Pumping Breastmilk-mixing Formula???

Wow! 8-9 sessions is amazing! Well done!

I was faced with a similar situation - pumped exclusively, had a 2 1/2 year old. I was very optimistic at first, but reality set it.

Do what you can, and try not to stress. Pump what you can, within reason, and supplement with formula. No problem.

If you drop a session, your supply will probably drop a little bit. That's just they way it goes, right? I did that. I stayed at 4 to 5 sessions for a couple of months and then switched to 2. I did first thing in the morning and right before bed. I was able to do that for another month or so before I had to admit that I was one grouchy mamma.

I also had to deal with the Mommy Guilt. I really wanted to be able to breast feed my son for at least one year, and I ended up lasting about 4 months! But I saw how much more relaxed I was and how much happier my older son was and realized that this really was what was best for our family.

Do what you can and know that you are an awesome mom!

can I encourage you to try and latch her on again, I didn't have the opportunity to feed off the breast my lasts first 8 weeks because of being hospitalized and issues with latching but by 8 weeks she was a pro eater and I added one feeding a day in on the breast and over the course of 3 weeks she was fully on the breast!

i must add that this is the only child I successfully breastfed so I was by no means a pro

I personally couldn't pump much but your situation sounds just like my sisters. She saw consultants, etc ended up exclusively pumping. Your milk should slow down when you slow down pumping - your body will adjust. 4-5 bottles and some formula sounds like a great plan and honestly I don't see why it wouldn't work unless your little one refuses formula (which is what happened with my sis). I do remember my sister still fed the her baby as if she were BF, alot of skin to skin, etc. to "bond." Don't feel guilty - you need to do what's best for your entire family. Hope it works out for you!!

I never pumped very well. I just didn't get very much so it was extremely dicouraging. I totally stressed myself out and pumped as much as I could to get bottles made and then finally I gave up. I starting making bottles that were half formul and half breast milk. Unfortunately, babies are much better at stimulating the breast to make milk. Your supply might diminish a bit, but maybe you can get her to latch again. Good luck!! Just remember that anything you give her is good, even if it's not a lot!!

I couldn't have pumped that much....so congrats on being so brave about it. I quit pumping at three months or so and just went all breast or nothing because of the hassle.

If your baby is only 7 weeks old...and I know this may be a long shot or maybe you've already tried it, but I suggest it because my youngest had latch problems as well...did you try a nipple shield? They are silicone things you put over your nipple (they remind me of those little rubber "half" balls that you turn inside out and then they pop into the air, because that's how you put it on your nipple.) I had to use one for the first three months of nursing, but after that, my daughter was able to latch perfectly and I am still nursing her at 26 months old!

The shield enabled her to latch when she couldn't onto my nipple alone, and broke whatever adhesions were there so my nipple could be extracted further. I wasn't flat nippled, but they just didn't "stick out" enough and she has a slight tongue tie...not noticeable at all until I tried nursing.

I am so grateful for this product because like I said, it helped me during those first few months and after that, I was able to exclusively nurse her and I am so happy I can.

Just a thought...and congrats on pumping this long!

If you can, I would try to keep it up for another 2-3 weeks if you can. Reason being is 9-12 weeks is when your supply kinda normalizes. At this point your body is most likely still making more than what she needs (assuming your supply is still good). Your body is learning right now how much it needs to make, then it will drop off a little in that time period...so I wouldn't decrease frequency right now or when your supply levels off, it might drop more than you want.

Also I know this is a very hard deciaion to make and once you do it you just want to do it and not look back, but if you haven't seen a LC recently, I would encourage you ti give it another shot (or at least maybe a LLL leader so you won't be out the money). My first son had some developmental delays and was born a few weeks early and couldn't latch properly until about 4 weeks. I had just about resigned myself to EP...was visiting my Mom and she encouraged me to try feeding him directly once a day, and to try seeing these other LCs at a hospital in the town I grew up with who were axquaintances of ours.... And lo and behold...a miracle happened and it finally started working! Good luck to you and I hope it works out for the best for all of you.

Have you tried pumping while you are giving her her bottle that way your not having to stop double time, I'm assuming you stop what your doing to feed her and then to pump aswell. Good luck I'm sure it all seems overwhelming now but in the end it will all be worth it, hope you find what works best for you!

Your body will replace whatever you take out of it. So long as you continue to pump, you will continue to produce milk. It will be fine.