Returning to full time work, still breastfeeding, not expressing. Is this common?

[gaelicsheep]

I am just wondering about this in the light of the many many threads about breastfeeding and returning to work. I am doing what it says in the thread title (went back to work when DD was 7.5 months), basically accepting reverse cycling, co-sleeping with DD and feeding through the night.

I hated the idea of expressing at work and I get the impression that a lot of people are put off by this and choose to move to formula, either in the daytime or as a permanent switch.

I guess I'm just wondering if DD and I are quite unusual, or if it is something that's commonly done. I am finding it works really really well and I actually enjoy the fact that she still nurses full time as she always did, even if that does mean lots of night feeding. The following quote sums it up really well: "Once you give up the idea that you must have 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night, and view these nighttime interactions with your child as precious and fleeting, you get used to them very quickly."

If someone had suggested this to me a few months back I would have been horrified, and I would have assumed I would be too knackered to function. But I really feel we've adjusted and crucially I don't feel nearly so guilty leaving DD every day as I did with DS.

Thoughts?

I returned full time at 5 months and did express. I have my own office and kept the milk in a cool bag. It was ok but I've stopped now - dd is 9 month and my boobs are fine. Dd is fine and we co-slept/co-waked anyway. If I was doing it again I'd have stopped expressing about 7/8 months as once she was eating proper amounts of solids my supply started dropping and it was harder to express. Should have realised that was a hint!

I found this thread so interesting reading. DS just turned 7 months and I have been feeling a bit anxious about my return to work (due in about 1.5 months). We co-sleep most of the night since he was born really and he got used to feed a lot during the night. I am particularly anxious as weaning is not going well at all as he is only interested in BF (should also mention he never took a bottle and we are exclusively BF since birth). He only took root vegetables puree one or two times that I can remember and fruit a couple of times as well - in the past 4 weeks. Part of me thinks I need to reduce the all night breast feeding habit so as to increase his appetite during the day for other things - and to prepare him for nursery when I return to work and BF during the day will not be an option! - but the other part of me thinks that I should continue with the night feeds and that he will wean when ready. Was wondering whether any of you mums experienced such difficulties in weaning and would give any suggestions?

Csqm - have you tried baby led weaning. My dd just loves feeding herself but hates being spoon fed and just putting a selection of what we're eating on her high chair tray and letting her get stuck in has meant she ate much more solids more quickly. Also she liked meals as a social thing. There's loads of time for solids to increase in 1.5 months. Fwiw even though dd got really stuck into solids blw style it had no impact on how much milk she wanted until she was 8 months.

Hi mollycuddles - thank you. That is a good suggestion. What foods would you offer at 7 months? My concern is that he may choke if given food that is not pureed. Or shall I let him eat the purees by the hand (making it thicker)? My first son took his first purees and baby rice with no problem at all - and yet this baby is so different! It is true each baby is different and one cannot assume everything should work out the exact same way...

Hi csqm, I suggest you post on the weaning board for more ideas, but we basically gave DD what we had. We left fruits and veg quite big and let her chew on those, so they were too big to choke on. Peas etc. she started eating once she could pick them up.

In the end we kind of did a mixture of spoon and BLW, depended on what the meal called for (e.g. shepards pie or lentil dal were more spoon foods) but we still let her have a go at eating herself. Mash we kinda rolled up so that she could pick it up.

Try not to worry about the choking and look up the difference between gagging (which happens a lot, especially in BLW) and actual choking. Suggest you search the boards or google it for more reassurance.

csqm - I have to say that my DD is doing very well with her solids which is one reason why I have the confidence to do what we do. Can I ask when you have been offering food in the day? Before or after a milk feed for example? I agree with others that she may not be interested in spoon feeding rather than not interested in food per se. Choking is a real concern, I totally understand, but as long as you offer suitable foods and keep a close eye on her you shouldn't need to worry.

It might be an idea to try to cut back on the night feeds a little while you get solids established, if you are sure it is night feeding rather than before-meals feeding that is the problem. That's difficult to do though, isn't it, when baby is right there next to you?

What I did while preparing for going back to work was to separate solid food and milk feeds. So I'd give DD lunch and tea with water to drink, and gave milk morning, "snack" times, evening and overnight. Breakfast we didn't introduce until I was back at work. Then with the other feeds it was a case of having her up her food intake, including a yoghurt pudding at lunchtime, so she wasn't so hungry for a "snack".

Thanks! I started with lunch and I only offer a feed after/if he has refused the lunch (ie, almost every day at the moment!). I usually leave 15 min of "cool down" from the crying over spoon thing so that he does not develop an association but not sure this is working anyway and may need to make an effort to cut the night feeds a bit (although it is going to be hard to do - would rather prefer if it would work the other way around and in a natural way, ie baby taking solids during the day and not "demanding" that much overnight)... I am going to explore the BLW approach in the meantime.

Yes, have done this both times with the 2 DCs (first time I did a 4 day week for a while that was harder than FT) - this time I went back when DD was 10mo. No expressing - I really couldn't. Still feeding both of them - DS at bedtime, DD at bedtime, during the night and occasionally when we get in.