Breastfeeding, Expressing, Weaning onto Solids & Back to Work! Need Guidance from the experienced!

[Broadie]

I'll try and keep this as concise as possible but a little bit of background:

Daughter is now 6.5months. I have breastfed without too many problems since birth. Just before 6 months old I returned back to work. Between 5-5½ months we started first tastes, just before 6 mths she started on simple single foods at lunchtimes and the week I returned back to work she was on the same food as hubby and I blended down 1 meal a day, the 2nd week 2 meals.

She has a fine pallette, enjoys a range of what I would call complex flavours - meals to date include liver, bacon, Onion and sage. She's enjoyed a Port, Pork and cranberry stew, and enjoys natural yogurt (goats and cow) a variety of fruits (pineapple is her favourite) She appears to be coming on leaps and bounds - in the 4 weeks that she has been on 'proper food' The food is starting to get lumpier and she copes well.

The problem is not her its me.

In the past 4 weeks I have returned to work 4 days a week. I have wednesdays off. I express during the day (up to 3 times) and reckon I am now over producing milk because I pump more than she needs 'just in case' she needs more - or my supply decreases. The days I have off, I am uncomfortable and full because I am now breastfeeding on those days and Edie requires less milk than I pump the other 4 days.

Her milk qty seems to be reducing dramtically. I supply the childminder 2 bottles of 260ml (18ozs) she was taking about 400ml in total leaving 120ml over in case of emergency. Now it appears to have dropped to 300ml ish (which is nearly half what I am pumping)

Edie is still waking in the night - but instincts tell me that this is habit - which hubby and I are planning on working eliminating this week, as come her first feed of the day she is not sufficiently hungry enough for milk or breakfast.

She is still fed every 3 hours with lunch and dinner (usually a meat/veg course, fruit and yog for lunch - normally all goes, and a meat/veg course and fruit for dinner - which she has a really good go at).

I am saddened that because I spend less time with Edie that decisions I am trying to make (to direct the childminder) I am working blind. I consider myself to be quite instinctive with my child, I watch her for a while and work out what she needs and react - but at work I am unable to react to whats happening day to day. I am also a first time mother and have been pretty relaxed with her - but am getting less relaxed as I don't know how to respond next.

Hope you all with me so far.

My questions are this:

1. How does the breastfeeding/solids ratio work over the next couple of months - I'm imaginging a see saw in my head with one at either end - I guess that milk is a little bit more that the solids - but when does it level out and then when does solids typically take over - how does this effect b'feeding and number of milk feeds during the day.
   
   
2. typically if edie has reduced down to 400ml a day and now starts to drop even further - can I now start reducing the amount I am pumping so that supply and demand are a little bit more balanced. Do they ever then increase milk feeds.
   
   
3. Is dropping this amount ok for just 4 weeks into weaning onto solids? I thought that we needed to give 1 pint before they turned 1 year - how do you measure this if your breastfeeding.
   
   I guess because I work and I need sleep, decisions I am making also reflect ensuring that she sleeps through as well as I am now at a point where I need to sleep as well.
   
   Sometimes when your in the thick of it you cannot make head nor tail - can anyone give me some advice of how I can marry up breastfeeding, weaning, back to work and expressing together as I want to stay at work, enjoy my child, feel safe in my decisions, continue breastfeeding and offer a wide variety of food thats healthy and nutitrious without making comprimises on my sanity!
   
   Thanks debs

[Seren00]

Hi there
I am no expert but I can tell you what i did in the case of my little one.
My dd was breastf exclusively until 6mo and I went back to work 4 days at 7mo+2. She had her first foods like your LO at about 6m so I guess that makes them similar stages if you see what I mean.
I also worked 4 days. And madam often still woke for one feed in the night at about 0300 but we offered her water instead of breastmilk and she soon didn't bother.
I'll try and answer your questions in order.

1. I started to offer my DD solids before milk for each feed and at first she got a bit upset but gradually would take solids before milk and drink less milk. So our working day was; 0700ish breast feed+cuddle in bed; 0800-0900ish porridge either at home or nursery; 1200lunch - solids first then offer of exp milk; 1330-1430 breast feed(we have a creche on site so I could go over the feed her - v lucky.) 1500 - snack at creche+ more exp milk; 1700ish solids at home then offer milk; 1945: breast again in bed.
   And I would try and follow the same routine on my days off.
   2)I reduced the pumping to once a day very quickly. But this could be because I was still giving her one full feed (lunchtime) at the breast. And I also was an expressing nut so had a vast frozen milk buffet. So maybe you could just pump once at luchtime on your working days and then feed her at the breast on your day off? It sounds like you've got an impressive milk supply so one pumping session a day produce enough? And if your DD does decide she wants more then she can stimulate your breasts to produce it by feeding.
   3)To be honest my DD wouldn't take bottles so I never knew exactly how much she had but it seemed for us that the key was gradually replacing the milk feeds with solids. Eventually she was having water with her meals although she still had three distinct milk feeds (0700; 1330; 1945) until she was at least one. And only gave up the bed-time feed when she was 2+1!!!
   Sorry this is long but I remember vividly how stressful and how viciously organised I had to be. Good luck - Sounds like you're doing a fantastic job
   xx

[beartime]

I'm not experienced, but on kellymom it says that milk should be the main source of nourishment for the first year and to give solids after milk to ensure that, but I don't think everyone agrees on that.

