Breastfeeding just morning and night?

[whitehousemum]

Hi All,

Looking for experiences of what people have done. My little girl is 7 months and after a very rocky start at breastfeeding involving all kinds of issues and some formula we have continued for the past 7 months and I feel really proud of myself! I love feeding her now and don't want to stop anytime soon. I'm going to be starting a bit more work in September and will be away from her 10-5ish two days a week. A couple of questions: 1) could I just not feed her those two days during the day and feed her the rest of the week - she has formula when at the childminder? (I'm a freelance performer so a pumping area not really feasible in my working environment - I'd have to pump and then dump in the car as no storage) 2) if I decide I want to keep the schedule the same every day is it feasible to breastfeed twice a day - once when we get up and once at her bedtime (and during the night if needed)? 3) how long could I continue this for? My goal is to continue breastfeeding her until at least 18 months, but I'm not sure about public breastfeeding so much when she is over a year, so would ideally like to keep breastfeeding to early morning and bedtime if possible.

Also, if I was just feeding twice a day, how much formula/expressed breastmilk should be offered during the day?

I continued last thing at night and first thing feeds for several months. Don't think you could just do certain days though.

Yes, you can easily keep feeding her when you are around and formula feed the days you are working. Your body will adapt quickly - you may need to pop a few ibuprofen and wear a supportive bra the first few times you don't feed all day, or you could pump or hand express just enough to take the edge off and then dump. Lots of people do just this.

I think the rough rule for expressed breastmilk is 1oz per hour you are apart, but it would probably be less than this for an older baby who is on solids. No idea on formula, but the guide on the tin for a baby of different ages should give you an idea.

In terms of storage, you can leave milk in a cool bag with a deep frozen ice pack for up to 24 hours. Leaving it for 5 or 6 hours will be fine and you can transfer it to fridge when you get home.