Bf 9 month old - returning to work

[Bertieboo1]

Our 7 month old son has been EBF and has always refused to take a bottle, even of expressed milk. He is happy to have water from a sippy cup though. To complicate things, we are waiting to have him tested for a cows' milk allergy. I don't think it's worth introducing using a bottle at this age tbh.

I am returning to work in a couple of months time and I'm starting to think about his feeding. I am working 3 days a week and he will be in nursery. I am happy that he will eat and drink water in the day but does he need to be having formula? ( he will be in nursery for full days) I want to carry on feeding him in the morning and evening. He currently has 2 feeds in the day apart from those - at mid morning and mid afternoon. He doesn't seem that fussed about the mid morning feed.

If he does turn out to be allergic, I guess we will have to give him special formula, if he needs it at nursery.

Sorry for the long message - I guess I am really asking do babies 'need' formula in the day at 9 months? If I feed him in the day while I am not at work, will I have leaking boobs in front of my classes? (I am a teacher). Would it be better to cut out day time feeding consistently whether he is with me or at nursery?

Thanks!

Hello, I can only say from my own experience, but when I went back to work when my ds was 9mo we started sending him in with two bottles of formula for the day (he was previously mix fed). Very quickly dropped that to one, then half and now two months later none. He didn't need them and was jumping centiles.
We bf just before drop off and when I pick him up then on demand evenings and weekends. I pump once a day at work, but could just hand express for relief.
Bf has been a great way to reconnect. Hth

No, you don't need to move him to formula if you don't want to. I think he'll be fine without - he'll most likely eat more/ drink more water to make up for it and then have bigger feeds in morning/ evening when you're together. You can then carry on with the daytime feeds on days you're not working. Your boobs should probably adjust to this relatively quickly - they may be a full on the first day you're apart each week, but a bit of hand-expressing should be able to deal with that and perhaps keeping some breast pads in your bag in case you get leaky.

I went back to work when DD was 8.5 mo and was apart from her 4 days a week. I expressed - it was initially for 3 daytime feeds, but that rapidly decreased (as did the amount she took on each feed) and our cm's opinion was that DD could 'take or leave' the expressed milk and would have been fine without if I'd wanted to stop expressing. I carried on until she was a year (out of some stubborn principle). DD then dropped her daytime ebm feeds without batting an eyelid.

Don't worry too much - it will all pan out - maybe a bit dodgy at first.
I think your work should provide you with somewhere to express...mine did (I returned at 3 months full time though...) - not social though - spending your coffee breaks on your own
If at first you can express even a little every day at work - you won't get the leaky/exploding boobs - and in fact you could send that into nursery to feed your DC on the days they are there - then formula etc to top as nec.

I wasn't very good at expressing and DD1 did end up on formula in the day - but I fed in the car before taking her in and straight after collecting. And she wouldn't take a bottle from me (or DP) but happily from the nursery - although if she is on cups I agree I'd not bother with a bottle.
And even when she was small I'd feed her through out the day at the weekends but within a few weeks my boobs were fine in the week.
And she was still having a bedtime bf at 18 months...(only stopped when I was admitted to hospital)...