Returning to work and feeding (Zebra?)

[dinny]

Hi, Zebra, I remember reading you went back to work quite early and still breastfed?? Am planning to go back when ds 5 months and don't want to stop bfing then. Would be really interested to hear yours ( and anyone else's) experiences. Thank you! D

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hi,
my dd is 22 weeks and i just went back to work. so far i bf in the morning 7am, express twice at work 11am and 3pm and then bf in the evening 6.30-7.30pm and night 1.30am. dd seems happy with this. the only problem i find is that i keep forgetting to express at work due to being in meetings and being busy and then I havent got enough milk for the next day. This week Ive had to give 1 bottle of formula.

Hi,
I went back to work when my dd was bf. i am forunate that i work p/t flexible hours, and close to home. so i planned my day as much as possible to ensure i never worked longer than 3 hours with a break to go home and feed dd and then back to work. i work in the community where i live, so was in the car a lot and able to plan a gap to pop home in!
My dd did take bottles so could have those if i wasn't in home in time, it was more so i didn't start leaking, if she had already fed before i got home i would have to express.
Having said that on days when i had to go up town for full days training/ meetings etc. were a nightmare. I used to pack my pump, millions of breast pads, and a clean bra and top! i often expressed in toilet cubicles and then chucked the milk cos i felt it wasn't hygenic to keep. I hated expressing so much in public (not literally but y'know not in the comfort of your own home) that i didn't express one day, and by the time i arrived at my stop on the train i was exploding and had to button my coat up v firmly to conceal the leakage!!
Sorry this isn't v positive about working and bf but just thought i'd share my experience!!
I'm sure it won't be so bad for you because your son being 5mths will probably mean you will be on less feeds a day anyway - so less leakage possibilities!!And hopefully you are lucky enough to work in a permanent environment where you can set up a routine of finding somewhere private and expressin regularly. By the time my dd was on solids i could go 7 hrs a day without feeding or expressing and not leak, just a painful "full" feeling by the end of the day. I used to run in the front door and beg her to have a feed from me just to relieve the pressure! lol
Hope going back to work goes well for you.

sorry meant to say went back to work when my dd was 3 mths old hence the frequent feeds!

Hi Dinny - I'm at work at the moment! I expressed once about 1-ish, having fed DS in the morning (he's seven months on Wednesday). I've got the Avent Out and About kit and I just sterilise the pump in the morning, bring two bottles with me and use the pump to express twice. I'm at work from 10-8 so I could express once more I suppose, but I don't seem to need to. In fact, I can get away with just doing it once, but I'd like the milk to leave for DS for my next day at work!

I keep the pump in the milk fridge (appropriate or what?!) with the EBM I express during the day (all in the black bag, inside a separate carrier bag) and take it all home with me in the evening. I have an extra cool pack thingy that keeps it all cold and I have no qualms about feeding it to DS.

HTH
HM xxx

Hi Dinny
I went back to work when dd was 6 months. I found a nursery near work so I could go out at lunchtime and bf, however every time I went she was asleep!
I had started solids at 5 and a half months so bf in morning and when I picked her up at half three (I am a teacher) and at night and I never expressed (she drank water from a cup during the day). That worked fine (I dropped the 3.30 feed at 11 months) until she self weaned at 14 months!
Good luck, take care, Selina

I expressed for DS1 when he went to the childminder 3 days per week from 6 months on. I expressed at work using a hand pump, and at home to build up enough supply. It wasn't a big problem, but I guess of you are trying to do it full time it would be much harder.

DS1 was actually very reluctant to feed from a bottle so most of the milk I expressed got used for cooking instead, and he filled up with breast feeding before and after work.

I fed him until he was a year old - so expressed for about 6 months.

Hi dinny - I went back to work 3 days per week when dd was 5.5 months. I expressed for her till she was a year, then used up my freezer supply reserves for a couple of months and then moved her to cows milk.

It worked really well for us - had lots of anxious moments to start with about whether I would produce enough milk for her (she wasn't even on solids when I started back at work). But all worked out and I'm really glad I did it for her. I continued to breastfeed morning and evening till she was 2.

Ooh, my name in a thread title...
Am currently trying to coax nearly-5-month old to use spouts, actually, so I can work again. I have had to re-read all the "getting baby to take a bottle" threads. We'll make a real effort at it this weekend, because I'll be away from baby for 4 hours or so next Monday.

As it is, what I'm doing is taking him to childminder, after 2-3 hours coming back to feed him, going back to work for another 2-3 hours.
The only real hassle with this (CM lives 5 minutes away) is that she also has my 3yo for the day. I have to hide from 3yo when feeding the baby or she'd flip out & want to come home early. If 3yo wasn't such a pain I'd love to long-term just pop over & feed the baby when needed, and not bother with expressing at all, because expressing/sterilising/freezing/etc. is a chore.

I think it gets a lot easier when they are already on solids. My other babes were on solids by 16-17 weeks, but I'm being a good girl this time and will hold off until 6 months unless the baby manages to grab something off my plate, first. Baby being on solids is a psychological reassurance means you just know that there's a backup if you didn't send in enough milk, or if you are only able to express a bit less than usual, etc.

BTW, I would think at 5 months, no solids, baby would take 10-16 oz in an 8 hour period, if that's any help to you.