Could 10 month old be ok with out ebm while I am at work?

[jaggythistle]

This would be a lot easier if I could just stay at home and feed as required!

I have been back at work (full time/shifts) for 4 months, DS is at home with DH. I have been expressing for him so that I didn't have to mess around with formula, and so I can just bf on weekends holidays etc.

It has seemed to go well so far. I have tried to be as 'on demand' as possible . I have tried to match DS's needs as he has started eating solids and not tried to drop feeds unless he semmed uninterested (i.e tried to either bite me, or escape to play instead!).

I have now gone from expressing twice a shift to once, when DS seemed uninterested in feeding as much as before. He now feeds early morning, then when he gets up, at bedtime, and once in the middle of the day. He also has his 3 little meals a day, plus the odd yoghurt or rice pudding etc.

Would it be bad to not offer him the ebm in the middle of the day just because I am geting a bit weary of expressing at work? I was wondering if we just moved his lunch a bit earlier and he had a snack in the afternoon if it would work!

I don't even mind if he wakes up at night for a feed to be honest, it's still less effort than expressing! I will still have to express for his bedtime milk when I am working in the evening, but that won't be every week.

I'd like to continue till he is one, and maybe a bit longer.

Hmm, I've known babies to be fine with just morning and night feeds. Will he talk some other beverage though? You'd want him to have some water instead, particularly if it's hot.

Your supply should be fine, with this, once you've done a fair number of months exclusive, it tends to be pretty rock-solid.

I did this with all three of mine - by 10 months they were on two feeds - morning/night (although would give extra if ill, overtired.)

Al long as he is eating well I don't see any problem with it - you could supplement with more rice pudding, full fat yoghurt and ramp up solid meals a little if you feel he will take it.

And yes, mine took water from a cup regularly, sometimes with a little diluting juice to encourage them to drink.

DD3 is one and I have just stopped breastfeeding. I had no problems with supply doing two feeds a day. HTH

I went back to work part-time when DS was 11 months old. He didn't have milk of any kind during the day on my working days, he was drinking water from a beaker and having plenty of juicy fruit.

oops - I lost a sentence from my post which read :

He drinks water well from a sippy cup (or more messily from a non sippy cup!)

Thanks for your replies.

I would just ask DH to make sure he offers him water more often throughout the day I guess. We did put a bit of orange juice diluted in his cup but he was less than impressed, will maybe stick with water as he seems to love it.

On the days when I am at home he is sometimes bothered about feeding during the day and sometimes not so hopefully he'd be ok.

He gets whatever I have managed to express really, but that varies too - one day he drank 6 oz and today he wasn't fussed and only had 2oz of milk.

He is fed on demand when I am at home, definitely including helping him to sleep when overtired!

Can you tell I am just a worrier about my wee pfb?