Pump or introduce Formula?

[Adelheid]

I'm wondering what you do if your milk supply drops because you have stopped NF? I just successfully completed night #3 of no NF but found that I didn't have as much milk to pump this morning. After his first morning feed, I usually pump for that evening's DF. I have discovered that he will drink 7.5oz at DF so, I have to pump twice a day now. He has also transitioned to a 3.5hr EAS nicely, so I am not feeding as often.
In order to keep the DF up with BM, do I just keep pumping away throughout out the day, or should I consider introducing one bottle of formula at night? I'm loathed to pump more than twice a day. MY DH likes to do the dream feed, hence why I pump (and I get to enjoy a nice glass of wine!)
Oh and my LO is 5.5 months old. He sttn three nights ago which is why I decided to officially make that the first night of sleep training him...

[Honeymonster]

Congratulations on ur LO STTN :-) mine is the same ages and still waking once or twice. Just out of nosey ness can I ask what ur routine is like just now. ? How many naps and how long a time?

Anyway about your question.. The couple of times randomly that my LO has STTN (not often) then with single side feeding etc. it has meant sometimes my milk supply feels like it's gone down. Also when I very first moved from a 3-4hr feeding schedule I had a drop too as it was quite a long time between feeds. What I did was always pumped from whichever side LO didn't feed off in the morning and also for a couple of days pumped a little bit after a feed too (only did this for a day or two to boost supply) I found that although it had dropped a little bit from the sudden change they soon got used to the fact that they needed to make more milk when I was pumping. Also drink loads of water yourself too. I really think if you keep pumping at that same time you usually do in the morning, but pump a couple of mins after you dry up then withing a couple of days your body should know it need to make more milk again? This is just from my own experience so not sure if it's helpful, also the fact tha ur LO has slept through and you've not gotten up in the night.. Could this mean you've not drank water when u usually would? I find dehydration really affects my supply so be sure to have a big drink before bed,  x

[*Ali*]

It's a very personal choice whether to introduce formula or no so I think only you can make that decision.

As pp says I'd keep pumping for a few days and hope supply catches up.

[Adelheid]

Honeymonster... I should say he doesnt sleep through the night without waking up. He just doesnt eat anymore at night. Until recently he was a habitual waker at 3am, so I set my alarm for 2:15am, go to his bed and change his position in bed. So far, that part has worked though he has been waking up other times but can be settled back to sleep fairly easily.

He's on a 3.5 hr EAS now which seems to work a LOT better than the 3hr routine for him. Soon, I'll move to the 4hr

E 7:00
S 9:30-10:30
E 10:30
S 1:00-2:00
E 2:00
S 4:30-5:30
E 5:30
E 7:00
BT 7:30
DF 10:30

He's usually fast asleep at the 2.5hr mark. I start aiming for sleep 15min before. His total sleep during the day is about 3 hrs. Seems to give me an 1.5 nap in the morning and the next two are 45min- 1hr long. No catnap for him unless every nap was 45min than I shoot for a catnap.
I think that already a 4hr easy would be easy to implement because sometimes he sleeps longer and its 4hrs since his last feeding.

[weaver]

I would definitely allow a few days for supply to readjust, as pps says, if you keep pumping around the same time, your body will learn to produce at that time.

On a side note, when we went to 4 hr EASY, I notice mine needed a bit of a 'snack' during the 4 hours.  So, feed on WU, and then maybe 30 mins before nap time, a small feed.  Definitely good for supply

[eva026]

I personally wouldn't pump on and off throughout the day but choose 2x when you always plan to pump for your DF bottle. That way you teach your body that those are the times when more milk is needed. You can try pump, take a break of 5-10 min, then pump again, break pump. to simulate a GS and hopefully try get your body to produce more.
I also swear by fenugreek, it saved my life:)

[Adelheid]

What do I do if I can't seem to pump enough? I have been pumping after first feed and at the end of the day. But, today I forgot to pump in the morning so I am trying to play catch up (I usually pump about 5oz in the morning and 3oz at night for the DF).
In this case, would I just feed him the little that I was able to pump and hope its enough to sttn? Or do I add formula to the bottle?

[*Ali*]

Are you willing to use formula? I wasn't so I would have just given what I had and dealt with any NFs that resulted.
If you are happy to use formula then do that. It is a personal choice really.
I assume you don't have a frozen stash at all to make up the short fall?

[weaver]

Another option would be to let DH feel him the bottle and then offer the breast.

[eva026]

Have you tried pumping on and off? When I had a supply dip it would take me about an hour of pumping till empty every 10 min to collect enough. It's a pain but it does work.
Also, like I mentioned before, fenugreek, fenugreek:) In my case I saw a big difference within 24h of taking it.

[ewabear]

I agree with Ali, I have chosen to BF and have never given formula. If you want to use it bear in mind that your milk supply can reduce even further. LO is almost 6 months old and will be starting solids soon so you will be able to get rid of DF anyway. I wouldn't pump at all if I was you and maybe try to bring DF a little bit earlier, feed him yourself and you can enjoy your glass of wine after. As per hubby enjoying DF, In couple of weeks he can feed LO solids, is this a compromise?

[Adelheid]

Well, I decided to do formula for DF!  I seem to be having to top Baby off in-between feeds,  so pumping is not an option. Plus... kinda hoping Aunt Flo finally pays me a visit..... Looking to get going on #2.

[Honeymonster]

your keen going for nO 2 :-) my lo is same age and right now i cant imagine trying to cope with her and a newborn! id love 2 though so i will def do it in time - hows it been going? x

[Adelheid]

No period yet.
I know most moms would NOT want to go through the whole pregnancy thing again so soon. But, I dream of a house full of kids, adopted and natural, and so I'll avoid thinking about the many sleepless nights that part of the package. Plus, it helps that DH is head-over-heels in love with baby!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

It took a good couple of months after completely stopping bf for af to return the first two times, but after DD3 it returned while I was still bf so you never know.

[Martini~]

Just wanted to add that I had the same situation and also decided to give formula. Only for DF and only partially as I was still pumping at around 10pm.