[popsycalindisguise]

Hi there

My ds2 was fully breast fed until 6 months. I did similar to you - started him on solid a few weeks before i went nack to work when he was 6.5 months. I expressed only at lunchtime but also on an evening and when I fed him.

He is 14 months now and I have reduced my hours to 2 days a week and am only now just thinking about leaving him without any milk on the days I work.

To try to answer your questions:
My questions are this:

1. When I first went back, he was 6.5 months and about 3-4 weeks on solids. I left him a mid morning and a mid afternoon bottle of about 6-7 oz each. As his lunhtime and breakfast solids increased, the mid morning feed decreased. By the time he was 9 months, I was probably leaving a 4 oz and a 6oz bottle.
   
   
2. IMO you can start reducing. But you could just keep the excess inthe freezer for emergencies or so that you can have some time away. Also, what about any excess to a 'milk bank'? I dont know the ins and outs of this but there are a few MNers who do this (fastasleep is one). Also when you are at home, and feel full, could you express as you feed? and gradually decrease this?
   
   3)I think it is a pint til the first year, but as ds2 is my second, I have never really worried about amounts :). I knew that if I expressed when he was about 6 months (in place of a feed) I got roughly 6 oz. Feeding and expressing are not really comparable in terms of amounts but it gave me a rough estimate.
   
   I guess because I work and I need sleep, decisions I am making also reflect ensuring that she sleeps through as well as I am now at a point where I need to sleep as well.
   
   
   I am by no means an expert, but have come out of the other side of a fulyl BF til 6 months, weaning, expressing and badly sleeping 14 month expereience! So ask if there is anything at all you need to know :)

[popsycalindisguise]

excuse typnh

[NotQuiteCockney]

I'm not an expert either, but it's possible your DD prefers her milk fresh from the source, so to speak. So she might be cutting down on drinking expressed milk, but feeding more when she's with you, at the start and end of the day, and during the night.

If so, you might be able to cut down on expressing quite a bit.

As others have said, yes, her calorie intake should still be much more milk than solids. What kind of quantities of solids is she having?

(Good to hear she's on your food already, the sooner you do that the better.)

[Broadie]

Sorry Ladies - Thanks for your replies its been useful. Its tricky when your reliant on what the childcarer is giving you as feedback to make decision on how to schedule the milk etc. I feel a bit like a factory and my child is the customer - I am trying to keep up production for today, tommorrow and next week and anticipate her needs.

We decided this week to try her on 4 hourly milk feeds instead of 3 to encourage her to take more at each sitting. This means childcarer is giving mid morning and late afternoon milk feeds - dd is now taking 150-160ml at these 2 feeds - I then express the same amount - and in 2 days my supply has come in line (quite painful yesterday) but a whole lot better today. By going 4 hourly we can neatly fit in 2 solid feeds between and childcarere now giving her tea as well a bit earlier - so its not quite such a mad rush when we get home to get everything done in an hour - how we can sit on the sofa and nurse at our own pace and its much calmer - which means she sleeps much better.

We have also worked on irradicating the 3.30am feed which was habit rather than hunger so that come 6.30am she takes the full feed rather than a snack.

Its hard, I try not to turn to books or websites for too much advice as they all say different things and it often confuses rather than consolidates what you need to do.

So for now we have settled on the following schedule:

6.30am Breastfeed
7.30am Breakfast (she sits at high chair and gums some bread and fruit) finger foods - social event as appose to calorie intake.
10.30am Expressed Milk via bottle
12.30pm Lunch (2 course 1st meat/veg or fish with some carb - rice/potatoe etc, followed by fruit or natural yoghurt or fruit and yog mix)
2.30pm Expressed Milk via bottle
5pm Tea As lunch 2 courses but different flavours
6.30pm Breastfeed
7pm bed

Then I leave her until she wakes - anytime between 11pm and 1am - breastfeed and then back to bed - if she wakes again before 6.30am daddy goes in to resettle.

Its working so far! But then its only been 2 days!

As far as solids she has quite a adventurous pallete. I have for the past 2 weeks been mushing up whatever we have eaten (all home made) she's had liver, bacon onion and sage. Pork and Pork with cranberries, south indian chickpea curry, beef stroganoff, chicken in orange, lazy chicken and rice.

She also has avacadot, papaya, pineapple, mango, apple, apple and cranberries, and mixtures of all of them.

She loves natural yoghurt both cows and goats milk variety.

Her menu today is veg ratatoille and cheese followed by papaya and tea is liver, bacon and onion with sage and rice with a medley of pineapple, apple and mango. She also has 3 finger sticks of white bread that I made in my breadmaker!

I'm just so relieved to have found my way in al of this - its been a bit of a nightmare worrying - but then i'm a mum now and its my job to worry!