HELP!! breastfeeding and working

[mamawharton]

hi ladies. my lo is 6 and half months and I've been exclusively breastfeeding with the addition to solids this past month. my problem is that she won't take my expressed milk from any form- we have tried lots of bottles, doidy cup, sip cups, me feeding, daddy feeding, me out the house, etc. i have to return to work in 8 weeks and im concerned about her not getting what she needs. i suggested giving her formula during the day (if she will take it )to the health visitor who said she didn't need it..... but how is that the case when they say they need mainly milk until they are 1. when i asked she said my lo would make up for it during the night.....this is not an acceptable answer only now i have no idea what to do next......im also worried about how to comfort her and get her down for naps during the day without the breastfeeding??!!? any help/advice what be greatly appreciated.

I went back when DS was 7 and a half months and DD was 8 months so a little older than yours. I would feed when I picked up and before bed and in the morning so 3 feeds in the day. DD did feed alot at night. She ate solids but didn't drink more than a few sips of milk while in daycare to start with - over time she did start drinking a cupful of milk, took about a month to get there. Where is she going to be when you work?
WRT naps - seemed that I found that the most difficult, both nursery and mil managed to get dd and ds to sleep in the day. Nursery would rock to sleep and mil would take them out in the buggy. At one point dd wouldn't nap for me at all but would in nursery and for mil.
Mine both got on much better with a tippee cup than a bottle. I couldn't bare to go through the hassle of expressing only to see it go to waste so gave formula.

I had same problem with ds1 and ds2 who were 4 and 6 months when I went back to work. Both took expressed milk from a bottle at nursery having refused point blank for me. I continued to express at work for both of them for several months. No idea why they were so stubborn for me but not a problem once they'd started nursery. Hope you have the same experience - talk to your nursery, they might be relaxed about it too... Good luck.

thanks for the replies .... wonderstuff which feed did you swap to formula first dd feeds at 7 10 1 5 and 7.30?!! how did your lo respond to the rejection of the breast? im nervous on how she will react

mama I went back when DD was 14 weeks and we breastfed until she was 15 months. It can be done. There is something called "reverse cycling" which basically means that your LO will take all the milk she needs in the times that she does see you, so mornings and evenings, and maybe a few more night time feeds too. When DD was about 8-9 months I managed to stop pumping at work and just fed her mornings, nights and weekends.

Your HV just hasn't explained it very well.

DS (11mo) does tha same- takes the milk he needs while I'm with him. He now feeds first thing on a morning, at bedtime, 11pm and 4/5am. He refused bottles until I went back to work, then after a couple of weeks took 2 bottles a day for nursery/mil. He has since dropped the daytime feeds himself, but the feeds he does have tend to be long ones so he's obviously just taking more milk than he used to, but less often iyswim.

The bf counsellor said that many bf babies dont take any milk through the day and just feed more when you're home, and that's absolutely fine. They will get their required milk intake

Forgot to add I no longer need to express at work either - stopped about a month ago.

so how did you all deal with your lo when they wanted feeds and you wouldn't let them.... assuming you started the process before you went back to work??

mamawharton I didn't start the process before I went back to work as she was so young, she was already used to being given expressed milk in bottles so I didn't have that problem, and work were very supportive about giving me time and a private place in which to express.

When I stopped pumping (at a similar age to the OP) the feeds dropped naturally and didn't have to be forced.

I went back to work when DD was 9.5 months. She was a bottle refuser too. She would take a little formula out of an open cup - just an oz or two but more often or not would refuse.

She just had longer feeds in the morning, evening and through the night.

I also sent a tub of 100% Fat Greek Yoghurt with her to nursery which replaced some of the milk she was not getting.

We started her on cows milk a couple of weeks ago (she's 11 month now) just a couple of times a day, which she prefers to formula, but when she is at home with me, she still BF's.

I wouldn't refuse to let her feed while you are there before you go back, although it may be worth leaving her for longer periods if you have the childcare to 'practice'.

Also, just remind your childcare setting to make sure she gets enough water if she is not taking milk as missing the nutrition won't matter - she'll make this up with food or with milk from you at home, but she may get dehydrated from the reduced fluids.

Your dd will be nearly 9 months when you go back, mama, if I read your post correctly and you will probably find that she goes down fine for a nap without the breast at the nursery or childminder's. You could leave an expressed feed for her to have during the day out of a cup if you're concerned as she will probably be drinking well from a cup by then, and keep a middle-of-the-day feed at weekends.

In terms of nutrition, at 9 months solids are providing a good amount of calories and between 9 and 12 months it's recommended that the milk intake need only be around 17oz. She'll be getting lots of calcium from yogurt, cheese, cooked milk etc by then too, so I wouldn't stress too much about that. She'll probably carry on with night feeds for a while but you've still got two months before returning to work so I wouldn't worry too much. A lot can change in that time!

thanks everyone..... fingers crossed something clicks x