LOADS of milk and about to go back to work :(

[tryingtobemarypoppins2]

Have a month before going back when DS will be 7 months.

Want to carry on feeding on my days off (Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun) and in the mornings and over night.

Suddenly this week I have lOADS of milk. I was worried about not feeding all day Mon-Wed......what shall I do!!?? Expressing at work is going to be soooooooooo hard.

I have just done 2 KIT days. I expressed at lunchtime, got about 6oz. I know I probably should have expressed twice but as you say its very hard.....

Do you think I would get mastitis (sp?) if I don't express on my working days?? I was hoping my body would adjust.....shame its 3 days on the trot and not every other day

MaryPoppins: I found that I had real issues in the first week, but by the second week, I was only really started to get engorged on the Monday afternoon (I work the same days as you).

I found it difficult to get the time to express (plus I just never really felt in a lactating kind of place whilst I was sat next door to my work chums), so only managed it for a week or so. However, as soon as I am reunited with my DD, she drains both breasts, so the engorgement is short lived (2-3 hours?). We've still feeding, 9 months later, so I would say it is a sustainable approach.

Did you suffer with engorgement when your milk first came in? I have pretty small breasts, so it was a real shock to my system: my skin was really stretched. But my friends with larger breasts seem more able to deal with a build up. I do occasionally seem to get a blocked duct (one of the lower ones that is less easily cleared), but I make sure I massage of any lumps and that Madam has had free access to feeding as much as she wants.

Good luck with your return to work and please try not to worry too much about it now (thereby spoiling your last month of leave!). I fretted like mad about it and it was FINE. I wish I hadn't worried so much.

It can be a bit difficult to find workwear that enables discreet feeding! DD likes to feed pretty soon after seeing me; tbh, that has been my biggest issue.

I've been working 3 days a week, Tues - Thurs for the last 5 months and have never expressed, but have continued BFing fine. I feed DS on demand - always starting with as soon as I get in form work. I also feed him to bed at night, and during the night if he wakes up (not so often now however) and he has a fairly long dream feed before I get up.

HTH

Pretty much exactly what lowrib says, except that DD does feed during the night as well.

Great thanks ladies, makes me feel so much better. I have been dreading it like you say Druzhok. Good to know other mums have been there are done it!! Thanks again!