Back to work and still breast feeding - I don’t know what to do!

[Rix81]

Hello mums, just wondered if anyone could please give me some sound advice. I’m feeling a bit desperate and not sure what to do.

My LO is almost 7 months and has been EBF since birth. I started weaning at almost 5 months and continued breast feeding as normal. She has 3 meals a day and roughly 6 feeds a day (every 3 hrs) and sleeps mostly through the night waking only once for a feed usually between 3-6 am.

MY PROBLEM: I am going back to work in 2 weeks and I have been trying and failing to introduce a bottle for 3 months now. I try a bottle once a day everyday and sometimes she take 1 or 2 oz’s and some days refuses point blank. It has to be done in a bouncing chair faced away from me while she’s watching TV to distract her (it’s ridiculous I know but I am so desperate!). Sometimes she’ll accept milk in a sippy cup but not always, so basically she doesn’t accept milk in any way accept from breast.

She’s going to a childminder on Jan 6 and I know she won’t persevere like I do with a bottle/cup in order for my LO to get 3 bottles a day (that’s what she’ll miss from me feed wise while I’m at work - 10 am/1pm/4pm feed).

My questions are: can my LO go without these 3 feeds a day and is it enough for me to feed her the morning and evening feeds as long as she’s been given water and her food during the day?

Btw: I’ve tried everything from asking others to feed her, when I can.. (I don’t have any support so it’s just me doing the feeding) to different bottles and teets, positions, etc.

I’d really like to know if it’s safe from a nutritional and developmental perspective for her to go without these feeds in the day. Or if anyone has any other advice.

Thank you for reading this far! Much ❤️ and merry Christmas! Xx

In previous posts, mums have said the baby took the bottle fine from someone not her mum when mum was not there.

If it’s her mum she knows you have a direct delivery arrangement and bottles are a poor substitute!

If you arent there though she will take what’s given.

I went back after 3.5 months with DD1 and still fed morning and evening. The couple of weeks before I went back I was so worried because she would not take a bottle. I took her to a mum and babies group and an older mum took her and sent me out of the room. She took it fine and I was reassured enough to leave her with the childminder. She never took a bottle if I was there but without me no problem!

My DD wouldn't take a bottle at all. She would drink water from a sippy cup at nursery, as well as actual food. I fed her when I dropped her off, then when we got home and at bedtime.

She continued to BF until she was 4 yo, despite being at nursery FT from 10 mo. She is 12 now.

It's just because it's you, when you aren't there it'll be fine. I went back to work when LO was 5 months and was doing 13 hour days including travel. She refused bottles before then and was limited with a sippy cup. The minute I was out of sight she adapted.

My DD was a little older, about 10 months, when I went back, but was a complete boob monster.

She coped absolutely fine. I’d send in expressed milk or a bottle of ready made formula. Sometimes she’d take it. Sometimes she wouldn’t. I’d feed her as normal on my days off. I stressed about it, but it all worked out fine. She lost no weight at all. Her night time intake perhaps increased a bit but not noticeably.

When I was childminding the mum brought bottles and expressed milk and the baby took it no problem, but would not touch it at home! I think baby will be fine especially as she's taking water herself too. She will work out how to even things out.

Exact same issue, twice. Bloody children.

They were both fine. First one had to go cold turkey as my job took me overseas after my first week back. It was either that or redundancy so DD1 had to get on with it but it was insanely stressful. We basically put milk or cheese in everything she ate so nutritionally she was fine. Refused a bottle point blank and then randomly started back on cows milk around 12/14 months as it was really hot I think.

2nd DD was easier as I was just doing a normal day.
Got up at crack of, got showered and make up on ready for work but not dressed. Then breast fed her and got everyone dressed. Childcare then gave her weetabix a bit later.
BF again at 6, and then a short bedtime feed not much later but more for the cuddles really.
First few weeks were a bit tricky. Had to express occasionally at work but aim was not to keep doing that so only when bursting really. Got stuck on a broken down train and got home an hour late. DD had taken a bottle from her father and gone to sleep. After a bit of fussing but was perfectly fine.
I'd tell you not to stress but it's pointless because you will anyway. I wasn't much better the second time around. Kids generally don't starve themselves if there's an alternative.
Finally cracked it with DD2 when she got quite ill around 8-9 months and the milk simply wasn't in me. She only wanted to nurse so she eventually took a bottle and we never looked back from there. She was fully weaned around 10months.
Best of luck and enjoy the hot coffees

I went back when dd1 was 9mths and still feeding a lot. She took the very occasional bottle from other people but not many. Took water in a sippy cup with solids. I continued to feed evenings,weekends etc and fed her for bloody years! The main impact going back to work had was lsck of sleep - if you look up "reverse cycling" that's pretty much what she did...took in her days milk (and maintained my supply) by feeding all night. Exhausting! But i was so keen to keep feeding her!

I always post in threads like this saying oh don't worry it'll be fine, but i was a wreck at the time!