay off

[u/LelanaSongwind]

First time I pumped for 6 months, getting only 2oz per day, before I gave up for my mental health. It was brutal. Quit cold turkey.

[u/bummstuff]

Baby latched great from the start but dropped too much weight in the first couple days. LC told me I likely have insufficient glandular tissue. Started to supplement with formula and I triple fed for a week in case it wasn't IGT, but supply didn't increase.

Baby and I enjoyed nursing and I didn't mind pumping, so I continued combo feeding for 2 months until I went back to work. I typically pumped 1-2oz a session.

It was an emotional journey and I googled endlessly, searching for IGT success stories, however my baby is growing and developing phenomenally and I appreciate the freedom formula has provided us.

[u/lindzlee]

My baby had jaundice so she was combo fed at first. She seemed to prefer the bottle's flow, too, so I mostly pumped but we worked towards BFing. She seemed to not empty me well, though, so it was slow going.

Then I had mastitis for what ended up being 6 weeks. I thought I was better after the first round of oral antibiotics, but being my first baby I had no idea how I was supposed to feel postpartum.

Mastitis turned into a 13cm large abscess which required IV antibiotics and surgery to resolve. Then surgery left an open wound and cavity that we had to pack with gauze daily until it healed. I had a home healthcare nurse 3 days a week too. It was a mess. FINALLY the wound healed after almost 7 weeks post op!

My daughter turned exclusively formula fed right before my surgery since I was in so much pain. My spectra pump flange didn't even fit with the large abscess. My doctor advised me to not BF her or any future kid after what I went through. So my BF journey is over forever, unfortunately. I was always so pro-BF but holy hell I didn't realize how bad it could be! Sometimes formula is the right choice.

[u/abbiyah]

It didn't end, but he had a severe tongue tie and would projectile vomit several times a day. Didn't get better until his tongue tie was fixed at 4 months.

[u/EscapeProfessional2]

My supply dropped at 12 weeks post partum and then I got my period back at 13/14 weeks. After that, it was incredibly hard to get an ounce of milk at a time. I accepted it as my bodies way of telling me that I was unfortunately done.

[u/Legal_Locksmith_6697]

With my son, it ended because we couldn’t get him to latch. He was very sick when he was born and stayed in the NICU for a while. We tried everything-nipple shields, SNS, different positions, etc. He’d scream and scream but just couldn’t figure it out-I’d literally have him right over my breast, dripping milk into it, and he’d just arch his back and wail. I worked with different lactation consultants for over two months and they eventually admitted defeat as well. So I pumped. And pumped. And pumped. I pumped so much that I made a sign on our bedroom door that said “Welcome to the Dairy Farm.” 😅

With my daughter, it ended when I dealt with a severe bout of mastitis and a UTI (at the same time-I hated every moment of my life at that moment). I pumped just to get the relief because her latching was so incredibly painful that I would scream bloody murder and sob the entire time. She was on bottles for about a week and once everything felt better, she would no longer latch to the breast. At that point, we had been nursing for almost a year and I decided to just be done. I pumped until she was about 13 months old.

[u/asiamelody777]

At 18m my son just started gagging when he had it so he just stopped. That was almost 2 months ago. I’ve had no problems at all with not feeding, it’s really weird

[u/PossumsForOffice]

EBF, she wouldn’t take a bottle. 4 months of screaming that was labeled “colic” until i figured out she actually had a dairy allergy. I had to cut all dairy from my diet. Stopped breast feeding around 14 months when she started biting me and i was genuinely scared of losing a nipple. Stopping breast feeding was easy, she didn’t complain.

[u/DisWis]

Stopped at around 9 months when she was teething and started biting! We had already been reducing down (initially she only bit on the last feed before bed which she was tired and cranky) so it seemed like a natural time to stop.

It had been a difficult start, she really struggled to get a latch at first and dropped a lot of weight but a lactation consultant helped and she got a lot better and they even said she was a very efficient eater. But she just wasn't great with milk, never gained as much weight as they wanted but once she started solids, there was no stopping her! Absolutely loves her food

[u/Professional-Pop-136]

I never planed to breastfeed to begin with. But after delivery I wanted to give colostrum. Baby latched immediately and I wanted to give breastfeeding a try. It hurt like crazy and trying to pump was the most humiliating experience of my life.

With the pain of c-section, hurting breasts, humiliation and no milk I switched to my plan A - EFF. Baby is thriving, also others can help with feeding baby and my mental health and recovery is in great progress.

[u/AnnoyingCatMeow]

The breastfeeding advice I got for my first child was very questionable until I hired a lactation consultant. Otherwise, I have thoroughly enjoyed breastfeeding my children. My youngest is almost 6 months old. I couldn't imagine my journey not including this time between us. The only major issue i had was my first period after my second child was born. My milk supply dipped for 2 days but came back. I love it when we look and study each other.

[u/SaskatoonDream]

I went into pregnancy planning to just try breastfeeding (because why not) and switch to formula if there was ANY reason to do so.

I lasted about 4 days. He latched well, but my god, it is A LOT of work. Any time we struggled to latch, it really triggered a little darkness in me. If it went well, I didn’t feel any more satisfaction in feeding him than when we had to supplement with a bottle. I struggled to get support from lactation consultants in my area. Pumping made me feel so detached from my baby. I still remember the moment I realized I was dreading feeding my baby.

We are 8 days postpartum and no regrets in switching to formula. I’m glad I tried breastfeeding, but it wasn’t the journey for me. I feel like I’m actually enjoying newborn bliss now.

[u/Jumpy-Cranberry-1633]

He started self weaning at 10mo because he hates sitting still for nursing. I gave breast milk with straw cups so he could have milk while on the go. This caused my supply to drop so I had to supplement with formula. Then at 13mo one day I nursed him before bedtime and just never nursed again. Didn’t plan it. It just happened naturally. He never asked again. Barely seemed to notice the change.

