Immediate day weaning help please

[backtoworkcat]

Morning all.

DH has been made redundant. He will look after DD whilst job hunting - in the meantime I have found a contract role with an immediate start which will mean that we can stretch our savings a bit longer whilst he looks for work.

DD (has just turned 1) is still breastfed alongside three meals a day - she probably feeds 3-4 times during the day time and 1-2 times at night. I am starting on Monday - I’ll be in the office three days a week 9-5, so plan to breastfeed before I go to work and again before bed, continuing as usual with the nights - will DD be ok? If I still breastfeed her during my working days at home/weekends will this be beneficial or will it be confusing for her / mess up my supply? She is not the biggest eater but will drink cows milk from a cup and loves yoghurt and fruit. We have never tried formula as I was able to breastfeed and I’ve always had her with me - I did express milk once when she was 4 months old but it took me forever just to get half a bottle and then she refused to take it from DH, so I didn’t try again!

I think she will be fine in the day. I BF both my sons beyond a year and the day weaning was so much easier. Plenty of distractions from her dad and cows milk if you haven’t already introduced it. It will probably be harder for you so watch out for signs of mastitis. I hope it all goes ok, sorry about your husband’s redundancy

I did 9-5 3 days a week from when dd turned 11 months. It was absolutely fine. I didn't pump and leave bottles or anything. No formula either. Your body will adjust quickly but first few days might be a bit uncomfortable for you with fullness. The baby will be 100% fine :)
I went on to bf until dd was 3.5 by the way while working 9-5, plus commuting an hour on both sides.

She will be fine switching to mornings and evenings but you will probably want to start changing the schedule from today to reduce the impact. Go out alone to avoid cueing her at feeding times if you can. Leaving and returning frequently will also help separation anxiety as she needs to learn that when you leave you always come back.

Ahhh thank you all so much. I really appreciate the reassurance and I’m pleased to hear about your experiences. I will follow your additional advice - will try dropping a daytime feed from tomorrow and leaving her with DH a bit more. Just realised Monday is a bank holiday so I will actually be starting on Tuesday - an extra day to adjust.

@Minimalistmamaoftwothank you - it has been a bit of a shock given he was our main earner and I am nervous about going back to work, but I feel really grateful to have secured something so quickly and hopefully we’ll be back on our feet soon enough.

Are you sure they're closed on Monday?

@IbizaToTheNorfolkBroadsGood point but yes I am sure - thankfully!

In case this is useful to anyone in the future I managed to get DD on to three breastfeeds a day now - one first thing, one at 5pm and again just before bed. First couple of days I felt quite sore but thankfully I seem to have adjusted now.