Best way to do this? (Unsocial hours and breastfeeding)

[TerrorCottaPumpkinPie]

This is something that i have been trying to work out in my head for a couple of months but I'm just going round and round in circles so would appreciate some ideas :)

I go back to work from maternity leave in a few weeks. DC3 will be 11 months and currently having 4 bf a day and none overnight. He sleeps 12 hours a night from 7pm.

I will be working 6pm to Midnight for 3 days a week so will miss his bedtime feed on those nights.

I was hoping to get to 12 months of bfing and then decide how I felt about continuing or go to cows milk and we'll be so close to that when I do go back to work.

What do I do with his last feed instead? Do I let DP give him something to eat like a yoghurt and something else and then stir him to give him a bf when I get in (he eats very well so I know he'd get a good supper)?

Do I try to squeeze in an extra feed before I go to work? Although if he's not ready for one I usually have no hope and as it is it's only his morning and bedtime feeds that are the best (mid morning and afternoon feeds seem to just be a quick snack to him recently)

Or do I just go to formula for that feed (although I'd rather not)?

Or is there something I'm not seeing? I should add I'm 11 weeks pregnant so it's very possible that I'm not seeing the obvious!

The pregnant part I guess is relevant too in a different way as right now I don't really fancy tandem feeding (that might change, I just don't know). So is there any point stressing about all this as in just over 6 months it's very possible he won't be having breast milk anyway?

Thanks in advance for any help.

You could do any of those. Alternatively if he's had plenty to eat, then you could try just having DP give him water or cow's milk for those nights - or expressing and leaving a bottle for DP to give him.

I stopped BF at about 12 months and just replaced the last feed with water and it was fine. I'd be wary of waking him for a feed when you come in, as otherwise you might find that he then expects a feed at that time every night, and if he's sleeping through and continues to, then he won't need anything extra.

I was thinking that about the waking him up too Blue. He's been such a good sleeper that I would really hate to do anything to upset that!

I hadn't really thought of expressing (see told you I wasn't seeing the obvious!). I think though it's probably because I'm rubbish at it and so it never enters my head to do it. I will ponder that some more.

Thanks for replying :)

If you find expressing tricky, then I always found I got better results by expressing from one side whilst baby was on the other, rather than trying to do it separately.