HELP! Going back to work - To breast or bottle feed

[marlou]

Help, I need some advice. My DS is 8 months old and is breast fed (which we are both happy with and enjoy). I intended to br feed until he was a year and then stop, but now that time is approaching I have changed my mind. When I go back to work I will be doing shifts (the late finshes at 10pm)but I would like to still feed DS before he goes to bed (which is at 7pm) so my question is, would it be possible to introduce a bottle (given by DH)on the days I am working late and then breast feed when I am at home? Has anyone else found they could do something like this? Any advice would be helpful, I really don't want to stop br feeding until DS is ready.

I am stil bf my 18 mth dd, and went back to work part time when she was 7 months old. I found that by expressing milk, this kept my supply going. I carried on with this for two or three months, then due to increased pressures at work - won't go into that here - I stopped expressing, and found that I was able to feed on demand.My supply of breastmilk did diminish when I was very busy at work, so later on (at about 12 months)I mix fed her. Sometimes a bottle and sometimes breast - but she was well established on solids by then and was reliant on only an early morning feed (6.30 am) and an evening feed (7pm) so I could fit this in with work. Still doing similar now, although the evening feed is more of a cuddle/ comfort thing nowadays.

With your shift, I suggest you try to express milk for DH to feed yr son before he goes to bed - if you do this when you have most milk it should be easier - with me it was in the morning. The milk will easily last for 2 or 3 days in the fridge. If you are struggling to express any - this happened to me - then try mixed feeding - I bf in a morning and bottle at night. It worked for me, but everyone is different, try searching for 'mixed feeding' threads on mumsnet for other advice.

don't give up - I loved bf and am glad I kept it up when I went back to work!!

hth

just had another thought - whenever I was home I bf her as much as I could - this helped to keep my milk going too.

Agree with uplate - express milk for bottle feed when you are working, breastfeed when you are at home. I worked shifts as well and it worked out fine.

Thanks for the advice, I was starting to feel that by going back to work the choice to stop bf had been made for me! Am going to try and start expressing again, although it has always been a struggle to get enough out. Think I will also have to introduce DS to a bottle soon (may well be a struggle as he has never liked them!) When would you suggest I started combining both bottle and breast? I go back to work in April (I know its a while off but am already fretting!)

Another question (sorry!) AS DS is now used to a feeder cup (the AVENT ones) would I be better giving him milk in that instead of trying to start him on a bottle?

I would stick to the cup. Both my DS's went straight to a cup and would happily let DH give EBM in a cup before bed but they still got a cuddle while they drank it!

Didn't realise you weren't going back till April. No need to start bottle or expressing really. Baby will be able to go to bed at that age (1 year?) without breastfeed when you are not there. You can breast feed when you are at home. Milk - either breast or cows milk could be given by cup before bed if you wanted when you are at work. My first 2 babies stopped B/F just before they were a year old and went to bed without a drink at all.