A few concerns about work and breastfeeding - please share your experiences

[LittleWaveyLines]

DD is 11.5 months and feeds 2 hourly still day and night.

I've been back at work (secondary science teaching) for a week now, just till 2pm and am finding it really difficult, and would appreciate others' input.

I tried expressing, but firstly it's a complete pain to find somewhere suitable. The medical room always has a sick child, offices and classrooms have windows, and I'm really not comfortable expressing in the loos or a science prep room!
Also, it's difficult to find the time to pee or eat/drink in schools, let alone express!
Then add to that the childminder says she's not drinking the expressed milk anyway....

So - do I have to express to keep up supply? I'm getting a bit uncomfortable, but bearable... I'm worried as a friend with a similar age DD says her supply has just dried up after a month or so being back... I think she gave her DD a bedtime bottle as well though..

(Then there's all the being thought of as "weird" by colleagues for wanting to continue feeding, and that I can't do some A level chem practicals due to the hazards of the chemicals involved...!)

Well done for persevering. As long as you are still bfing mornings and as soon as you get home form work, and especially at night time, then I'm sure your supply will not dry up.

I know how hard it is to find the time and place to express, and colleagues are rarely sympathetic. I gave up trying to express to save the milk; I ended up hand-expressing in the toilet, for my comfort. I was working shifts so my milk supply was all over the place.

It's very difficult when you do not have the support of your colleagues, especially if they then accuse you of not fulfilling your work duties because of bfing. Do you have support from your head teacher?

Continuing to bf despite being back at work is a wonderful thing for you and your child. It helped relax me after difficult shifts.

IMO unprofessional opinion, you could drop the expressing (except for your comfort) & continue to feed her when you are with her - assuming you haven't had supply problems. That is what I did when I was away from my 10mth old for 3 days in every 10.

I am willing to be corrected by others though.

Thanks for the replies :)

I don't mind expressing for comfort in the loos I suppose - but not expressing to save milk for her...

I feed her at 6.30-7am before I leave, and should be back by 3pm to feed her then, although some days may be later. From September it will be mostly back for 4.30 - and some days will be very late.. - like after a parents' evening so 8pm :(

Oh and to answer the question above - I have no idea about the headteacher and doubt he knows! I sort of have support from my line manager but she doesn't really get it...

I would only express for comfort. I went back when ds was 9 months and still feeding lots, I work 13 hour shifts sometimes and apart from fearing that my boobs might explode I had no problems, supply maintained no probs and still feeding at 2.5 years!

I've worked FT & BF 2 babies. DD2 is 13 months old & still feeding.
Like you I expressed at first (back to work at 6 months) and both babies didn't really drink the milk, so I then tapered off and didn't express for long. The boobs quite quickly adjust.

DD feeds morning, evening & still at least once through the night. I try to ensure that she has a calcium rich food during the day too but she's not keen on either cheese, yoghurt or custard!

Now she is past 12 months she is also drinking whole milk.

I think you'd easily adjust to not expressing though you'll both enjoy that 3pm feed in the early days. Give it a week or 2 and you won't feel it at all.

I went back to work when DS was 11 months and dropped to 2 feeds a day (one in the morning, one before bed) at that point. I continued to feed him with no problems until he was just over 2 until we stopped through choice.
I would think your milk supply will be so well established by now you shouldn't have problems.

Thanks :)

I wonder why my friend has had her supply vanish then? And another friend from NCT classes says that hers is really low now as well (baby same age) despite her son still trying to feed lots....

Oh and one last question - will this 8 hour gap help bring my period back? As an old bird I want to get cracking on #2

How do they know their supply is low?

Do you know I never asked them that!

'Oh and one last question - will this 8 hour gap help bring my period back?'

I certainly wouldn?t rely on bfing being a contraceptive at this stage!

"I certainly wouldn?t rely on bfing being a contraceptive at this stage!"

will this 8 hour gap help bring my period back? As an old bird I want to get cracking on #2

Well - it might. For lots of people, I think it does. With me, no sign of a period until 3 months after I'd knocked it on the head altogether. And for several months before that it was only 2/3 feeds a day...

I sympathise. I worked as an IT technician in a secondary special school. I had exactly the same issues. I didn't bother with expressing and dd just breastfed 4 times a night.

"Then there's all the being thought of as "weird" by colleagues for wanting to continue feeding, and that I can't do some A level chem practicals due to the hazards of the chemicals involved...!"

What practicals are you doing? Surely the risks with your breastmilk are minimal. Surely you would be using a fume cupboard for anything vaguely dangerous. Maybe I have a more liberal attitude to risk.

I never told my collegues about me breastfeeding to 22 months.

I wonder how they know their supply is low too?

Once you get quite established into BF you don't get that full of milk feeling in your breasts that you are used to with a younger baby.
I don't necessarily feel like I have any milk at all now (DD 13 months) - but I do!! I see it on DD2's milky grin :)

I might feel it if I didn't feed for an entire day or 2, but through a normal working day now my boobs feel quite normal.

Thanks - I'll be careful about mastitis - yesterday my breasts felt "bruised" from being so full! - so I still get that full feeling but DD does normally feed VERY frequently so maybe it's different?

Oh and today she's being a COMPLETE milk monster - doesn't really want food, just milk...