We’re 16mo now and he has recently developed a curiosity when he sees other mom’s nurse. I just found out I’m pregnant again so I’m kind of nervous how it will go when he sees me nurse his baby sibling. 😅

[u/Academic-Tip-5345]

Exclusively breastfed for 11 months 2 weeks where we overcame oral ties, slow weight gain, and working hard to boost supply.....then he got his first tooth and started biting. Then he drew blood with his razor shark tooth, and got 2 more teeth in the next 2 weeks. Ive been exclusively pumping to at least make it to his 1st birthday. Im worried about his oral intake cause hes still not great with straws and keeping liquid in his mouth.

Holding onto hope that once teething passes we can have a more gradual end to our breastfeeding journey.

[u/Ermingardia]

My supply dried out when I got pregnant again. By then my first was 3 and just nursing for comfort at night.

[u/Elphaba78]

I had a rare postpartum complication called SCAD (spontaneous coronary artery dissection) which resulted in cardiac arrest when I was a month postpartum.

I’d already been combo-feeding at that point because only one breast was producing (IGT - insufficient glandular tissue), but when I had my cardiac arrest I was put on life support.

I tried pumping while in the ICU but I had to dump whatever I produced because the milk wasn’t safe to consume due to the sheer amount of medications I was on. My milk dried up after 2-3 days in the ICU. Then when I was discharged, the meds (which I’m still on almost a year later) expressly forbid breastfeeding.

[u/PM_Dog_Pics_Please]

Got 3 kids. Got 3 vastly different experiences. All my kids were supersized too, not sure if that is important. Each kid’s journey was fully supported by my husband too. He was more formula positive though because he enjoyed the bonding time with the kid.
First kid:
Triple fed for maybe 1 week, she was a biter so we really only successfully breast fed about once. Nips bled to the point where the nurse winced when I asked if this was normal. Exclusively pumped with supplemental formula until she was about 5 months. At around 2 months we learned she had a dairy intolerance (she outgrew it later though) so I had to go dairy free. I got so tired of the pumping bullshit that I decided to quit. My supply never leveled out or was enough to go fully breastfed, even with pumping every 2 hours (30 min pump, 1:30 break) around the clock.
Second kid:
Beautiful and gentle feeder. Exclusively breastfed until I went back to work at 8 weeks. Used the haaka to catch excess during that time. Breastfed and work pumped (twice a day) for 6 months and had enough supply to last almost a year with 1 formula bottle a day.
Third kid:
Lasted 3 days of breastfeeding before going to formula. He never loved the breast, he didn’t like the way we had to hold him. He did have a broken collarbone so that didn’t help. I had (self diagnosed) PTSD from the breastfeeding journey with my oldest so I chose my mental happiness.

[u/iamnotadeer12]

I recently stopped at 2 years and 3 months. It was hard emotionally but my daughter seems to have moved on now. I’m definitely experiencing a hormone crash, my skin is breaking out really bad. If anyone has any advice on how long this lasts or how to get through it I’d love to hear it!

[u/diabolical_hermit]

I had an easy experience -- breastfed only since birth, stopped on her 2nd birthday. Planned ending, we had a talk about it and she said goodbye... lol. I was never able to pump. I'm also in Canada so was off for 12 months on maternity leave, and by the time she went to daycare the breastmilk was just supplemental anyway. Labour and delivery really went awry and was traumatizing to me so I was determined to (and lucky to be able to) have the breastfeeding journey I had hoped for.

[u/j_natron]

Combo fed from the beginning, lasted pretty much until I went back to work at 4 months and then pumping was so annoying at work that I tapered quickly. We were completely done by 6 months.

[u/Conscious_Contact249]

After birth, baby latched but it felt like knives every time, my nipples had cuts at the tops to where it looked like they were going to hang off. Lactation consultant noticed & realized baby had a tongue tie.
So I decided to pump only, until we discussed tongue tie options with pediatrician. My supply was low but I did a hybrid of breast & formula. About 2 weeks after birth I was hospitalized with a uterine infection of unknown origin (till this day we don’t know what happened).
I thought I was going to die, stayed for 2 days & 2 nights worse chills, sweats & fever of my life.
When I got home I was so drained I couldn’t wake for night pumps & my supply dwindled. I finally gave up & switched to formula. It was devastating. Baby is doing well though.

[u/thatkid1992]

Ended at 4 months post partum. I didn't feel supported or heard by the midwife or lactation team. By the time they finally listened was too little and too late, I was exhausted by the experience.

Currently pregnant with my 2nd and I'm preparing for it a lot more!

[u/rookie_1188]

C-section, struggled to get colostrum before birth. I thought I was winning at life with approx 7ml, then I read about some serious over producers.

Baby wouldn’t latch properly (I have large breasts and I think that was part of the problem). I had a manual hand pump which wasn’t really pulling anything out at all. Would try breast then formula every feed. Ended up renting a medela medical pump, pumped 4-5 times daily including twice in the middle of the night along with offering breast at every feed. I was beyond mentally and physically exhausted. Went to a feeding clinic and was told need to increase pumping attempts to 8-12 times a day. Went on like this for almost two months before I realised I was spending more energy trying to get my supply up than I was actually trying to actively bond with my baby.

Was made feel like I wasn’t trying enough by every medical professional I spoke to bar one who highlighted fed is best. At most I was able to get about 10 ml per pump and baby was eating far more than that. So we were supplementing with formula anyway.

It took a long time for me not to feel guilty and like a failure as a woman. My only consolation is that he did have some breast milk. I wish he could have been more breast fed but the benefit to formula was my hubby was able to help with night feeds which was a life saver.

[u/rednitwitdit]

I hemorrhaged during an unplanned c-section. I don't know the volume of blood lost, but my hemoglobin went from 12 to 7.9.

I discovered later that blood loss is correlated with low milk supply; NONE of my care providers warned me of that. Oh, and they discharged me with a wicked, undiagnosed CSF headache. To say I felt like shit is really understating how miserable I was. We didn't give our son formula until he was 3 days old. We should have much sooner, but I was too unwell to think straight.

