Want to continue BF when I return to work - please talk to me about expressing

[DancingThroughLife]

DD is 5mo and exclusively bf. She'll take a bottle of expressed milk if she wakes up in the evening, which is rare, but comforting to know she can do it.

So far, I've expressed by hand first thing in the morning while she feeds from the other side, but my supply seems to have sorted itself out so I don't have any 'spare' any more. I don't wake up in wet patches and fit to burst at any rate . Used to get about 5/6oz like this, now more like 1oz if I'm determined.

I've spoken to work and said that my plan is to continue bf when I return in Jan. Am going in for a meeting next week to figure out the finer details, and it would be really useful to have a better idea of how this will work, so I can go armed with the facts about having time during the day to express.

By then she will be weaning anyway, but presumably will still want a fair amount of milk? I'll feed morning and evening, but she'll need milk for during the day.

So, do I invest in a pump? Will this get more out?

How often will I have to express for to get enough milk to last the next day? How much milk does a 7mo have?

What pumps have you used?

Or is this a complete non-starter and should I just try and get her to take formula during the day and bf when I'm home?

Any advice would be really greatly appreciated.

TIA

oops, sorry that was so long

Pumps: Just whatever works for you. I have a rental (provided by work). I like it so much I have one at home. Don't get more out, but beats the tediousness of a manual. If you can express quickly a single electric could do, otherwise a double electric might be worth investing.

Amounts: Up to 6 months, BF take about 25oz a day (19-030oz) then when they start weaning, it gradually reduces. Before 6 months DD was taking 9-12oz, now she's on 3 meals, she takes 6oz. At 7 months it's tricky to predict.

From a bottle babies tend to take more than normal, so my advice if milk is on the short side, to limit what she is offered. Then if she cries for more, get CP to offer 1oz at a time. (We gave her the equivalent of 1oz/hr). Don't worry about her not getting enough, she'll catch up in the evenings.

You can build up your supply before hand by expressing at the same time every day. For me to start I would get 1-3oz then after 5 days 4-6oz. Since your now 5 months, your supply might be a bit stubborn but should get there.

Should only be a few months before you can get away with feeding her morning and evening.

I'm now expressing once a day, with feed/express as soon I get in with the other one an hour later. I express 6oz at work, but I like to have a bit extra just in case. How many time for you? Depends on how well you get used to expressing before. You can try missing a feed and then seeing what you'll express (as what you'll express now will be extra). Use that to judge. If you build up a freezer stash before hand, then you may feel comfortable with just going once from the get go. If you can't be bothered to express before hand (and who does) then you might need to start with 2 expresses a day, but by a month drop down to one.

If you running late, you can get CP to try and stave her off with finger food (apple always works for DD) or water.

hth

How many days do you do? What hours? How many weeks will she be. DD2 was fine with 2 feeds a day from 38 weeks! I know some babies wouldn't be, for e.g. my other 2 children.

But you could be setting up a huge strategic operation for an older baby who may not want that much milk

Thanks so much for your replies.

It had crossed my mind that I might be overpreparing for it, but at least I know what I could be in for. I'm sort of hoping that by the time I go back to work she'll be on one or two bottles of expressed milk in the day and getting the rest from food. We'll see!

I'll be working 9-5 Mon-Wed.

I managed to express 6oz this morning by hand, so I'll start getting into that habit now and freezing it so there's an emergency supply.

Climber, thanks for the amounts. I've got an idea of something to aim for, so we'll just wait and see what DD makes of it all!

I do those days and hours. For the ones I needed to express for, I fed as normal on my days off - important this as opposed to making the baby fit the pattern of your work days. I expressed once a day when at work, at lunch time. This was normally ok as I had missed a feed so there would be some surplus - though I get diminishing returns very quickly from going back. I also expressed once a day on my days off, in the evening as it happened and added it to my freezer stash, which I see you are already starting.

When I went back when ds was 7ms (31 weeks), I left 2 5oz bottles of milk for a mid morning and a mid afternoon feed. As my supply dropped and he got older I left 2 4oz bottles, then at about 10/11ms I dropped to one bottle a day, he wanted the afternoon one. At 12ms I left that bottle as cows milk until he didn't want it.

