Feeling anxious about going back to work and breastfeeding relationship

[Tillydog2003]

My lb is 9 months old, I have been EBF on demand, started solids at 6 months but he has only recently started to consume anything sufficient.
I am due back to work in 6 weeks, he will be just over 10 months then and I have no clue what to do about nursing him, he will not take a bottle and has never had formula.
He has started drinking water out of a sippy cup with a straw.
He nurses all night long and then sometimes doesn't want his morning feed, he is showing less and less interest in his mid morning feed, I've read that they need a certain amount of milk until they are 1, so do I just go with the flow and nurse him when he asks or should I still be offering at certain times?
I want to continue to nurse him until he is at least 1 but should I be eliminating his day feeds completely before he starts at the childminders and just nurse him morning and night?
Will my milk supply diminish? Will he be getting enough milk?
So many questions! I'm a FTM so I'm really just winging it, any advice/reassurance would be so helpful 😀

[MadeForThis]

My DD was ebf. Took quite well to solids at 6 months. She was 10 months when she started nursery but it was only for a couple of hours.
I let DD dictate how she fed. If she asked for boob she got it. She had 3 regular meals a day. Never sent and milk to nursery just fed before and after.
She's now 12 months and doing full days in nursery. If at home she will breastfeed before her nap(s). She is pretty much moved to one nap. If she's at nursery she gets water and cows milk. They say she sips a bit and plays with the cup.
I have never had any issue with supply. DD is like yours and comfort sucks at night so that probably keeps my supply up.
As she is under one you could try to express and nursery could give her a cup of milk. But as long as she is eating ok and getting enough breast milk over 24 hours I wouldn't worry too much.

[theAntsareMyFriends]

I went back to work with DS was 11 months and worried about it too. I started thinking I should reduce what I fed him and got quite upset about refusing him when he asked for a feed until a very wise person told me to stop worrying about the future until it happened - feed when you can and when you can't you can't.

He adapted fine. When he wasn't with me he didn't ask for milk, ate more and drank water. He fed a bit more in the evening at first to compensate and then just got used to it. I was out of the house for 12 hours (long commute) and he was fine and didn't lose weight.

I didn't express and he didn't have formula so I just fed him when I was there and when I was at work he had to get on with it. Also, my supply was fine. When I had to work a longer day I was a little bit full when I got back but no real problems.

Take a spare top to work in case you leak. I didn't but I've heard of people who do. Friends of mine expressed but I just couldn't be bothered with all that but I think if you want to your work have to accommodate this.

[BotBotticelli]

For balance:both my boys were formula fed and both stopped drinking formula (indeed all milk, as they wouldn't touch cows milk) between 10-11mo.

Health visitor said it was unusual but some babies just aren't that bothered about milk once they're fully weaned onto 3 meals per day with a snack mid morning and afternoon.

I just made sure I gave them a diet full of dairy (milk butter cheese, lots of yoghurt as pudding and cooking with cream etc).

They were both big strapping 91st centile boys at birth who tracked the 91st line through weaning at 5mo and before/after they dropped all their milk feeds at 10/11mo.

What I am trying to say is: they don't NEED mill nutritionally once they're eating food, -/ long as there's lots of dairy in their diet. So don't worry about your LO not getting enough milk - whatever he gets from you will be plenty as long as he is eating a varied diet during the day

[scoobydooagain]

Went back to work PT at 22 weeks and FT at 9 months, carried on BF until over 3 years. I did express at work while PT as 12 hour shifts but dumped the milk, he was absolutely fine and no affect on my supply at all, just go with the flow and relax

[Tillydog2003]

Thanks for the replies, this makes me feel much better. I'm getting stressed about it and I will end up ruining my last few weeks with him. I'm only going back 3 days so I'm lucky really.
He does seem to be reducing his feeds in the day, hasn't asked for his mid morning feed for 2 days now, I was offering but I've stopped now, I'm just going to follow his lead. Guess I'm feeling anxious about my milk supply as I really don't want breastfeeding to end just yet but I know I can't force him either!
I think he may wean himself down to morning and night and although this is making me sad it will be much easier for the transition to daycare

[Caterina99]

Not that it's the same, but to echo what a PP said, my DS was formula fed and by 10 months he was pretty much down to a bottle in the morning and one before bed and he had cows milk or water in a cup during the day.

Several friends seem to manage a morning and bedtime feed and then if they are there during the day then they can nurse, but if not the baby just gets on with it and has cows milk/water instead. Especially if they eat well with plenty of dairy in diet