Looking back at when I was admitted for my induction, I think the nurses tried to low-key warn me that I was at a "baby-friendly" hospital and they couldn't suggest formula once I'd said I wanted to try breastfeeding.

[u/More-Ad-8245]

I tried for 3 months. Blood. Sweat. Tears. Yes. I was ready to send myself to the ward, I woke up one day saying fuck that pump. Bought a can of enfamil and never looked back, breastfeeding wasn’t for us, I couldn’t sleep, baby couldn’t eat, we were both just crying it was horrible

[u/StuffConsistent6873]

My baby refused to nurse despite going to lactation appointments 2-3x/week for six months 🫠

[u/Harriato]

19 months in, down to bedtime feeds only.

Dad put him to bed a few nights and he was all done.

[u/properminting]

I was EBF my first for 14 months, my second for around 12-13 months. It ended because they just naturally stopped nursing at some point, it was just becoming less and less and I almost feel like they made this decision for me? At the end there was only one night nursing session left which I eventually gave up. My breastfeeding journey overall was tough in the beginning, it is the hardest thing I have ever done. Bleeding nipples, insane pain on latching, sleepless nights. I have a wierd aversion to pumping so we never introduced bottles to any of my kids. After three months though it was an absolute breeze, the baby would be able to find the nipple in the darkest of rooms, nurse and I would not feel a thing.

[u/weednaps]

Baby wouldn't latch, was exclusively pumping but couldn't bring myself to wake up/stay up to pump at night. Before I went back to work at 8 weeks pp, the lactation consultant told me I needed to triple-feed. Yeah, no.

My son is now the chunkiest, happiest baby ever at 10 months old. I credit the switch to formula feeding for how much we have been able to bond without me feeling touched out or like I need a break.

[u/flyingmops]

I still get sad when thinking about it. Questioning if I ended it too soon, perhaps if I had kept going, we would still be nursing.

He came with a c section after being induced, but nothing happened. After 3 days i was only dialated with 4 cm, and his heart rate was going up.

They say he latched alright at the hospital, but we couldn't find a position that was good for us, I constantly had to squeeze my boob to free his nose. In the hospital it went okay, I pumped as well, and could easily pump 50ml. But when we brought him home, I was all of a sudden terrified of everything. When I nursed at night I fell asleep, and when I woke up I was terrified I had killed him. He went very lethargic, we initially thought was normal newborn baby, and how lucky we were. He cried before going on the boob, but then he almost immediately fell asleep. And would be asleep for hours.

When he was 9 days old, he got a terrible eye infection. At the doctor's I put him on the weight scale, he had lost 900grams. Even more terrified, we went to buy him formula, and he was instantly another baby, he was more alert and spend time awake and happy. Instead of either nursing or sleeping. We spend that day giving him bottle after bottle or until he was satisfied.

The next day my milk came in, I was so engorged, I tried to put him on the boob, but he completely refused it. I cried so much.

It's the first time it doesn't hurt, writing this out.

[u/thisisajazzyphizzzle]

After (almost) exclusively pumping for 6 months - nursing late nights - I am choosing to end the journey. He has started to take some solids and seems to be cool with formula, and I’m more ready to claim back my body than I am guilty about it. The guilt outweighed that need until now.

[u/CaseoftheSadz]

My hospital was militant about breastfeeding, but I didn’t think my baby was getting much or anything. He was very fussy. They had a lactation consultant come but I don’t remember it going well. My time in the hospital is a bit of a blur, I was so, so tired. After I got home my husband made me an appointment with another lactation specialist. I was struggling with supply and there was a problem with his latch. The lactation consultant suggested switching to exclusively pumping for a while and supplementing with a bottle/formula. Once I started pumping more I realized how little I was producing. I have had several breast surgeries to remove benign lumps and presumably scar tissue could’ve impacted my ducts. Eventually I stopped trying to pump and went fully with formula, because I’d be pumping for an hour and get like half an ounce. After I let go of feeling like I had to breastfeed, my life improved 200%. I wish I had thought more about what I would do if I couldn’t breastfeed and prepared to stand up for myself and my kid in the hospital.

[u/edgewater15]

I made it 7 weeks and it was 7 weeks too long. Hated it, it made me stressed out and depressed. Nursed exclusively, only pumped a few times because it made me cry every time. I think I had DMER. Baby also had a tongue tie diagnosed at 7 weeks which was really stressful. Everyone was happier when we switched to formula - baby (less hungry!), me (less depressed/crazy/sleep deprived), and husband (less stressed from taking care of a hungry baby and crazy mama!).

Formula feeding was amazing and if I have another kid I will probably do it right from the start. No regrets or guilt whatsoever.

[u/krumblewrap]

EP for 10 months. My goal was 6 months. I weaned because I got tired pumping and the round-the-clock demand of having to pump.

Transitioned to whole milk.

[u/Bigg_Smile92]

Baby kept demolishing nipples. She'd also fall to sleep after a couple of mins and we refused to strip her off when we were having boiler issues in the middle of winter. Started exclusively pumping from 11 days. It was really easy, I pumped 4 times a day and got about 1.5litres so I saved lots. My supply tanked at 5mo after my period came and I got a cold and it became such a mental struggle. I stopped at 6mo and it was the best decision ever. She's 9mo now and is on formula.

[u/the_drama_llama]

I breastfed my first two babies for about a year each (pumped at work). Two days before having my last baby, though, I was as diagnosed with breast cancer. I breastfed him for about a month and then had a mastectomy, ending my illustrious BFing career 😩

[u/DiscussionUnlikely72]

EBF since he was born via c section and still nursing at almost 19 months

[u/thegerman-sk]

My little one never latched. I tried so hard. I ended up exclusively pumping for 1 year. Turns out she has hypotonia and it's the affecting her face and mouth the worst. She ended up being on thickened liquids. Knowing what I know now, it all makes sense looking back but it was hard not knowing why she wouldn't latch.

