I'd really appreciate some opinions.
My daughter is 4 mo old as of yesterday. I have been exclusively pumping since the day she was born. I used to make just enought to keep up with her and I even had some in storage before her growth spurts. She then starting cleaning me out as soon as I made any and we had to start supplementing with formula to keep up with her appetite. Then, I was pumping every 2.5 hours for 15 minutes, even through the night. She was even sleeping through the night and I would still get up to pump. During month 3, I was in a wedding in Virginia and needed to attend a conference, both requiring lots of travel. I would sit in airport restrooms and pump between flights. I also came down with a bad case of strep and a double ear infection for roughly 10 days. Our family also moved from NE Kansas to Denver, CO. To say the least, it's been a crazy month. Between the traveling, sickness, and the move, my pumping schedule went down from about 7 pumps a day to 4-5. I then started producing only 1-2 ounces per pump, which in no way would satisify my baby.
My mom and my sister were never successful at breastfeeding/pumping and it never lasted more than 2 weeks, so I am proud that I lasted this long. Unfortunately, my husband's side has a history of respiratory problems in infants, so his mom told me to breastfeed as long as I could.
I'm now pumping 3-4 times a day, because I started not producing during some of my pumps when I was 4-5. She only gets 4-5 oz of my milk a day if she's lucky. Should I stop? I start a new job on Dec 3 that requires a long bus commute. Is it too much hassle without much payout?
Thanks. I really appreciate any comments.