Giving full fat milk as a drink to 10m old.

[Writerwannabe83]

I'm having a bit of a worry about when I return to work in 5 weeks.

DS is almost 9m old and has four BF's a day.

My worry is that for two nights a week (possibly three) I won't be around for bedtime which DH will be doing. DS will take EBM from a bottle (only from DH) but my worry is that I'm not going to be able to pump off enough milk to facilitate this.

DS will be at a childminders for 2.5 days a week and will obviously need to drink whilst he's there but I just cannot see how I'm going to be able to express enough milk for this either.

This morning I sat trying to express for 15 minutes and I couldn't even get 20ml I just don't see how I can express enough volume to last DS three feeds a day (two whilst at the childminders and one at bedtime). I can't see how I can express enough to do this for 1 day a week, let alone three days.

I know DS can have water in the day (which he happily drinks from a beaker) but surely that isn't enough in terms of nutrition for 3 days a week?

He absolutely hates formula!!!! He won't even eat his beloved weetabix if there is formula on it.

My question is that although babies aren't supposed to have full fat milk as a drink until they're 1 year old, would it be acceptable for two nights a week to give a bottle of it before bed in the very likely absence of EBM?

Surely one bottle (typically about 4oz) of milk before bed is better than nothing? I can't see how just drinking water from the moment he wakes up until he goes to bed is the better option?

It will only be for 2-3 nights a week so not a regular occurrence and I would hope that for one of the nights I won't be there I would have built up enough of a stash of EBM over preceding days to at least manage one bedtime bottle of EBM.

DS will be almost 10m when I return to work.

Giving him 4oz of full fat milk before bed is no different to him having two bowls of weetabix a day. Why is it ok to give the milk with food but not ok as a one off stand alone drink in the midst of BF'ing? It doesn't make sense to me.

Do you think this be ok because otherwise I don't know what to do.

I think it's ok to do what you have suggested.

They give out the official advice as an idiots guide if you like because if they changed it you would have lots of folk feeding on Full Fat all the time.

That's my opinion anyway!

He will be fine - go for the cows milk.

yy, cows milk is fine as a drink for under ones. Just shouldn't be the main drink, which it wouldn't be in your situation.

I think we get told not to give cows milk as a drink because the NHS are concerned that FFers would replace formula with cows milk early because it's so much cheaper. You're right though, cows milk on Weetabix is still cows milk and no different than if it had come from a cup!

Writer, here's my experience for what it's worth. I've recently gone back to work part time (starting when DD was 9.5months). I was only expressing small amounts like you mention before I started back, and really worried about having enough milk to leave her, but actually on my first day back I expressed at lunchtime and got a huge amount - I think I just had to be missing the feeds for the pumping to work.

DD actually doesn't take milk when I'm not there anyway - at first (ie only the first day or so) she'd have little sips from a sippy cup but she's given that up now and just waits for me to get home (I'm only out of the house for 9 hours, so I know it's not quite the same)

I carried on expressing at lunchtimes for three weeks, partly for my own comfort, and partly to have a freezer stash of milk just in case. Then suddenly from week four I just didn't need to anymore, I think my boobs just adjusted. We feed on demand with no problems on days I'm at home.

I worried about it all A LOT before returning to work, but luckily my experience has been fine

I would say take the pressure of yourself and just got for the cows milk option - it's not worth the stress. I did the same and just sent formula into nursery instead of stressing over expressing.