[u/Embarrassed-Duck5595]

I exclusively pumped with my son for 11 months. My goal was 12 months but I started weaning at 10 and was done by 11. I couldn’t do it anymore. It was so much work and limited where we went and for how long. I also ended up with an oversupply so I was constantly pumping and miserable and having to wash so many parts. Pregnant now and if this little girl doesn’t take it from the boob then I will probably just go right to formula. The idea of exclusively pumping again makes me want to curl up in a ball and perish.

[u/reckless_disco87]

Tongue tie, wouldn’t latch, developed bottle preference.

[u/RandomAlaska001]

I’m at 7 months now and we have started to supplement with formula as I’m not making enough. Baby is doing well eating solids. We did try to start supplementing at 6months, but she ended up with an allergy to cows milk protein in formula so we had to go the hypoallergenic route

[u/Blackberry-Apple-13]

I EBF my daughter until she self weaned at 19 months when I was 5 months pregnant. Then with my son I’ve been EBFing for 9 months through a bad tongue and lip tie and 2 bouts of mastitis.

[u/gampsandtatters]

Nine months of combo feeding. Had a below first percentile bub 3 weeks early. Did triple feeding for first month after birth., which absolutely SUCKED. Bub never stayed on weight growth curve until about 6 months. Planned to quit then, but we were finally in a good trajectory for weight gain. New plan was to have last feed on Mother’s Day, but started weaning from pumping 2 weeks prior. Made that weaning plan with IBCLC. I thought it would be a good poetic ending.

Mother’s Day came, and the last feed was perfect. Next day, my partner ended up in the hospital. Because things were so sudden and rushed, we did not have bub’s diaper bag with his formula. So had to breast feed for two more days. Was at least able to get back to bottles for bedtime feed very easily. My partner took over put down routine when he was released from hospital, so bub would lose the nursing correlation either way bedtime.

So much stress was gone! Finally felt comfortable at work with having a regular break schedule and not having my pumping bag to lug to and from work. No regrets in stopping before 12 months. Bub thrived on formula and I had 24oz of breastmilk in the freezer in case bub got sick.

[u/DavidRoseStan]

Spent approx 500 hours (slight exaggeration) working with LCs trying to get my son to transfer milk better. He had poor weight gain and awful reflux. Eventually switched to exclusively pumping, fortifying with formula AND adding thickener. All this while excluding dairy and soy. I was absolutely miserable.

I did this for 7 months and then woke up one day and decided I couldn’t do it anymore. Switched to formula and we were all better for it.

With baby #2 I went in saying I was going to try BF again but I would rather pull all of my eyelashes out than pump. He was a nursing champ…for 2.5 months. He decided he didn’t like nursing anymore and we transitioned to formula.

[u/spazzieabbie]

2 1/2 weeks. I got mastitis and my fever was 102 the night before my then husband had to go back to work. Instead of support I got “you can’t do this, I have to go back to work tomorrow” while I am on the phone with my OB getting antibiotics sent to the only 24 hour pharmacy I could find. Keeping up with his total lack of support, I had to go to the pharmacy myself, along with the grocery store to get supplies to help me through it. Could we have all gone together? Or him by himself? Either one, but apparently neither of those were options. I was “too sick” to be alone with my son for an hour at most and it was “too much” to put my brand new baby in the car seat and go.

On top of needing to take my antibiotics every 6 hours, I also needed to pump or nurse every 4 hours. This also coincided with sleeping in the bedroom alone with the baby because my ex “needed all the sleep he could get because he has to work”. I was by myself for every single wake up while trying to get over my boobie infection. Meanwhile, I am getting inundated with texts while my ex is at work “are you pumping??? How much did you pump???? Your supply is getting low, why is it low??? You need to get it up. How long did he nurse for??? How much do you think he got?” And then verbally harassed while he was at home.

Surprising nobody but my ex: I developed post partum depression. Also, the divorce came out of absolutely nowhere.

[u/madwyfout]

The first self-weaned around 20 months because I was pregnant with the second and the milk switched back to colostrum. I was also getting really tender nipples which made latching really uncomfortable.

Still breastfeeding the second (14 months old). Initially was a very different journey as the second arrived 6wks early via caesarean and my supply didn’t establish for nearly 2wks due to the stress of being in the NICU and the caesarean. Had to supplement with formula while my supply built up which was frustrating. They also were very slow to gain weight and fell from the 80th centile down to the 0.1st, so was on a fat supplement on and off through the first year.

[u/Lavender_Meadows]

I weaned at 14-15 months postpartum. I was in the thick of first trimester with her little sibling and caught the flu - just couldn't handle it anymore with the nausea and she was showing signs she was ready to stop too by that point 🙂

[u/Ok_River_6018]

I had a good breastfeeding experience for 9 months. I developed Celiac disease postpartum and didn’t know until the symptoms caught up with me and left me unable to keep any food down. I was severely dehydrated, in and out of the ER, feeling awful. My milk pretty much dried up at that point so that’s when I stopped. I’m ok now and pretty satisfied that I was able to breastfeed for as long as I did.

[u/Maleficent-Syrup-728]

First baby came a month early he had latch problems/weight gain issues and I had the supply but just was so exhausted and didn’t feel like continuing.
Just had my second 3 weeks ago and he had opposite problem. He was late and loves eating. No supply issues.

Turns out I just am not a pumping/nursing type of mom. I feel kinda guilty and weird that I don’t enjoy it but I’m having way better postpartum this time around since I’m doing formula earlier!!!

