Need advice please! Reducing breastfeeds in preparation for returning to work...

[madrarua]

...or is this necessary?

DD is currently 9 months old and I will be returning to work 3 days per week in May. At the moment she has about 5 bfs per day and we're doing BLW which seems to be going reasonably well although I wouldn't say she has a big solids intake just yet.
Ideally, come May, I'd like to be able to feed her in the morning before I go to work and again in the evening before she goes to bed. Will this be enough milk for a 12 month old? Or will she still need a milk-feed(s) during the day.
If I did want to bf her during the days when I'm off does that mean I will have to express during work days? (to keep supply up, and also to alleviate engorgement?)
I'd prefer not to have to express at work, so if she doesn't get a bottle of EBM will she need cow's milk? Or just get by on solids during the day?
I guess, what I'd like to know is what I'm aiming for ie. How many feeds per day needed at 12 months?
Do I need to try and encourage a gradual reduction in feeds myself, or wait and see if this will happen naturally? My worry is that we'll get to 12 months and DD will still be on 4-5 bfs a day, which just won't be practical when she's at nursery!

I've never been very good at reading her hunger cues so I kind of got into the habit of just offering bfs after each nap then solids a while later. She always seems hungry for the milk when offered but I guess it's not really feeding on demand? Should I try offering solids before bf to see if she'll take more solids and less milk during the day, so she's "ready" for nursery in May?

Argh! So many questions, sorry if seems a bit muddled, but my head is a bit of a muddle wrt to all this and I've nobody I can ask (+ no confidence in HV's advice).

TIA

3 months is a long time in her life - I wouldn't worry about cutting out feeds, just getting her drinking from a cup. Maybe you could wait for her to ask for feeds though and see how that goes ?

IIRC, DS was down to one daytime feed, and had cut them out completely by 14 months, and he was a dedicated feeder. At nursery he was never as bothered about milk though

My DD was seven months old when I went back to work. For the first few months I was lucky enough to be able to feed her at lunchtime (her nursery is very close to where I work) but I had stopped this by the time she reached twelve months. By the time she was a year old, she nursed in the morning and at night on work days. But on non-work days, her nursing was more frequent. I never needed to express to keep up my milk supply, though. I think once you've been bf for a year your body is able to produce what is needed when asked for. Supply only starts to dwindle once you stop feeding altogether. At least, that's how it was for us.

If your DD is drinking cow's milk by the time you go back to work, she can supplement her breast milk feeds with that when you are at work. My DD never took to cow's milk, so she just drank water at nursery once I stopped popping in to feed her.

To be honest, I wouldn't worry about it too much at the moment, although if you can gradually encourage her to increase her solids intake so she is less reliant on your milk it wouldn't be a bad thing. So yes, offer the solids first. And then maybe in the last month or so try to get her used to nursing only in the morning and evening?

I agree with burningbright. i think your DD is going to be fine.

I could write your post Madrarua! My ds1 is currently 8 months, ebf and started weaning (currently on 3 'meals' a day). I feed at least once a night, morning, mid morning, some time in afternoon and before bed so thesame as you really - 4/5 times a day.
I go back to work in 2 weeks!!!
I work 2 nights per week and like you was hoping to feed before I leave for work and again when I return in the morning and late afternoon.
I am dreading going back to work as don't know if ds will take a bottle off dh? I have got the formula in the cupboard and keep saying "right tonight we will try" but then never do it as it is so convenient to just feed him myself! But equally I know I HAVE to do it this week to give ds chance to adjust.

MAY!! Just ignore it for the time being. Honestly I spent far too much time worrying about future time frames where you can't imagine what they'll be doing.

I went back to work at 4 months and from birth I was stressing about the logistics like it was happening next week.

At 10.5 months DD goes without milk in the day.

From a comfort point of view the few weeks before I'd cut a meal, but really worry about this in the month before, not now. Just make the most of your time off.

Also at 10 months DD suddenly started having two longer naps instead of 3/4 30 min ones.

Thanks everyone for all your advice. It?s reassuring to hear from others who have been there done that.

I know May seems like ages away, and I?m probably worrying over nothing (spot the first timer!)

It was my HV who suggested dropping a feed about now but I wasn?t sure as DD seems to need all those feeds. I?ll just go with the flow for a little while longer, bf on demand and try to get her used to drinking water from a cup. We haven?t had much success so far with that ? she just wants to chew on it all the time! Hopefully everything will fall into place sometime?!

Good luck Mousesmummy with your return to work. Hope it all goes smoothly for you and your ds!

I also think your dd is going to be fine. don't stress about it.
I returned to work full time when dd was 9 months old and of course I was worried at first. but she is taking formula in nursery without any problems and eats loads of solids and b-feeds on demand when I am around.

It took me a couple of weeks of perseverance to get DD2 to take a bottle (I went back to work when she was 7 months). I dropped daytime feeds over about the same period of time. Just drop one every couple of days ? she will be fine.