Returning to work - will two feeds a day be enough for 10mo DD?

11 replies

squeakybuggywheels · 09/10/2007 22:34

I am returning to work full time next month when DD will be 10 mo. I would be able to bf morning and evening and just wondering if that would be enough milk for her?
At the moment we are having usually 3 bf a day - on waking (5-6am grr), c.2pm, and bedtime 7.30pm-ish. Maybe 2-3 nights out of 7 she wakes up once a night too.
She already goes to nursery 2 days a week and takes c.6oz of ebm at 2pm, recently dropped to 4.5oz as pump output dropped and she did not seem to mind.
Won't be able to express at work though, so just wondering should I replace 2pm with ff or just drop that feed altogether? Her solids intake has just upped recently as she started crawling..eats yoghurt, butter on toast, cheese..
Any advice? Thanks!

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LaylaandSethsmum · 09/10/2007 22:38

She probably does still need that milk at 2 ish both mine were still having milk around that time at nearly 2.

Why can't you express at work? AFAIK it is a legal requirement for employers to provide facilities for this.

Seona1973 · 09/10/2007 23:03

my ds was bottle fed but went to 2 milk feeds at around 10 months (dd was also the same). As long as your lo's intake was made up from other sources and your lo had plenty of fluids available then 2 feeds should be plenty. Alternatively, as your lo will not be far off 1 year, you could leave a few ounces of cows milk for an afternoon feed if your lo still wants milk? It is not advised before 1 year as a main drink but 1 drink a day when you are still giving breastfeeds is not likely to do any harm.

chipmonkeyPumpkinNorks · 09/10/2007 23:04

Don't think it's a legal requirement Layla, just a guideline. Should be a legal requirement.

Original poster

squeakybuggywheels · 09/10/2007 23:07

Thanks - I probably could express but am hoping to cut my lunch hour to 1/2hr so I could leave 1/2hr early so that DD's day at nursery won't be too long. This won't leave enough time to eat some lunch AND pump.
Am also feeling that I have had my fair share of pumping already in the last 9 months. Not super keen on doing ff which is why I was thinking maybe she won't need that feed...

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Original poster

squeakybuggywheels · 09/10/2007 23:10

Xed posts - Seona she drinks plenty water / juice from sippy cup etc. But if she needs milk I'm happy for her to have a bottle (esp rather than her waking up more in the night for milk top-ups, now that wouldn't be popular)

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chipmonkeyPumpkinNorks · 09/10/2007 23:17

squeaky, I'm in Ireland and we have no rights OR guidelines here wrt expressing. But my boss allowed me 2 15 minute breaks to express as well as my lunchbreak. Might your boss consider allowing you the same?
Tbh, all my boys were still drinking milk at midday at that age but I know a lot of others who only had milk morning and evening. Why don't you try replacing it with juice/water and see what happens? She sounds like she's getting plenty of dairy otherwise.

1dilemma · 09/10/2007 23:24

My lo was a bottle refuser but still needed a feed at about that time. They have all done the switch day to night thing and gaily feed throught the night so just be prepared for that, it settled a bit fairly quickly. Have you thought about pumping for a bit longer just to cover the settling period? you might find he switches more easily. My youngest took water from cup/bottle long before he took milk!

ja9 · 09/10/2007 23:44

i'm back at work pt. dd 7.5 mths. i feed her morn, night and about 2:30pm. on the days i work i express when i get home and can usually get about 7oz in a oner as i have missed a feed in the day. my ds carried on with 3 milk feeds a day until he was 12mo. alternatively you cld give her formula for this feed....

moondog · 09/10/2007 23:47

She doesn't need the daytime milk.I went back to work f/t when baby was 8 mths and she managed fine in the day with juice or water. I didn't want to give formula and no time to express.

We carried on b/feeding for 30 mths but I never gave/give them cows' milk apart from that in yoghurt and cheese.

gigglewitch · 09/10/2007 23:52

Did exactly what you are planning with all three of mine. It worked fine for me, they actually learned that they liked to drink other stuff in the day, whereas while i BF'd they never could be ars bothered. mine all took more in the evening tho, so expect possibility of some moving of routines all round. good luck!

Original poster

squeakybuggywheels · 10/10/2007 21:19

Thanks all - I guess there's a few weeks between now and then to watch her cues. She did not seem to mind at all her 2pm bottle of ebm dropping to 4.5oz from 6oz. This is all I can express recently and it suggests she is taking less at 2pm anyway (used to get 6oz bang on the mark before).

Her 2pm milk was v late today too more like 4pm and again she didn't mind - we were stuck in town and just kept going...She DID mind though when her (solid) lunch was 30min late - let everyone on the bus know about it too

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