Breastfeeding and back to work

[Arwen7]

Hi
Just looking to know about other's experiences and any tips etc appreciated.

I am due to go back to work when baby will be 1yo. She has been ebf since birth and continues to drink quite a bit alongside solids now (10mo). She has never had a bottle.

I would like to continue bf for as long as possible or until I or she decide to stop. So the plan is to practice with a bottle for the last feed of the day a month or so before going back to work and then express at work.

I will be doing long 12h shifts which means I won't see her at all during those days which is causing me a lot of anxiety! But that will only be 2 days a week and then another half a day. During the time I am at work she will be in nursery and then home with my husband. I am hoping she can have my expressed milk while I am away.

My main concern is... will she refuse the breast if she is only bottle fed for two whole days a week (basically not seeing me besides any night feed if she still does) Any experiences regarding this? I would want to be prepared if the likelihood is that she will wean herself off the breast.

Thank you!! Xxx

I’m a nurse so I used to be away from my son for 3 days a week.

I would leave the house at 6.45am (whilst he was still asleep) and not get home until 9.30pm and so he was asleep then too.

I expressed about 3-4 times a day at work as he was also breast feeding regularly at that age. He was about 11 months old at the time I returned to work.

I never introduced a bottle and he would just use a beaker at his childminder’s house so could you not do the same? He would have my expressed milk whilst he was there.

Me not seeing him for 3 days a week made absolutely no difference to our breast feeding relationship and I actually breast fed him until he was 3 years old.

It’s amazing how breast milk supply can adapt to changing routines.

For the first 6 months after going back I expressed 3-4 times a day but then I started finding I didn’t have to express as often, and then I didn’t have to express at all and despite this my breasts were still completely comfortable. Sometimes during my shift patterns I would be away from my son for 48 hours and it soon got to the point where I could go for that period of time without feeding or expressing and still not feeling uncomfortable, and then just breast feeding my son as normal when I was back with him.

I did the exact same thing with my second child and I breast fed him for 3 years too.

So please don’t worry that shift work is going to have a detrimental effect on your breast feeding because it’s very, very unlikely to. Your milk supply is well established now and although the first few months may be tricky to navigate in terms of finding time to express and having some periods of feeling engorged, it will all work itself out.

@NotNewButNameChanged2023 thanks that is very helpful and makes me feel so much better!
Yes exactly like my situation as I will be leaving at 6:30am when she is still sleeping and back at 9pm when she will be sleeping for the night again! So it is great to hear that it didn't affect your relationship with bf on your days off, I hope it's the same case with us.
I didn't consider the beaker, that's a good point.
I have no concerns about expressing at work as I can manage that during the day so that's something less to worry about.

My babies were born in the 1980s when us mums were back at work very soon, my mat leave was maximum 4 months. I continued bf until my babies were over a year, I just fed morning and evening and they had expressed milk for day time feeds at nursery. They had bottles til about 6 months/7 months and then had sippy cup beakers. Babies are pretty adaptable and you'll
Likely find that when it's someone else offering the milk, they'll be fine with bottle or beaker.

I used to come home and sneak into my son’s room and my husband would say, “Don’t you dare wake him up!” 😂

However, I would always stroke my son’s back or his face just firm enough to stir him and then I’d be whipping him out for a breast feed 😂

My husband would roll his eyes at me but I told him that after a really, really shitty shift there was nothing more effective and calming than a lovely half-asleep breastfeeding session to make all the shit just melt away ❤️

I’m a child care provider and have had lots of little ones who had bottles with me and Bfed with mum. However here, there’s no guaranteed paid maternity leave so most people are back to work at 12 weeks, so it’s not quite the same.

I think you’ll be able to continue to BF though.

It was completely fine for us and I kept bf for nearly two more years after going back to work.

If your dc won't take expressed milk at nursery (mine wasn't that interested) she can have cow's milk or water and food by that age.

When she sees you again each evening she'll tear at your clothes like she's been starved - she hasn't been starved! She's just relieved you're back and bf is back on the menu!

And on your days off it might feel like nonstop bf as your dd might want it more to compensate.

The no1 thing to be careful of (ime) is expressing at work to prevent engorgement. To begin with I'd go for twice per 12h shift. Also no tight bras etc.

I went back to work when DS was 10 months, breastfed him until 20 months when he wasn’t with me he just had food and and water, and then breastfed when he was with me. I never expressed, he never had milk in a bottle or cup (until he was a toddler and it wasn’t my milk) though it wasn’t quite so long away from me he’d often have a feed at 7.30am and then not again till 6pm ish. He’d feed a lot in the evening and over night though.

You'll be fine. Take something to relieve your breasts at work to begin with though! And get your do to give the bottle, babies dont usually want them from mum when they know where the boobies are kept!

I am not an expert but I would practise with a bottle in the day and bf at night as that's the routine you'd want her to be in, right?

Thank you everyone! <3
It does seem like I have been worrying for no reason and after reading about your experiences I feel more confident that everything will be just fine.
Some great tips that I've taken note of!
I will definitely consider a beaker instead of a bottle considering she likes her water sippy cup at present and she won't be that young and will definitely keep on top of the expressing while at work as I know the risks of not doing so.
She is still having small amounts of food and she has been a small baby since birth so wouldn't want her to rely on food and water only as I don't think it would be enough for her just yet.