mixed feeding when return to work

[otherwisebecks]

i am due to go back to work 3 days a week and i would like to bf morning and evening and give formula during the days when i work and fully bf on days when i am at home. is this a realistic proposition or will ff on work days affect my milk supply too much? (ds is 20wks)

bump

It might work.
When i went back f/t when dd was 7 mths,she only had water at nursery and b/feeds at all other times,including all day w/ends.
We carried on for 2 1/2 years.

Have you considered expressing,even if only once a day?

If you started now,you could build up a nice little supply.

i did consider expressing but dont want to express at work

Give it a whirl then.B/feeding obviously established.
I'd still think about building up a freezer supply though if I wasn't expressing at work,so as to avoid formula but if you are happy with this decision then go for it.

Yes it can be done. The only thing I would say is that if you are planning to BF as normal when you are at home you may need to express milk for comfort. I got a whizz at expressing and did it by hand at work. Much faster than a pump I found. I didn't give formula at all. I banked milk up in the freezer which I replaced by expressing at work. Often only needed to express one feed.

if i had to guess, it'll depend how you feel about a weekly cycle of supply dropping/re-establishing. that is - v frequent feeds on your day off.

btw - i'm a huge convert to breastfeeding tea. it might support you?

i dont have a problem with formula although i guess i could express in the evenings on work days. my original decision was that once i went back to work i would only bf morning and evening and ff during the day every day but now its coming to decision time im not ready to give up bf during the day and it seems silly when im going to be at home 4 days a week

OB,indeed.You won't have to give up the b/feeding on the days you aren't working.

(How are yuo getting on btw Kif?)

I found the opposite the problem - too much supply and engorgement at work.

when I initially startd working, I expressed for a while and then switched to formula whilst I was away. I carried on giving breast milk for all the times I was with ds. That led to my boobs thinking they needed to produce milk in the day when I was at work and I was in a lot of discomfort so I ended up sticking to formula in the day -even at weekends so my body got used to not producing milk.

Now my ds is 8 mths old and I breast feed at 7am, 7pm and once to twice overnight evry day. This works out pretty well and ny supply and demand is now equal but everyone is different...what worked for me may not work for all.

i dont think i will get too uncomfortable at work as ds sleeps all night and i dont get too uncomfortable then. think i will just have to give it a try and see what happens really.

With DS I returned to work when he was 4 months, Mon, Wed and Fri. I used to breastfeed him all the time I was with him (including once at night) and he had 3 bottles of formula each day he was with the childminder.

It worked fine for the milk supply, but I found that once he was used to bottles, he liked seeing what was going on while drinking his milk rather than having his face in my chest so I had to bf in quiet places. As he was my first, this wasn't so much of a problem.

thanks for the messages they have been really helpful. now just wondering how much formula to give him at each feed.

At 20 weeks my DD took about 5-6oz EBM. Make 6 oz feed and see how much ds takes. Probably will be less of formula.