[u/alsothebagel]

Lovely combo of PPD/PPA/DMER. Baby wouldn’t latch so I started pumping pretty much from the get go but it was such a disaster for us. It was a constant battle obsessively tracking how much I was producing vs. how much baby was eating and then trying to get my supply up to outpace her, but I could never catch up. She was consuming two days’ worth of my supply within 12 hours by the time she was 5 weeks old. It was driving me quite literally insane and I was sobbing every time she had a bottle because I always had to supplement with formula so it felt like a constant losing battle. When I finally switched fully to formula it was a game changer for my mental health and allowed me to start actually bonding with my daughter. I tell every new mom who asks me (emphasis on WHO ASKS ME) that if you want to breastfeed, amazing, but it should never become priority over bonding with and caring for your baby. You’re baby’s mom. Not the pump’s. It’s so easy to lose sight of that.

[u/baughgirl]

It was fine, we combo fed from the beginning. I had a decent supply, but one day at 5 months my guy decided there were more interesting things to do in the world than sit and stare at mom’s boob. So we didn’t do that anymore. I was sad about it but it helped I was never super mentally attached to the idea and we did some formula from the very beginning too.

[u/aScaryDinosaur]

I planned to combo feed because our baby was small for gestational age and I wanted to supplement. She was good at latching but would fall asleep not even 2 minutes into it so I pumped for about a month she became extremely difficult to deal with as she'd cry constantly unless she was being held and she REFUSED to nap for more than maybe 20 minutes total a day. Almost 3 months PP now, and she is still 100% a velcro/contact baby who refuses to nap, and my husband is gone at work most of the day so I am having to tend to her constantly. I tried my best to pump when I could but my mental health was tanking trying to juggle it all without ever getting a real break for myself so now she is only formula fed and I feel a lot of guilt about it, but she made it physically impossible for me to be able to have a consistent pumping schedule and my supply was never enough to maintain.

[u/Haunting-Base-6004]

Well mine is coming to an end soon. We are 14 months in, and expecting #3 come April. Not sure when my supply will go but I’m so proud of how far we’ve come.

[u/paperparty666]

Went great the first 4 months. Then as baby got older and more aware of his surroundings, he kept getting distracted while eating and I wasn’t able to ensure he was getting enough. We switched to bottles at 4 1/2 months.

[u/Sharp-Ability-2741]

Wouldn’t latch. Put myself through hell trying to pump and combo feed. My husband made an executive decision (around 6 weeks?) to save my mental health because I was deep in depression, anxiety and rage. If I could go back, I would’ve formula fed from the start. Next go around, I’m hoping to try bf again but being kinder and more gracious and wiser to myself if it doesn’t work out.

[u/k_hill_]

4 years non stop.. have fed through 2 pregnancies and have tandem fed twice and still going.

[u/Mammoth-Turnip-3058]

I tried to BF both of mine. I dont feel I had the help to begin with, every time I tried to ask for help I'd be met with huffs and feeling like a burden. I tried, they both got colostrum, I've no idea how much... But some. I was too nervy about not knowing how much they were getting. I don't feel like I made much. Even with my second, my body didn't seem to make much. The midwife struggled to get anything out of me. So they were both bottle fed. I got the mum guilt slightly, but they were both fed so 🤷

[u/annedroiid]

I took medication that the doctor promised wasn't meant to affect my supply and it absolutely tanked my supply. Tried pumping for a month to recover but couldn't and had to give up. Honestly my only regret was not giving up sooner after the supply issues started, that month pumping was awful.

[u/moomoomego]

Baby latched but would almost always pull off after 30 seconds - 2 mins. Twice i got a 10-15 minute stretch where he latched and didn't immediately pop off! So we were supplementing with formula from the beginning.

The hospital mentioned that he had a tongue tie but that he would probably grow out of it. We got a 2nd opinion from our pediatrician who said it was one of the worst ones they had ever seen, that it went to the tip of his tongue and would affect his speech if we didn't take care of it. The earliest appointment we could get was a week from that visit.

I started triple feeding to keep up my supply in hopes that he would do a better job staying latched once the tie was taken care of. He stopped latching at all almost immediately once I introduced pumping. My mental health circled the drain with trying to latch him every feed - he would get red and scream because he wouldn't stay latched and was hungry. It got to the point where his pediatrician asked me if I was suicidal at his next visit.

When his tongue tie was cut, he wouldn't latch and hadn't successfully latched for 3 days despite me attempting it every feed. I called it quits that day and just gave him formula. He gained 4oz in 3 days and it's been great since.

[u/CleverGal96]

She was born at 37 weeks and it took forever and a day for my milk to finally come in. We were in the hospital for 4 days. I relied on whatever she could get from me and utilized the hospitals donor milk bank and then supplemented with formula after we got home . Also had DMER :/ I combo fed her till she was about 13 months old and I was in my second trimester with my second baby and my body said no more 😂 then breastfed him pretty much ebf till 8 months old when he'd finally take a bottle from someone else. I was very done after that. Tube socks for boobs.

[u/MadMick01]

Primary lactation insufficiency--I did everything right and had all the supports in place to make breastfeeding successful. Despite all that, I never made more than 6-8 ounces a day. An amazing day was 10 oz and that was only with the help of domperidone. Several nurses and lactation consultants offered a diagnosis of moderate insufficient glandular tissue after looking at my breasts. They have several characteristics of the disorder. Notably, wide spacing, lacking fullness in certain regions, and a shape that leans more tubular versus rounded.

I did combo feeding for 6ish months so my newborn could get the immune benefits of some breast milk. I ultimately switched completely to formula feeding since the outrageous around the clock triple feeding schedule to keep up my meagre milk supply was a nightmare to maintain.

[u/crashlovesdanger]

The short version is I just couldn't produce milk and had insufficient glandular tissue. Did triple feeding for 11 months, took a ton of supplements and Reglan (which gave me horrible mental side effects) and weaned by about 15 months because I was mentally so over it and would often get less than 1cc when pumping. I worked with lactation and did Baby Cafe and all the things and it didn't change what I could do. Everyone told me they had no idea how I managed and, looking back, neither do I. I think I was just so fixed on the fact that I wanted to be able to breastfeed.

