Leaving almost ten month old for first time for work, will they be okay without any milk?

[hermionieweasley]

I'm due to return to work in two weeks, my baby will be a few days off ten months old.

Will he be okay if I give him a feed before I leave at 7 am ish, to wait until I get home at 4pm ish for milk? He is on three meals a day and snacks, but loves his milk.

Have you tried pumping? Might be worth a go. Nutritionally he will be fine, but might settle more easily if you can leave some milk. If you can't or he won't take it don't worry though, make sure he has plenty of cheese, yogurt or milky cereal to keep up his dairy intake, and be prepared for a bout of night feeding. But he will be fine.

I did this with my 10 month old. I did leave him with a cup of milk in case he got desperate.

Will he drink water or breast milk from a cup?

I mean he’ll survive yeah but I would never leave my one year old even that long without a bottle.

Start giving him milk in a cup or bottle now - whether formula or expressed.

I'd also make life easier for yourself if you can and don't start work on the same day you leave him the first time. So if poss leave him with your partner/other carer and go off for the day, or send him to childcare and have a day or two to yourself. That way you don't combine two lots of weirdness at once and if need be you can cut the day of childcare short.

He'll be fine. I had to do this with Ds1 at a similar age, and again with Ds2 around a year. They basically fed like mad on pick up and more in the evenings. Both of mine were bottle refusers and wouldn't take milk from a cup/spoon.

You might find that he starts wanting more night feeds.

Good luck and don't fret.