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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Will I still be able to bf when I go back to work and how should I go about it?

19 replies

MrsMar · 21/02/2008 21:40

I worked really hard to get to this point (ds is 5.5 months) have ebf him and I'm feeling quite proud of myself cos I had some problems to begin with. I'm going back to work in 2 months, but I'd quite like to keep bfing ds a bit. The problem is I do shift work, I don't have my exact shift pattern at the moment, but I think I'll be working 8am-8pm Mon-Weds one week and 10am-10pm Mon-Thurs the next week. Obviously I won't be putting ds to bed each night, just on my days off, so I'm presuming I won't be able to give him an evening feed. I currently give him a dream feed at 11pm, so I may be able to carry that on, but he may not need it so that's a bit pointless. To be in work for 8am I'll have to leave around 7am so I don't reckon I'll be able to do his morning feed when I'm starting at 8. Another problem is that the nature of the job means I could have my hours changed with very little notice. Is there any point in even trying to keep bfing him with these hours?

OP posts:

theyoungvisiter · 21/02/2008 21:57

Have you got facilities to express at work? (by law they are supposed to offer them to you but in practice of course some places are preferable to others!)

If you could express at work then I would say definitely at least give it a go - just feed whenever your DS wants to when you're at home and express whenever you need to at work.

I don't have any direct experience as I went back to work 3 days a week when my DS was considerably older (14 months) but he fed (or in fact feeds!) fairly frequently on weekends and my days off, and only twice a day when I'm working, but my boobs totally cope and I am never engorged.

Hopefully someone with experience of doing this at 7/8 months will come along and advise directly...

Original poster

MrsMar · 21/02/2008 22:08

Hi theyoungvisiter, I can't express at work cos I work out on the road all the time (not literally, just never in the office!)

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theyoungvisiter · 21/02/2008 22:14

well I'm not an expert but I'd say without being able to express it might be hard, more because they drink so much at that age that you would risk getting engorged on the days you don't feed at all.

But having said that, are you sure you wouldn't be able to express at all? It partly depends why you are expressing - if it's to give to the baby then you really need a special room and a fridge a stuff.

If it's just to stop yourself getting engorged then you can use a hand pump in a loo and flush it, or just express hand directly into a bowl. I used to do it occasionally when I had to work long days or go out to evening functions - it wasn't glam but it stopped me getting uncomfortable long enough to get home.

Original poster

MrsMar · 21/02/2008 23:07

Hmmm expressing might be a tough one. I am out of the office most of the time and out doors most of the time so it would be hard, if not impossible to find somewhere quiet to do it. I'm increasingly starting to think it might not be possible to keep up the bfing. I never thought I'd say this, but that makes me feel a bit sad.

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fishie · 21/02/2008 23:12

mrsmar there are other threads on this, try searching on bf topic. you'll be able to keep bf no probs, only need to work out what extra (if anything) is needed.

chipmonkey · 21/02/2008 23:51

MrsMar, do you drive to work? A lot of breastpumps have car adapters that you plug in to the cigarette lighter. A girl on a different forum said that she expressed in the car, just wearing a kitchen apron over the pump! Or you could give formula during the day and feed morning and evening.

Original poster

MrsMar · 22/02/2008 10:12

I will hunt around for other threads fishie, I'm sure I'm not the only person who works shifts and still bfs!!

Chipmonkey - I did think about pumping in the car, I'm not 100% sure yet if I'll be allowed to drive in (it all depends on which shifts you work, but sometimes you can swing it) but I guess I'd have to dump the milk, unless I bought one of those cool bags which plug in to the cigarette lighter.

I can't do his morning and evening feeds on days I work cos I go leave for work before his morning feed and get home after he's gone to bed. I was hoping with some planning I could keep things going so I could feed him just on my days off.

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Original poster

MrsMar · 22/02/2008 10:33

Just had a thought, I went to a meeting at work the other day and I didn't feed ds for 12 hours (did 5am feed, dh gave him a bottle at 9.30 and 1pm and I fed him at 5pm) and after I'd fed ds I still managed to express about 5oz. Not masses but quite alot considering I'd just done a feed aswell. Maybe I could express every evening when I get home from work so he could at least have one bottle of ebm. Will he get any benefit from just one bottle? Does anyone have any experience of doing something similar and how much did your milk supply decline by?

