Hon, you sound so tense and frantic I just hate to hear it. You're doing fine; most women who give up on breastfeeding do so long before you have, so take it a little easy on yourself. By nearly 6 months, frankly, you should be a well-established nurser. Growth spurts are what we're looking for, even if they're a challenge.

Some women, by the way, cannot pump, so you are way ahead of the game. By the way, you should be drinking some liquid every time you nurse: water, milk, herb tea, etc. (I cringe at the Crystal Light, but you do what you have to).

Remember something for yourself: your worth as a mother will not be measured by how perfectly you breastfed, or kept to a schedule, or whatever. There are no perfect mother and there are no perfect kids. If other people make comments, that's their problem, not your problem. What you do not want to do is to make every else around you, including your own child, tense. You sound like a great person; give yourself a pat on the back and go do something silly. Best wishes.

I can think of one possible reason that she might be going through bottles so fast while with caregivers. When you nurse her, it is more difficult and takes much longer than with a bottle. When she drinks from a bottle there is no resistance or difficulty so she goes through it faster and thinks she needs more. She may even be demanding more and the caregivers get frustrated or don't realize this and give it to her so she runs out more quickly. While I haven't pumped much in the course of feeding my daughter, I made this discovery some time ago. I was trying out different bottles to see how they went while we left her in the care of a friend. I discovered that she quickly drank the contents of the bottle, which would have been enough for her if she had taken it directly from me. However, she was demanding I feed her more so I did with the breast and she was fine, but she didn't nurse as long as she normally would. You may want to encourage her caregivers to give her the bottle as slowly as can be done without too much fuss and see if that helps your supply last longer. When an infant feeds directly from the breast they move their mouth to get the milk to come and then they drink and repeat the process. I don't know if my suggestion will help for sure, but I really hope so. Also, the older she gets and the more efficient at nursing she becomes pumping may get more difficult. Ellemm is right that you have made it farther than most women. You are doing a great job with your daughter so try not to worry so much. I know it's easier said than done since I had my own breastfeeding scare at 9 months with my daughter. Every now and then we need to hear encouraging words from other moms who have been there before us.

Just know, your troubles will help moms like me avoid similar issues ... or at least feel like we're not complete failures!