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Infant feeding

Ramping down BF to prepare for return to work :( - any advice please?

5 replies

GYo · 01/10/2009 08:06

Hi

Going back to work in December when DD is 9months and she is going to nursery full time from then. I wont be able to express at work (I know I can if I request a room etc but I think that will make things harder than they will be already)but I'd really like to retain a couple of feeds to a) give her some BM immunity and b) have some close time with her.

Practically speaking it will probably have to be the dream feed (if she still needs it by then) and the early morning feed. Possibly the bed time feed but that depends on what happens with work)

If I ramp down to two feeds a day, will my supply produce anything meaningful for her if only been used twice a day?

Also, can anyone tell me roughly how long should I take to drop down from my current 7 feeds a day to 2 feeds a day?

I know Im going to have to bite the bullet and give her formula soon but dont want to until im ready to start the ramp down.

For info, I've been exclusively BFing DD who who is now 6months. We have started BLW but she isnt taking anything meaningful yet so her feeds are still the same quanitity as before weaning.

TIA

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fishie · 01/10/2009 08:10

you can just feed morning and evening and she may not need any formua. lots of babies just don't feed unless their mother is there - i went back to work a few months later than you but carried on bf when i was around and ds was fine with just that.

you might need to express a bit for comfort while your supply adjusts, or your dd may take enough mornig and evening. your supply should be well enough established to cope no problems. going back to work is enough of a stress without worrying about changing feeding patterns.

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BouncingTurtle · 01/10/2009 08:16

GYo - I went back to work when my ds was just under 9 months, and it was full time as well.
He refused point blank to drink EBM or formula from a bottle or a cup, he would drink water though. He managed just find
I also did BLW as well, and he wasn't a big eater either. I did find that when he settled in at nursery he ate quite a bit more at nursery than he did at home.
I always bfed him before dropping him at nursery, and then before setting off back home from nursery I would feed him in the waiting room.
She'll be fine and by now your supply is well established.
I stopped working full time when ds was 14months (for lots of reasons), and he was still bfing then (and still is now!).
You might find you get a bit uncomfortable, I expressed for the first week back at work, but it ended up going down the sink as ds wouldn't touch it, but the week after I didn't have much discomfort or leakage.
Good luck with your return to work

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LoveBeingAMummy · 01/10/2009 08:19

I started to reduce my feeds when DD was just over 6 months, I basically just replaced one feed during the day with a bottle. Kept doing that for a few days, then replced another and so on. I kept the morning a last thing feeds for a while and by 8.5 mths she was off bf altogether. tbh my dd didn't even notice a differnece, in fact this upset me little . but shes been fine and loves her botbots now

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BouncingTurtle · 01/10/2009 08:38

That's where I went wrong Lovebeingamummy - Ds never got a bottle on a regular basis, because I couldn't be arsed with the hassle.
Still turned out okay!

Definitely worth looking at, GYo, if you want your dd to have a bottle at nursery. Or you could try milk from a cup?

I would definitely encourage your dd to have water with meals as well, just to get used to the idea - then if she turns out to be like my ds she won't go thirsty.

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GYo · 02/10/2009 12:48

Thanks for your replies ladies

Fortunately DD is fine taking a bottle of EBM and will even feed it to herself leaving me free to pump which is helpful. We are doing one bottle of EBM a day now.

Ahead of full time nursery in December she is doing 1 day a week to get used to it soon so I will need a solution for those days- if I do EBM, I am going to spend the days without her pumping, which kind of defeats the object! It might be time to start the formula. However im unsure about giving formula, not that there is anything wrong with it but i know it means the start of the end which feels very sad. Having said that, when she takes a bottle I realise just how easy it is, especially compared to trying to BF a wriggling distracted baby!

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