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Highlander · 22/02/2008 11:08

aren't you protected from unsociable hours iof you're BF?

pinguino · 22/02/2008 12:47

Mrs Mar - milk can be kept out at room temp for quite a while (Kellymom a good source of info for this) so no need to dump IME.

I have the Ameda Lactaline with a car adapter and a hands free bra and have used it as a passenger successfully many times. Not sure how easy it is to do this while driving though!

Original poster

MrsMar · 22/02/2008 16:23

Hmmm highlander.. I might have to look in to that one. I don't think there are such things as sociable hours on this job, the shifts are 12 hours, 7 day fortnights. End of story. I might do a bit of investigation though, we are talking about the beeb here, they should bend over backwards for me !!

I'd be a bit wary of pumping while driving pinguino, but I guess there's no reason why I can't pull over for 15 mins and I have to have a lunch break. I had read that at cool room temp bm is ok for 10 hours, but I think as the summer warms up the milk will spoil without some kind of refridgeration.

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theyoungvisiter · 22/02/2008 19:38

one of those insulated lunch bags with an ice pack would probably keep it cool enough...?

chipmonkey · 22/02/2008 19:41

I've always stored milk in one of those insulated bags because we don't have a fridge in work.

Original poster

MrsMar · 22/02/2008 19:44

Really? I've got one of those, but I assumed that they'd only be good for a couple of hours. I guess there's no way of knowing until I try. Just better make sure I've got some formula around in case it turns to cottage cheese by the end of the day.

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FairyMum · 22/02/2008 19:53

I bf for 18 months after returning to work when DS2 was 6 months. Eventhough I was at work 5 days a week and obviously did not bf during that time, I still had enough milk to feed him during "office hours" at the weekend. I did not loose my milk at all, but I guess its individual. In the end we were down to just a bedtime feed and that was fine too. Even one feed a day is valuable drops!

chipmonkey · 22/02/2008 22:07

I have stored EBM all day in a coolbag and the ice pack is usually still frozen by the end of the day. EBM is fine at room temp for something like 12 hours anyway.

marge2 · 22/02/2008 22:29

Good luck!

I bfed for another 6 months after I went back to work, until DS1 was a year old. I only needed to express for three months as DS needed fewer feeds the older he got. At the peak, I managed to express three times a day the days I worked and took home 'gallons' with me. Admittedly I had easy circs. Very supportive boss, office based, able to use the office medical room, and there was an icebox I could use.

Getting DS to drink from a bottle was a different battle altogether!!!!!!!

laundrylover · 22/02/2008 22:47

MrsMar, well done for getting this far with bfing and for being so determined to carry on. You will find that as your DS gets older your boobs will become much more adaptable - at 8 months I could go away overnight and only express at breakfast...at 18 months I went away for a w/e (wahay!!!) and just expressed a bit in the shower. Supply was back to normal once DD2 greeted me with 'hello mummy, booby'. I could also feed in the day when not working and be fine when DD2 was at nursery.

I also agree that you can easily store ebm in a cool bag - they stay chilled for about 12 hours minimum. So...somehow you should be able to do it!

My tips would be to try him with bottles of ebm from now on and also get your DH to do a couple of trial bedtimes with no booby to set your mind at ease. That dreamfeed sounds worth keeping up for the sake of DS and your boobs!

Original poster

MrsMar · 23/02/2008 16:35

thanks for all the replies, great to hear your experiences, makes me much more positive that I'll be able to carry on. It does mean a lot to me.

I've got a cool bag and ice packs so I'll try those. I do hate wasting good milk, otherwise I don't mind pumping and dumping if I get a chance during the day.

DS is great with a bottle of ebm thank goodness. He had weight issues early on so I've been expressing every morning and giving it to him in a bottle as a top up in the evening since he was 4 weeks old.

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