working 1 long-day per wk - formula or BF?

[HelloMama]

DS is going to be 16 wks when I start work. I currently exclusively breast feed. At the moment, DS is feeding about every 2-3 hours which I don't really mind BUT I don't know what to do when I start work in a few weeks time. I will be working 1 long-day per week (about an 11 hour day - eek!) and I don't think that it is realistic to think i could express enough for 4+ feeds for the day when I am away - or is it? If i used formula for this 1 day per week, will this interfere with BF during the rest of the time? If i am going to use formula, how do I start to introduce it?

BTW, DS has no probs taking EBM from a bottle at present, its just the sheer amount that I will need to leave whilst I'm at work that concerns me. please help! any practical solutions would be great!

A good breastpump like a Medella might make all the difference. You could probably express twice in that 11 hour period and then b/feed just before feeding and straight on your return.

I reckon going without feeding/expressing for such a long time would really interfere with your breastfeeding at other times (plus you'll arrive home hardly able to see!!)

I am sure someone will be along with better advice, but I went back to work when dd was 5 months and expressed for her, only 2 feeds though! How much does he have at each feed?
I had a stock of 6 bottles in the freezer and used those. At work, I expressed twice a day, as well as doing a morning and evening feed. I found that as I expressed more, I produced more, and was often getting 7ozs out at a time. Could you build in 1 expressing session per day (from now on?)on the other 6 days and build up enough stock that way? You'll have to eat more cake!
It might be that if you're not there, he'll take less feeds/amounts and make up for it when you feed him from the breast.
Don't know about the formula bit but think you'll have to express at work anyway or you're feel uncomfortable. Wouldn't imagine it will affect your supply for just one day though.
Good luck!

Hi, I was faced with a similar dilemma and had to express enough breastmilk for my twins, however I have to say with a Medula breast pump it was possible. The way I used to do it was by expressing from one side whilst feeding from the other as this helps with let down and therefore makes expressing easier. Don't worry about not having enough for your baby by doing it this way, you just produce more. I used to do this every am at my 10 o clock feed as I always eemed to have more in the mornming, or was perhaps more relaxed, anyway it worked better. I also had a freezer compartment just for my milk and it soon built up. One problem I think you will face is your boobs filling during the day when you are at work, as theywon't understand why you are not feeding as usual. This can be uncomfortable, and the best thing for this is to express at work. This would also be a good way of making sure you have enough. Hope this has been of some help and wishing you happiness in whatever choice you make xxx

I work two days a week, one 10-hour and one 8-hour. DS is 32 weeks and I've been back at work since he was 27 weeks old. If you express after some feeds during the day you can build up a supply in the freezer. Plus as Mizmiz says, if you don't express when you're at work, you'll be REALLY uncomfortable!

I leave 20oz (or thereabouts) for my 10-hour day (and feed him before I go) and about 15oz for my 8-hour day. DS isn't really on much in the way of solids though, so I do need to leave a lot.

I take an Avent Isis pump to work with me (I have the out and about set with the coolbag and gel packs, though I also have another freezer pack I use too). I express a couple of times a day and leave the milk in the fridge with the pump. It all stays cold enough to bring home and freeze. On a good day, I get 8-10oz to bring home with me, which means expressing a couple of ounces every evening (just about to do it in fact!).

By law, your work have to provide you with a private place to express (with a lock on the door) and somewhere to keep your EBM.

HTH xxx

I agree that you are going to HAVE to express atleast some milk during the day otherwise you are likely to become very engorged.

It is probably best to see how it goes, give your baby whatever expressed milk you are able to produce. Of course it is better not to give formula until 6 months, especially if you are concerned about allergies but if youcan not produce enough then use formula. Once your baby gets older you will probably be able to get away with not expressing.

My baby is 9 months old and I just mix whaver ebm I have woth formula or sometimes doorstep milk if not much of a top up is needed.

Try and build up a supply now in the freezer if you can.

Sounds quite similar to me with dd. I spent the whole week expressing and freezing (once a day), fed her as I dropped her off at nursery, was on hand to go in if I needed to to. But, after the first day was easy, as the milk I expressed while I was at work (put in fridge then frozen when I got home) was about three quarters of what she needed, so I didn't need to express that much extra.

One tip - leave the milk in lots of small amounts (5 bottles of 2-3 oz rather than 2 or 3 6-8 oz bottles). Then the nursery can give him more if he wants, but it isn't wasted if he doesn't want it - less soul destroying for you if they haven't had to throw away 4 precious oz of EBM. I was a bit dubious about expressing enough tbh - I am not a 'prolific milker' but found the Medela really helped there.

Hope it goes well.

thanks so much for all your replies, they have been really helpful. I am going in to meet everyone in my new job this week so will be able to ask about BF facilities. They asked during the interview if I am still BF, so they are aware I will probably need to express at some point during the day. I have the avent breast pump and on a good day (in the morning) i can usually manage about 7-9oz. It was a good tip about keeping smaller bottles ready rather than one big one - it breaks my heart when I have to dispose of unused / left-over milk!