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Infant feeding

11mo + expressing + cutting down

3 replies

ballroompink · 09/04/2013 21:20

11mo DS has always been bf. I returned to work full time a month and a half ago, and have been expressing milk for him.

He usually has a bf about 6am, one before bed, and a couple in the night (he suffers a lot with teething and has never slept through). I've been expressing 10oz in total for him to have between 6am and 7pm (usually a bottle mid-morning and one mid-afternoon), and have in the past two weeks dropped this down to 8oz as he wasn't drinking it all. He eats very well and drinks water.

I've always had good supply and a strong letdown reflex, but over the past few weeks I've found it harder and harder to get a letdown when expressing at work. If I can get one, I manage to pump the amount I need. This is getting difficult, though. Today, for example, I couldn't get one, and only managed to pump 6oz all day. I'm feeling much less 'full' even after not having fed DS all day as well.

Seeing as he's 11mo I get that this is pretty common. What I want to know is: if I stop being able to pump as much, will he be ok for fluids and the amount of milk he needs for his age? Can I just attempt to start him off drinking milk from a cup ASAP? He has had a bad reaction to cow's milk but is fine with soya milk so we plan to use that. How much water does he need to drink during the day?

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JiltedJohnsJulie · 11/04/2013 09:25

Was going to suggest just giving him cows milk from a cup at that age. If its just for 2 feeds and he's 11 months it would be fine. However if he's had a bad reaction, ave you seen your GP or a Paed? According to allergy uk soya formula abs soya milk should only be given on the advice of a doctor (I think) although you might want to check that one out yourself.

I'd ring one of the bfing helplines and talk to a BFC about expressing and your options and then talk to your GP about allergy trusting for Lo.

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JiltedJohnsJulie · 11/04/2013 19:07

Did you manage to call one of the helplines pink?

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ballroompink · 15/04/2013 20:21

No I haven't yet! I'm going to make an appointment for him to get this reaction to cow's milk checked out as I'd like to know what's going on before it gets to the stage where he technically doesn't need breast milk or formula.