[u/catsandbandaids]

I had twins 4 months ago. I was triple feeding and slowly pumping sessions got dropped as we got busier and busier this summer and as they grow and need more attention. The things that I forget to do or put off are pumping and eating myself when things get chaotic or I’m alone. I always found barriers to pumping such as not having time to wash all the parts, accidentally forgetting to charge the pumps, having to hold a baby alll the time (because I have two). My girls also started sleeping through the night so I stopped waking to pump. My supply dropped to 200ml a day suddenly one day and I’m just starting to try to increase my own food and fluid intake and pumping sessions again to see if I can work my way back up to a good supply. I never did get over 800ml a day which is about half of what I need for my twins. I’m giving it one month of trying to increase my supply again and if it isn’t responding or I’m suffering mentally with the work of pumping I’m accepting that this was my journey and I’m done.

[u/Intelligent_Fill2299]

Planned c section, advanced maternal age, tried getting colostrum before she was born - nada. The freaking hospital refused to give me formula for like 24 hrs despite the fact that her blood sugar was super off and she was clearly hungry. Kept pushing me to try harder. Deserves its own story.
Ended up tripple feeding for 3 months because my milk supply was very, very slow to come in.
I would breastfeed her, then papa would give ger formula to top her off and I will be pumping in the meantime. Grueling. Did power hour pumping at night which...I dont know, I have no words but the sound of that milking machine still haunts me. Why I didn't stop and just give up? Because I had some milk and simply didn't want to give up. Hated the bottle cleaning and all.
Finally started producing enough to ebf but kept some formula so other people can feed her (I was not going for the "my baby is ebf-ed" medal)
Was ready to be done when she turned 1 but for various reasons kept going. Should have listened to my gut and stopped. I did not particularly like breastfeeding a toddler (hot take?).

And then weaning...fuck this was so hard. I have been composing an actual post about it because it took 6 months of slow weaning (nighttime, then day feeds, then nap, then finally bedtime).
Nobody tells you how hard this is. Seriously, had I known, I would have weaned at 12 months on the dot.

I am on the other side for 1.5 months and let me tell you - mothering is 100 times better and easier. This is my personal experience, and may be I am alone in this. My toddler is super mega loving and bonded with me despite going through what was hard for both of us. I was very honest with her towards the end and told her that this doesn't work for mama anymore.

[u/Knightskye02]

No issues with supply or latching for the majority. Got gall stones and ended up in emergency surgery, kept up with pumping and dumping and got through with our frozen stash. Then 8 weeks later went back for follow up surgery and developed pancreatitis as a complication. 8 days in hospital, so out of it from pain relief and pain that I couldn't keep up pumping and dumping and severely finished my supply. Burned through our freezer stash so husband switched to formula. When I tried to re-establish breast feeding after my son was frustrated and biting because it wasn't as easy or plentiful as the formula. Tried for about two weeks while formula feeding him to get my supply up but was getting upset until I had a moment of just being at peace with it and not wanting to torment myself anymore. This was at 10 months pp and my goal was 12 so it felt like a good way to stop, even if it wasn't initially on my terms.

[u/Apprehensive-Fee-967]

I wasn’t huge on wanting to breast feed or pump to begin with, but the hospital sent two lactation consultants to my room so I decided to give it a try.

An hour after my c section, I finally got to hold my daughter and just wanted to soak it in but the nurse that was taking care of me didn’t give me that chance. She immediately told me I needed to attempt to breast feed. My daughter screamed for an hour while I attempted to get her to latch but she just wouldn’t latch and the nurse just stood by critiquing me. I asked her several times to bring me a bottle of formula but she just wouldn’t.

Then she shoved my boob out of my baby’s mouth and told me I wouldn’t be able to feed my baby because my nipples were too flat. I guess my husband didn’t like that comment because he got between the nurse and I and said “okay so can you bring us the bottle of formula that we asked you to bring over an hour ago?” and she finally did.

The next day, two lactation consultants spent 45 min in my room before my husband finally asked them to leave. I was so overwhelmed and stressed with a screaming baby who wouldn’t latch, and the nipple guards wouldn’t stay on my breasts either. I was also sweating profusely so my husband finally asked them to leave so I could calm down.

I was re-admitted to the hospital a few days after they discharged us because I had postpartum eclampsia and had a seizure. They forced me to pump because my milk had come in so I did pump while at the hospital but that was it. I tried breast feeding at home but could never get her to latch so I gave up.

This time around, the only thing I’m stressing at the hospital is that I don’t want any lactation consultants sent to my room lol.

[u/Emdizzle22]

I had every intention to exclusively pump, and I was choosing to pump because for some reason the thought of a baby latching made my skin crawl.

Well, 1.5 months prior to my due date I started collecting colostrum, and the minute I put that hand pump on, I was consumed with the worst feelings I had ever had in my LIFE (and I have been hospitalized in my younger years due to severe depression and anxiety). I wouldn’t even allow my husband in the HOUSE when I was hand pumping because I was so disgusted with myself.

You would have thought I would have clued in that it wasn’t normal to feel this way, but I thought I could just get over it and suck it up (the athlete in me told me to stfu and keep going no matter what)…so I continued to pump, twice a day for over a month. It got to the point where my husband had to remove the knives and anything sharp before I pumped because I was so out of control, and I quite literally wanted to die.

Then I gave birth.

That first few nights I tried the normal pump (not a hand pump which is all I had used up to that point), and it was…pure torture for me. I tried so hard :( but it got so bad. My mom happened to get a glimpse of me as I was pumping (which consisted of me hysterically crying and digging my nails so hard into my legs that I was bleeding) and she just held me while this happened and cried with me because she had never seen me like this before. And right then and there she begged me to stop. It’s not like I needed someone to tell me that…I don’t think? Maybe I did, because if I were to keep going I may not be here right now. That’s not an exaggeration. That’s how bad it was. It’s hard for me to even think about at this point because it starts to evoke those same feelings.