With my first, I got wound up leaving loads of milk and thinking I had to replicate her feeds on my days off with the feeds when I was at work. I just could not keep up. So by ds, my third, I realised bfing can be more flexible. I fed him before I left and when I got in and before bed and it was fine. I also realised that I didn't need to leave loads of milk and decided to leave the minimum I could.

Finally have a trial run a couple of weeks before you go back to see how your baby fares. That is how I realised my 38 weeker would just wait for me to come back! It was bliss, no expressing, never had a bottle.

Hi dancing from a fellow May 2010 mummy. We're still ebf too but I'm back at work in 10 days and also do 3 long days (and 2 half days). This is what I've done based on advice here and what worked with dd1 (from what I remember 9 years on).

Expressing - I use a medela swing, pricey but efficient and comfortable. I would very quickly spend the money it cost on formula. In preparation for work I've been building up a freezer stash for the past 2 months although I'm not wanting to rely on it as my supply has to approx keep up with dd2 for days when I'm at home. I express every morning and night on 2 or 3 sides each time and freeze what I've got at night. When I started it was 1-2oz. Now some days I get up to 7oz. I have also been boosting supply by putting dd2 on both sides for most feeds and taking fenugreek. I have found my supply at 5 months still pretty quick to respond. I had a flu/cold this past week and although I still kept expressing the quantity really dropped but a few days of switch feeding I'm back up to before.

Trial runs - we've had a few and found dd2 takes about 1.5oz an hour when I'm away. For a long day that'll mean 15oz (gulp) but including the 4oz I express anyway I'm hoping I'll manage to get 11oz at work. I'm planning 3 sessions to express - mid morning, lunchtime and mid afternoon. I'll be taking 30 mins at a time with my office door locked but imagine I'll have to take the odd phone call. I can express one handed with the swing which is good. I'll also try to do some paperwork so I won't end up staying late because of taking time out to express. I'm self employed so don't have the luxury of not going back at full tilt work wise. I would try and make sure you're not expected to make up for the work you're not doing when you're expressing though. It's your right to have this time and mums of bf babies end up with less time off because of fewer infections so it's in your employer's interests to help you make this work. I'll tell you how it's going for me when I'm back.

Impact of solids - I'm assuming that by the new year we'll start to need a bit less but it's hard to predict with solids. With dd1 she got really into her breakfast straight away so needed less breast milk in the mornings pretty quickly but stayed in a similar routine to pre solids the rest of the day until 8/9 months.

Thanks Franup.

She will be 32 weeks when I go back.

My boss has suggested I use some KIT days before I go back, so I'll do one day a week in December as a practice run for the real thing!

It's reassuring to know they can cope with just a couple of 5oz bottles.

I think I've been doing what you did with your first, and thinking that I have to leave 4 bottles a day! I may as well just open my own dairy farm to do that... just hook me up to a pump at work

Am I right in thinking there are rules or laws about bf mothers at work? Off to find those now so I go armed for this meeting on Thursday.

Thanks so much for all your help. Feeling loads better about going back now.

Hi Molly! x posts.

That's really useful to know as well. Will look into a pump in that case, and make sure work knows I can take the time.

It will be interesting to see how we work it, as the office is open plan... the only room with a door is the loo.

I expressed for all four of mine.

For ds1 who is 14, it was considered really unusual to bf after you went back to work and there was really no provision for it. Also both my bosses wives ff, so so understanding there. I had a rubbish little pump from mothercare and used to express at lunch time only so ds1 got one bottle of expressed and once bottle of formula per day.

Ds2 was similar except I had changed jobs and would express at lunch and would try to grab another 10min to express in the afternoon.
Had an avent hand-pump which I was very impressed with at the time.

Ds3 I formally asked boss for expressing time which she was very good about. I got a double electric Avent pump which was brilliant but very, very pricey and from other MNers I gather the Ameda Lactaline is excellent. Huge advantage of double pumping is that it halves your expressing time so if you get delayed with a client etc you are not so pressurised.

Ds4 did the same as ds3 so well worth the investment of the good pump.

I found once they were on solids, they needed very little work during the day anyway but if I ran short I would do a "midnight express" at home to top up.

Ds2, ds3 and ds4 rarely had formula.

Thanks chip. It will be unusual for me to express at work. I'll be the first one to do it, that's why I want to go well prepared with info.

Hopefully I'll be able to get enough with a 10 minute session, but I like the idea of a late night top up too.

Lots to go on. Will look at pumps next!