My Inner Shakti

finding strength in everyday things

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Restaurants
  • Recipes
  • Par’s Picks
  • Privacy Policy

Weaning Off of Exclusive Pumping

written by Parita Leave a Comment

If you want to read more about the early part of my journey and what helped me, check out this post.

This time around I weaned off the pump a little shy of six months. I had a lot of different reasons for doing so, including the fact that I was pumping 3 times a day for 30-60 minutes a piece. The time commitment while juggling an infant, a 4 year old, and a husband with a demanding job was starting to be a lot. Couple that with the fact that my supply started to dip (I’m talking 2 ounces for 45 minutes of pumping towards the end), I just started to question how much longer I could/wanted to go on.

Because I was experienced with pumping and its effect on my mental health, I knew that it wasn’t worth compromising myself. I believe happy mama = happy family, and that meant taking my state of being into consideration.

I was asked on IG to talk about weaning off the pump while pushing away guilt, and I will say it’s hard. To this day I question my decision (even though I know it was the right one for me). The best piece of advice I have is to focus on what you need versus what everyone else did/is doing. If you go down the path of ‘XYZ pumped/breastfed for X long,’ guilt will forever be your sidekick. FED IS BEST and formula is NOT the devil. Your baby needs you to be ok. Period.

With that being said, I was able to fully wean off the pump in 10 or so days. I basically counted back from when I expected my last day to be, and started decreasing the time of my middle session by a few minutes. And then three days later, I started decreasing the time of my 1st and 3rd session by a few minutes. Then I decreased the time of my middle session for a few days, and so forth and so on until I felt like I could go all day without pumping without feeling uncomfortable.

I will say, it was a little surprising and sad to see some milk still leaking through a week after weaning. It made me feel guilty and like a bad mom for stopping. But then I’d actively change the narrative to ‘I’m a great mom for my baby. I love her and am doing what’s best for her by doing what’s best for me.’

I will also say that now that EPing is forever behind me, I feel a sense of freedom. I feel like I can use my time more strategically. I’m not as stressed and reactive and demanding and pushy. I feel like I’m sleeping better, making more time for exercise consistently, etc.

Do I sometimes wish I had continued EPing for a little longer? Sure. But then I take one good look at Mila and see a growing, thriving, beautiful baby who is so excited to see me all day everyday, and all those doubts go away.

Bottom line – listen to your gut and know that any decision you make on behalf of your mental, emotional, and physical health will only serve your baby too.

How We Went About Getting Our 6 Month Old Baby Girl’s Ears Pierced

written by Parita Leave a Comment

What a doozy of a title for a fairly straightforward blog post! After sharing that we got Mila's ears pierced on Instagram, I got a lot of questions about the experience, where we went, how Mila did, etc., so I thought I'd share a quick post about Keep Reading...

Some Weekend Reflections

written by Parita Leave a Comment

Hello hello! It's been a while since I've shared here, but I randomly felt the urge to come on and type something up. I'm still figuring out how all the different things I love fit together (and how to make time for them), but I definitely want to Keep Reading...

Our Family’s Covid-19 Experience + What Helped with Loss of Smell/Taste

written by Parita 2 Comments

After nearly two years of doing everything possible to avoid Covid, it entered our lives/home. Let me start with the punchline - the anticipation of the virus was much worse (for us) than the actual experience of having it. Again, this was our Keep Reading...

Family Dynamics + Social Media

written by Parita Leave a Comment

I got an interesting email the other day from someone who's a long time blog reader. Essentially her question was if my family is as close as we seem on social media. The short answer is yes. But the longer answer is a bit more complicated than Keep Reading...

2021 Reflections

written by Parita Leave a Comment

I know I haven't been sharing here much these past couple of weeks, but I'm changing things up today given we're at the tail end of 2021 and sharing some of my key reflections (borrowing this idea from Brittany of A Healthy Slice of Life!). This Keep Reading...

Hello + Thinking Out Loud

written by Parita Leave a Comment

Hello hello! It's been a minute since I've blogged. It's not that I didn't want to or didn't have time. I've just been exhausted the past week or so. Like I could fall asleep anywhere at any time. I finally felt a rush of energy today, so I thought Keep Reading...

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 190
  • Next Page »
Welcome to My Inner Shakti! This is my little corner of the internet where I explore and share more about the things that give me my inner strength. I hope you stick around! Read More Here...

MIS gives back!

All advertising proceeds from this blog will be donated to a different charity every month!

Subscribe to MIS

Sign up now to receive all the latest from My Inner Shakti straight to your inbox!

Follow me on Feedly!

follow us in feedly

LOVE my blog!

Follow on Bloglovin

Web Hosting

categories

Archives

Top Posts!

  • My Experience with Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Acne Update: Jojoba Oil + Tea Tree Oil
  • How to Crisp Up a Tortilla
  • Mushroom, Onion, and Pepper Curry
  • DIY Diaper Pail
  • The 3 Things I Am Not
  • Marriage Advice for My Little Sister
  • Par’s Picks - 8
  • Diary of a Working Mom - Q&A with Anandi Shah
  • Our Indian Baby Shower!

Follow me on Instagram!

Copyright ©2022, My Inner Shakti. All Rights Reserved. Custom design by Pixel Me Designs