Returning to work

[Bufster]

I am wondering when and how I best reduce or stop bf-ing before returning to work.

I will be returning to work full time in two months time, and will have to do some travelling every month or so, usually with just one night away.

My dd2 will be 10.5 months when I return. She was ebf until 6 months, when we started weaning. I started giving her a bottle at bedtime a months ago and then another bottle around 2pm two weeks ago.

She takes the bottles but not happily and usually only has 1-2 ounces before refusing the rest and trying to get to the breast instead. I find this very upsetting.

Since I started the bottles she has started waking up a lot more at night for feeds.

I cannot decide if I should keep going with the bottles, or stop for now and trying again closer to the time I will have to return to work.

any advice?

No advice as such, but I am in almost the same situation as you, although my DD will be 6.5 months when I go back to work full time. Will be interesting to hear what other people advise.

I have read that reducing one feed a week is a good idea. The breastfeeding network has some really good advice: www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/breastfeeding-help/returning-to-work/

Sorry, on my iPad so can't link properly.

Thanks, I will have a read of that

If she's good with food she might not need them during the day. I had to quickly drop the bottles when my ds started nursery as they feed them up (to keep them calm). Then I just bf before and after work.

Have you tried giving milk with a cup, or beaker to see if it's just a bottle thing? Weirdly my dd was good at sucking from a straw at 6 months and drank a lot of milk that way.

I know some babies don't like the taste of formula, is it possible to express a little? A friend of mine done that and started diluting the expressed milk with regular milk over time.

Also is it yourself that's giving the bottle? Breastfed babies will usually prefer to nussel into a cosy boob if it's available! Could someone else give the bottle instead?

If night waking is an issue due to possibly hunger, could spoon feeding a very milky cereal/rice before bedtime help?

It's difficult and emotional to try and tamper with feeding, I know it can be stressful. Some babies just like the comfort it brings too, so can be tricky to work around.

Good luck

Thank you both very much for your replies and suggestions. Others have tried to give her bottles, with even less success than me.

However, I haven't tried to give her expressed milk, so I will definitely try that and I have only tried a cup once so will try that again too. If she can drink milk from a cup during the day, that would help a lot.

Thanks again.