ebf & going back to work - do we need to leave milk?

[SpooMoo]

I'm due to go back to work in the autumn when my baby will be 11mo. She is exclusively breastfed, never had a bottle (formula or expressed milk), only occasionally had a sippy cup of water with meals (but doesn't drink much from it).

Will I need to express and/or leave formula for her if I do a 9-5 day at work? Or will she manage with BFing when I'm there before and after work and just have food and water during the day? Anyone done this?

I'm mainly asking to find out if we need to introduce a cup of milk now to get her used to it. She's 8.5mo now.

Up to you really. At that age mine have just fed at home and had food and water in the day but some people prefer to express and leave milk for nap time or whatever.

Oh and I wouldn't worry about getting her used to it. Children tend to develop different habits in childcare than they have at home. AT home she'll most likely look at you in disgust if you offer a cup of milk because she knows full well where it normally comes from but in childcare you won't be there and she will know that so will either just have food and water because milk is a mummy thing or accept it from a cup. But at her age feeding morning, when you get home and bedtime is plenty so you really don't need to worry about her needing it. Presumably she will feed in the day at weekends when you are at home too.

That's right Indith - my intention is to carry on feeding her from the breast when I'm with her (weekends, weekdays at home) and on the 3 days when I'm out at work during the day, hope she gets by on meals, snacks, and water. Thank you for your reply.

I went back to work when my DD was about 8 months old - I usually left a carton of formula to make up any porridge/cereal etc with but didn't express. She wouldn't take expressed milk or formula from a cup or bottle, but would drink water from a sippy cup. She would bf in the morning and again when I was home from work and on my non-working days she continued to bf several times a day.
We both settled into this pattern very easily.

The difference in development from now (8.5 months) to then (11 months) will be big too. Don't under estimate what they learn in these months.

I was exactly the same as you, no formula, EBF and dd rarely took water either. I started being more pro active with giving a sippy cup of water (not milk, as she'd point blank refused my milk unless from the 'source' ) The sippy cup was always around, free flow, with just water in. Always at meal times but also ones dotted about in living room and play room.

By 10.5 months she could drink from it herself and would do if it was around (too busy to have my milk!)

Try her with a straw too. I have many friends who had success with drinking from a straw rather than sippy cups.

By the time I went back to work, I'd leave some expressed milk with MIL (who was caring for her) but she'd refuse it. MIL just offered water regulary, and lots of food / snacks too, including water based fruit to ensure hydration. After about 2 weeks, I stopped leaving expressed milk as there was no point.

She never had milk from 11 months for 2-3 days (9-5) a week and just did a mammouth feed on my return and 3 times at night

Still feeding now at 23 months and only at about 18 months did she start liking cows milk, even though we'd offered it from 12 months. She just loves boobie milk!

Hope this is what you want to hear.

this is reassuring to read. my dd is a bottle refuser and at the minute a formula refuser as well and I was worried about going back to work when she's 9 months.

Watching this thread as I am in the same situation as you OP.

I work 3 days too, ds2 is 14mo, ebf, went back when he was 12mo. I express and leave ebm for him to have morning and afternoon at nursery. He has it from a sippy cup (another bottle refuser) and he's always taken it really well at nursery (and sometimes does for dh, never from me - as someone else said - they know where milk comes from when you try and give it to them in a cup ). He doesn't have a huge amount c2oz in the am and again in the pm.

On days I don't work he bfs am, before his afternoon nap, evening and (still) 2-3 times in the night.

I find that I need to express at work (only do it once in my lunch break and that's enough for ds2's two nursery feeds the following day) as otherwise get really uncomfortable and can't concentrate on work by about 3pm.

I did worry about it before I went back (with ds1 I started him on formula in the day at 11mo so didn't have the same issue) but actually it's worked out pretty easily and ds2 has happily taken to the sippy cup when he's at nursery.

I would say try and get them used to a sippy cup for water so they know a drink comes in it and then there shouldn't be a problem.

Oh Fadbook - this is exactly what I want to hear! I don't want to faff around expressing or introducing formula if we don't have to. She's doing really well with food (BLW) so I'm optimistic she'll be happy with meals and snacks when I'm not around. Good idea about water-based fruits, I've been giving her cucumber to snack on in this hot weather.

Really interesting that you've done this at 8mo Beamur - I have noticed her cutting down on feeds and not asking if I'm not there, so I guess things are gradually changing.

Thank you for sharing your experience cassell - I need to look into the possibility of expressing at work. The only private place I can think of is the loo!

Your employer has to (by law) provide you with somewhere private to express which is not the loo (not hygenic). We're open plan in our office so I use one of the break out rooms and pop a do not disturb sign on the door. My boss would have sorted me out with somewhere more private if I wanted it but tbh I wanted somewhere easy and close and my colleagues would get more of a shock than me if they ignored the sign and walked in

feel free to PM me if you want to ask anything. I remember being incredibly nervous but it honest just 'worked out'. DD loved food (also BLW) and just did her own thing with my MIL - she had her own little pattern there which differed to when she was with me. And same as beamur she fed more when with me and didn't drink milk when she wasn't with me

Expressing at work - yes, agree with cassell that employer has to provide somewhere (I work in HR too so understood this). The small Co' I work for now - there is literally no where you could only the toilet. I used to express in the car but it was cleaner and no one could see! Like I say, after a while it wasn't to give to DD it was more 'comfort' expressing, so used to express in the toilet to 'relieve' myself if I got engorged. This was only for about 2 weeks whilst my supply adjusted.

I suppose it is worth pointing out, to lurkers who might be reading this, that if your DC has ongoing weight issues (not gaining, or dropping centiles) then milk still needs to be source of nourishment until 12 months.

My experience and what worked for me, and may well work for the OP is because our DD's that eat well (my dd took to weaning on to solids like a duck to water!). We had no issues with weight gain and remained on the same centile throughout 12 months.

I have friends who EBF to this stage (10-11 months) but needed to ensure milk (formula or breast) was given in bottles / cups / straws or in food during the day when they went to work, because of weight gain issues; and not 'waiting' until their return from work. You would need to weigh up (good choice of words) what would be right for your DC.

Good advice Fadbook and thanks again. DD is between 75th-90th centile usually (haven't had her weighed for ages!) so you're right that this should work for us as she is certainly getting what she needs.