Come tell me you went back to work when your baby was 4 months and she still wanted your breast...

[jabuti]

im going back to work, 3 days per week, when my DD will be 4 months old. her dad will give her EBM bottles during the day, and i will BF before and after work. i love BF her and i would be so sad if she likes the bottle better... she has had one bottle per day since birth, and in the last weeks only once in a while. i havent seen any preference over the bottle, but im worried that it could happen when she starts having it more often

any happy stories out there for me?

[Loulee]

damn just posted u a long message and it was lost!
I wouldn't worry if I were you - you're her mummy and she'll love the closeness to you as well as the milk - esp at 4 months i think.

I always have had the opposite problem with babies refusing the bottle - enjoy the independence it gives you and that you're not fretting that you're baby's not having any milk while youre away ( mine used to hold out until i returned!)

[snookie28]

I too went back to work at 4 months and expressed for her daytime feeds until dd was 11 months. She is now 14 months and I bf at bedtime and once during the night. DD accepted the bottle grudgingly but still loved the breast. I used to love feeding her on the couch as soon as i can home from work. It was a special time to catch up on all the cuddles I had missed during the day.

I wouldn't worry that you daughter will prefer the bottle. After all your breast has the advantage of being attached to you

[tissy]

yes

I went back to work fulltime when dd was 4 mths and she bfed till she was nearly 2

[tissy]

she wanted both of them, actually

[prufrock]

Yes - went back when dd was 12 weeks. Started expressing during day but gave it up as it was such a faff - so expressed after am and pm feeds so she could continue on EBM during the days. Post 6 months stopped expressing altogether and she had food and one formula feed during the day, and me at 7am and 7 pm. I did find that at the weekend I couldn't satisfy her during the day and had to top up with EBM even though I was there with eager boobs - but as you are only working 3 days you might find it easier.

Am and pm feeds continued for us until 11 months, when she self weaned

[jetgirl]

I went back 3 days a week when DD was 4 1/2 months old and had exactly the same concerns, but despite her happily taking the bottle at nursery, when she was with me I continued to BF (partly because it's easier, and partly because I felt it helped us to reconnect after I'd been at work). I fed her until she was 14 months old, so you should have no worries

[dresseduptogotrickortreating]

i went back at four months and it made no difference i wold advise wearing dark shirts tommeetippee breast pads and an electric expresser at work i worked in my town so my mum brought lo to me at lunch time so she only had a bottle hear and there

it went fine and i bf til she was 10 and half months

[cmotdibbler]

Went back ft when DS was 4.5 months. Now 17 months and still a boob monster, especially if I have to go away for a few days. Its lovely to come home and collapse on the sofa with him for a nice long feed.
I think he saw the bottle as a way of getting milk, wheras num nums is a drink and a treat in one.

[jabuti]

oh, you lot made me so happy!!!! thank you so much for writing here your stories!!!!

thats what im envisaging for me and my DD, sit on the sofa with her as soon as im back from work

now, now... what was in this long post loulee

[jabuti]

oh, you lot made me so happy!!!! thank you so much for writing here your stories!!!!

thats what im envisaging for me and my DD, sit on the sofa with her as soon as im back from work

now, now... what was in this long post loulee

[florenceuk]

yes - I went back to work when DD was six months, bf until she was 18mths. DD loved formula, EBM, and the bottle, but also the breast (I think she just liked milk!). IME when they are tired and ill, they will always want the breast.

[chipmonkeyPumpkinNorks]

Ds1 and ds2 happily switched between breast and bottles of EBM, fed them for 1 year each.
Ds3 only drank bottles under duress and I bf him till he was 2.6!

[jabuti]

dressedup: thats exactly the pads i have now, i really like them cause they are not so thick and still do the job. and i've been expressing with an electric pump too, havent tried the manual one but probably wouldnt have the patients for.

floren: i have a feeling that thats the case for my DD too, she seems to love milk in any shape (we gave formula before and no reactions to it).

hi chip! saw you in another thread before. thank you for you story too!

[WriggleJiggle]

I went back to work when dd was 7 weeks old, leaving her with dh. She coped remarkably well, bf from 7pm til 7am, and ebm from 7am til 7pm. Stopped working 6 weeks later and went straight back to full time bf. Don't worry, it can work.

[systemsaddict]

This is exactly what I did, went back 3 days a week when ds was 4 1/2 months, exclusively breastfed and had never taken bottle, he coped fine on expressed breastmilk from bottles during the day (at nursery too, so not even with people he knew) - I was lucky to be able to go in and feed at lunchtime but am sure he would have been OK without that too. He settled brilliantly, better than colleagues' children who started nursery at later ages. Weaned to solids gradually from 5 3/4 months and carried on bfing until he self-weaned from that at a year old. He had a dummy at nursery (their suggestion) for comfort sucking as he'd been fed on demand up till that point, had never had one at home but this worked well. Only thing I wish I'd done differently is bought a better breast pump! Next time round I'm getting a super-duper double pump!!

[ScaryScienceT]

I rtw with #1 when he was three months old. I was able to feed him myself at lunchtime for the first few weeks, and I also expressed at work. I expressed again at home when I first fed DS - this is the easiest time to do it as the baby causes the let-down.

Leisurely weekends, and a timely summer holiday kept the supply going well. I finally stopped expressing once solids were established at around 7 months, and kept bf'ing until he was about 2. I never had to use formula, but he started on cows' milk sometime after his first birthday.

[jabuti]

thats nice you two were able to feed during lunch time! my DH might be able to bring her around sometimes, if anything, for my sake [smlie]

she does use a dummy at home, i cant help it, i loved them when i was a baby and it never had any bad effect on me. she loves sucking, good bfer she is.

i have a mini electric one and i only started expressing while feeding her. it is much easier, i agree. but im still very clumsy at it! poor DD, i hope i dont drop the bottle on her head!