tik tok i need some advice?????????????????????

[dressedupnowheretogo]

my 22+4 is almostly bf im back at work two and a half days so she has been having ff about 4oz wen im at work but on one of the days i feed half way through and on my 4hr shift i feed immeadiatly b4 and after work

is my supply going haywire but my dd is havig only 1 side at a time and today she has only had a fedd at 3am then a five min suck around 8 then same again 11 then same again 1 then she had a proper feed at 3 then at half five so am i worrying for nothing

do i need to express at work and give ebm rather than formula
work s very sympathetic and will give me as much time ans support re expressing so thoughts and comments much appreciated

and thank you please help me im not prepared to comprimise my dd health over conveience

[mears]

boobylicious - I am not Tiktok either but I would express at work on the full days and give her EBM instead of formula. I 'banked' breastmilk in my freezer by stockpiling on my days off. I just expressed what I could and kept it in the freezer. I repalced what was used by what I expressed at work. Just let your DD feed as often as she wants on your days off - your milk supply should be fine. HTH.

[hunkermunker]

Tiktok is having a break from MN atm, but there are plenty of people around who will be able to help you, or you can try calling one of the bfeeding charity helplines for more suggestions.

I would say that your supply should be well-established enough to manage the two full days you're at work - and the half day it sounds like she's not missing a feed at all.

You also say that she's had a "quick suck" a couples of times today - it can be that babies of this age are very good at bfeeding and get lots of milk in a very short space of time. She may also be more easily distracted at this age, so less likely to feed for long periods of time. Offer her feeds as you would normally - if she is hungry/thirsty she will feed. Offer more frequently on your days off if you're worried about your supply at all, or if she doesn't seem to be feeding long.

You could try expressing at work, especially if they're supportive of you needing to do so. I've expressed at work a fair bit for both boys and I find it comforting to think of them having my milk when I'm away from them - not sure if that would help you at all? You might also find you need to express for comfort on your two full days - I would imagine that once would be enough, but you will know better as and when you try.

I found it quite straightforward to express at work - I had the Avent Isis out and about set with the coolbag and gel packs and used to freeze water the night before in an airtight container (a little lock and lock box from Lakeland, because I knew it wouldn't leak!) so that the bag, pump and milk stayed really cold.

HTH a bit - you're doing really well.

[burstingbug]

hijack alert! How much (roughly) ebm will ds2 need when I go back to work? I'm doing 9.30-16.30 3 days a week, ds2 will have just turned 5mths. He's only had 3 bottles of ebm before (about 3-4ozs) but that was over a month ago so I have no idea what he'd require now. I'm worried I'll have to ff him for the 2 feeds I'd be absent from him.

[dressedupnowheretogo]

thanq for replies from you all

will take what you have said on board and will impliment them on thurs day and expressing as we speak

thank you all

[mears]

burtingbug - all babies are different. At that age I left 6oz bottles. I froze EMB in 4oz and 2oz batches as well incase I needed more. I definitely recommend expressing EBM and storing in the freezer before you go back to work. You can replace it with what you express at work. There is no need to ff if you get organised in advance. HTH.

[burstingbug]

Thanks mears, I really do need to get my butt into gear and start expessing! I'll store it in lots of small qtys and give some to my mother who'll be looking after him.