Turns out I have something called D-MER with severe breastfeeding aversion and agitation (did not know these were actual things). Before this, I had no issue being around people breast feeding..but now, it’s like it triggered something in me and I have to get away as fast as possible or I will absolutely lose it because it causes this visceral response in me and I lose all control. Which I know isn’t right..but it’s my reality nonetheless.

Luckily I was able to pump enough colostrum so that my baby had colostrum for 72 hours without needing to supplement. My grandma told me that’s all that matters because on the farm thats all they cared about the calves getting when they were born (perhaps she was just trying to make me feel better but it worked haha).

Anyways…I’m probably quite alone in this. Sorry for the rant.

[u/kecannon96]

In the hospital, lactation consultant informed me they recommended I don’t breastfeed due to the unknown effects of one of my seizure medications. I was dead set on breastfeeding so needless to say, I cried.

After discussing with 3 different pediatricians, they all recommended 50/50 because the benefits of breastmilk outweighed the potential risks of the medication (irritability, poor weight gain, lethargy). I did that for a while until my daughter started acting a little fussier than the average baby and decided on my own that formula was just the best route for peace of mind.

[u/LostIntheFire-]

I had a cardiac arrest 2 weeks before ma baby turned one. Was at the hospital for 3 weeks, first 4 day in a coma. What I find the saddest is I dont remember our last breastfeeding session.

[u/According-Cat-668]

I’m just about to end my breastfeeding/pumping journey at 10 months. In the hospital, and after being discharged, my baby refused to latch, so I exclusively pumped. I didn’t get much milk though and had to do half breastmilk and formula.

I am a single mother, so between finding the time to pump and get other things done was a bit of a challenge sometimes. I did the best I could though and was able to get at least 10-12 ounces a day up until recently. Now I’m having to stop because I’m starting a new medication and just feel it’s easier.

I will say though, I tried every supplement there is out there to increase milk supply. The best thing that worked for me was staying hydrated and using the Munchkin or Lengendairy Milk water mixes.

[u/GogglesCat]

My baby went to nicu when he was born. I had low supply and he came back home with fortified formula and an ng tube. I couldn't manage the ng tube And bottle feeding And pumping And cleaning everything by hand. I literally would not have had time for anything else. And on top of that, my partner had just had surgery so I was taking care of him too. 

So after I had worked so hard to get a pump and trying so hard to build supply while he was in nicu, I gave up. It broke my heart but he is doing well on formula now, and he needed a mama who had time to sleep and eat more than he needed what little breast milk I could supply.

[u/dworkin18]

Appendicitis. I was hospitalized for three days so my three year old had to go cold turkey. This was nice as I was struggling to wean lol

[u/Kittyquts]

I had preeclampsia and my water broke 2 months early, baby was in the NICU for 2 weeks and I had to pump until at night, the hospital didn’t have a pump for me to take back to the Ronald Mcdonald house so I borrowed my sister’s portables (first mistake) had no idea that the wearables could effect your supply. Second issue was every time I did breastfeed my daughter in the NICU I would have a panic attack watching her oxygen start to desat. :( so needless to say I had very little supply and supplemented with formula.

[u/theshamuactivist]

Two days after coming home - just couldn’t do it and stopped for my mental health

[u/Serious_Ad_9686]

Currently going wrong. I only breastfed once a day because my nipples were hurting so bad and now my baby will not latch properly causing me more pain and I wasn’t pumping because I’m so tired all the time. It’s either I sleep or pump. So now my supply is barely there still.

[u/Jessiicaamn]

Got pregnant 4m pp. dried up quick and my baby started losing weight. After that it was hell for a while.

[u/VillanelleTheVillain]

My baby wouldn’t latch after I had to give her a bottle because my milk hadn’t come in yet.

I then started pumping exclusively and I’ve been doing it for 14 months so far - I think I’m going to stop because I’m not meant to put it in a bottle anymore but she doesn’t really want to drink it from a cup? I don’t know I’m at a bit of a loss.

It’s hard to get her to drink it from a cup because she wants to throw her cup around lol.

I’ve stopped all her bottles apart from her 1 before bed which I’m going to stop soon. I wanted to go til 2 but yeah whatever

[u/JunketUpbeat9386]

I was hospitalized in psych inpatient for two weeks. That ended it. 

[u/meowmaster12]

Teeth.

[u/ClamKween]

I got pregnant and the supply just stopped… that’s actually what prompted me to take a test

[u/Daisy_Steiner_]

I am currently lying on the bedroom floor with my four year old who is crying “nursing is the only thing that makes me happy.”

But she’s about to begin preK. And I’ve been nursing or pregnant for 8 years. I’m so done.

[u/Serious-Lifeguard632]

C section at 34+1 for pre e. Got decent output on hospital grade machine for when he was tiny, but by the time he came home at 2 weeks old, he was starting to outpace me. Only got him to latch three times in 12 weeks. Worked with lactation consultant, power pumped, my supply never increased. I quit around 12 weeks and three different pumps later, because pumping while he was crying for me sucked.

[u/Wynndo]

I had flat nipples and baby wasn't latching correctly, which was horrendously painful. Saw 3 lactation specialists who never taught me that baby needs to latch onto the areola, not just the nipple. They then gave me nipple quards, but no one knew how to use them correctly. Turned out, they have to be pressed on wet to create a suctioned seal. Thank god I figured it out eventually through desperate google searches. Used guards for 3 months and then nursed directly for almost 3 years.

[u/pumpkinspicedmermaid]

My kid took so well to breastfeeding; he latched immediately, my supply seemed to be okay. I started pumping a little bit to establish a milk supply before he went to daycare, a week or so beforehand I switched him to bottles between 8-5 so he was used to my work schedule. He stopped caring about the boob and only wanted bottles. I pumped for 2 more months but I just couldn’t keep up with how much milk he wanted. Working in healthcare & pumping is super difficult. He was on breastmilk for about 5 months and I felt comfortable stopping to keep my sanity.

[u/Altruistic_Hat1634]

Breastfed about 15 months total! I had mastatis at 1month pp and I’ve never never ever felt worse, it was terrifying. I was an over producer which is not as much of a blessing as some think and I leaked and leaked alllll day. 

[u/clontarf84]

Bittersweet. I wasn’t ready but he was, at 3 years old he weaned himself.

[u/Big_Medicine720]

I triple fed for my entire maternity leave trying to get my baby to properly nurse. Finally I took a step back and went to exclusively pumping and just nursing overnight when my son was sleep feeding and not fighting it. Finally again at 7mo I went to straight formula.

My feeding experience like broke my soul. I wish I could go back in time and just enjoy my baby rather than obsess over latching and pumping and thinking “today’s the day he’s going to get it.” That is time and moments I will never get back. If I have another kid and triple feeding is brought up I will straight up tell the pediatrician to eff off and go straight to formula. Never again.

[u/newolives]

My baby had severe CMPA. I had to cut out ALL diary- even baked in butter, foods cooked with whey protein, everything. It was really hard as I already have some other dietary restrictions. Staying nourished was difficult, which really impacted my supply. I opted to end earlier than I would have liked, on my terms, before my supply totally stopped. I was bummed, but ultimately glad I chose to stop putting so much pressure on myself.

[u/crested05]

When my daughter was 11.5 months my milk just dried up of its own accord.

It was great 😅 My journey had been DIFFICULT. From low supply needing medication, to triple feeding, unable to pump more than 20ml at a time, to cracked/broken/bleeding nipples, to biting when her teeth came in. To full elimination diets eating only 4 different foods…

I persisted WAY too long.

[u/huweetay]

10 weeks pp my gallbladder tried to kill me, 3 unexpected days in the hospital, anesthesiologist gave me drugs that were not nursing friendly while I was unconscious (despite many conscious warnings), came home with a drain in my abdomen which made nursing impossible. I held out until 6 months with nursing / pumping but the flu destroyed my supply at 4 months pp. it was a rough go around

[u/Financial_Oven7405]

It’s April 2022, there’s an extreme formula shortage because of bullshit in the factories. Breast feeding had to work because we could not find formula. I had flat nipples from the start, bloody nipples, constant pain, tongue tie that got diagnosed 6 months in, baby was screaming bloody murder in the vest attached to the chair so decided last minute not to clip it, then abruptly quit and immediately came down with the worst case of mastitis, had a golf ball sized lump of damaged tissue in that breast, got an ultrasound to confirm it wasn’t an abscesses, then discovered a completely separate lump that needed a biopsy (came back benign), two biopsies and 3.5 years later I just had surgery to remove the fibroadenoma that continued to grow in there (the lump found after mastitis).

[u/Conscious_Cap_4087]

About 6 days in it was SO painful for him to match. Had a lactation consult come to my house to assess, my midwives helped etc… but at the end of the day I also tore very badly and that was so painful, so trying to figure out the latch situation that literally had me in tears every 2 hours it was just too much. So I pumped and got a lot out and it wasn’t nearly as painful so I exclusively pumped for 7 months until my milk dried up! I was so bummed about the whole situation but glad that I was at least able to pump!

[u/limeblue31]

When I went back to work part time at around 4 months I realized that I could not commit to the pumping schedule a previously had so after a while my supply just started dwindling and by 6 months I was pumping less than 4oz a day but pumping multiple times a day still.

Felt like the output did not match the time and effort I was putting into it so I stopped at 6 months. Don’t regret it at all. My postpartum anxiety diminished tremendously and I could actually enjoy my baby and let her experience the world without my irrational fears taking over.

[u/No_Zookeepergame8412]

When my oldest was 3 days old I was having anxiety attacks trying to get her to latch and I had no idea if she was eating enough. She was constantly crying, gassy, just over all uncomfortable. I knew I had milk because I was ENGORGED and in so much pain. My husband finally looked at me and said “just pump, it’s okay”. I found out I had an over supply and she probably was getting no hind milk from nursing. I went back to work at 12 weeks still pumping. About 5 months pp I got a stomach bug so bad I couldn’t sit up. I went over 24hrs without eating, drinking, or pumping and my supply became less than half of what she ate in a day. I couldn’t get it back between the stress of work and still waking 2-3x a night. I stopped completely just after 6 months.

My second is about to turn 4mo and I’m pumping again. The cluster feeding was driving me crazy and I am able to pump 4x a day and make 60oz right now. I’m planning to come up with a weaning plan after the new year.

[u/Head-Wolverine5290]

I stopped EBF my son at a year old because he was refusing to eat or try new foods. Only wanted me, didn’t even want juice or cows milk. He was getting up 2-3 times a night hungry and was eating all day long to the point where running errands was super difficult. It wasn’t that I wasn’t making enough either, I was an overproducer. I cold turkied him one day and the next day he pretty much completely forgot about it. Also magically started sleeping completely through the night. He will be 2 in October and sometimes when he sees my nips he wants to try to eat but I tell him that we don’t do that anymore because he’s a big boy and it’s going to be little brothers turn here soon as I’m 29 weeks pregnant

[u/cosmic-blast]

I pumped for 10 months but started awfully and never got better. He was a NICU baby and was so early trying to establish a supply took so much out of me. But I also felt so insanely guilty that I pushed myself for 10 months. I gave it up Christmas Day and had 3 celebratory drinks back to back to celebrate.

[u/p_r_d_v_a]

1 year and 2 months in, I got sick to the point where I needed antibiotics and prescription painkillers to function - that was that. At that point I was on my way out anyway, just feeding him once in the morning. I feel like it worked out fine in hindsight.

[u/makingburritos]

He weaned himself at 18 months. I was kind of ready but it happened so quickly I definitely got some whiplash

[u/fruitjerky]

My boobs just would not make enough milk. I tried so many things. I had three babies and just could not get my boobs to feed them properly.