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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

I go back to work a week on Tuesday. Just need some support and positive stories!

20 replies

EasterBunnylicious · 21/03/2008 09:04

It is mainly due to the support that I have received on here that I am still bfing dd at 9 months. I am afraid I am calling on your support again.

I go back to work a week on Tuesday 3 days a week, I'll be out of the house for about 9 hours. I have somewhere to express at work, but despite religiously expressing at least once a day the amount I am getting off is dwindling. I have maybe 15 feeds in the freezer and am going to be expressing at work (any tips on how, how often etc.?).

Am I going to be able to do this? What if I can't express anything off? I have no idea how much milk she is going to need in a day (she will be at home with DH). Will I still be able to feed her as normal for the other 4 days? She is BLWed.

Arrgh I'm freaking in out a little bit! My biggest fear is that she will start waking up in the night to feed.

Just need a bit of support and reassurance. Sorry I know it's a silly thing to get worked up over, but I've struggled to get this far, I don't want to stop now.

OP posts:

levan · 21/03/2008 13:13

I'm no expert, but found when I went back to work when dd was 12 mths there was no problem with just feeding her first thing and last thing. I didn't bother with expressing at work as it was taking me so long. Usually she just has the two feeds even when I'm not working but occasionally I give her an extra one or two during the day and don't find this is a problem. HTH - I'm sure someone will be alog soon who knows more.

callmeovercautious · 21/03/2008 13:33

You should be able to still feed the days you are together. Keep up the expressing but don't stress about it too much if you can help it. 15 feeds = 5 weeks of a cup/bottle once a day (after her nap for example. Then she will be 10m + You just need to keep it up another month or so then she can start having a cup of cows Milk.

My BFing advisor told me I could give one cup a day, 3 days a week from 11m. DD was at Nursery to settle in a month before I returned to work and I was worried to. The no cows milk rule is really because of nutrients but if you keep up the BFing when you are together it will be plenty. She told me not to worry about a few weeks as it was such a small amount.

If it is any comfort to you - I still BF DD Morning and Night the 3 days I work with an extra naptime feed the days we are at home. She is 18m now

mindingmum · 21/03/2008 14:10

Hi there

I too went back to work when DD2 was 9 months and expressed at work.

I found that I could easily 'let down' by looking at photos of her while I expressed - sounds mad but I've since read that this is recommended.

On my days off, I was able to feed her whenever she wanted and my supply seemed to adjust quickly (rarely had too much milk after the weekend and never did i feel i had too little after two consequtive days at work)

I fed her for 30 months of which 6 months i tandem fed after DD3 was born.

HTH

evenhope · 21/03/2008 14:17

I went back to work 3 days a week when my DD was almost 10 months. I express once or twice during the day- only get about 3 oz. Mine has never slept through the night and does seem to do a fair bit of feeding at night.

The other 4 days she feeds as normal through the day.

Original poster

EasterBunnylicious · 21/03/2008 17:03

Thanks for the replies, I'm starting to feel a bit better. I know it's different for each baby, but can anyone give me an idea of how much milk she might need while I am gone? I'm not convinced one feed will be enough. If I feed at 7 and then again at 5ish when would you recommend giving her ebm.

Sorry, I am being completely clueless and needy about this!

OP posts:

Chaotica · 21/03/2008 17:20

I started work when DD was just 5 and half months (3 days a week) and I think she had 3 feeds of ebm (approx 4oz each?) cut down to two by about 10m. She had a late morning one and one before her afternoon nap iirc. Didn't have any problem expressing 12oz through the day (although it was a bit of a pain! -- couldn't really tell colleagues what I was up to so had to 'disappear' for no obvious reason).

I'd go for 2 smallish feeds if I were you. (And adjust if she wants more/less.)

Bumperlicious · 31/03/2008 07:57

Argghhhh! This is tomorrow! I will be so pissed off if going back to work interferes with bfing. I don't know how I am going to get out of the house on time in the morning. DD never just takes her morning feed all at once, she likes to stop and have a chat or a play.

Is it worth the stress?! What if I can't express at work?

sophiaverloren · 31/03/2008 13:01

If it helps, I found expressing at work easier than at home - because I was guaranteed to go longer without DS feeding and felt "fuller". I went back to work when he was 5.5 months - 4 days a week. I expressed a couple of times a day at work and then on my day off/weekend as well a little bit to keep up a freezer back up, but breastfed as normal and on demand whenever I could.

I did find I needed fewer bottles than I expected - when it was "just" milk and not breast/comfort/cuddles, he didn't seem to want it as much.

It didn't affect his sleeping at all either, thank goodness!

I think this is one of those cases where you have to see what works for you, but I thought I'd share my positive experience (I did this until DS was 11 months when we went on hols and then started on cows milk during the day. BF until he lost interest at 14 months)

mistlethrush · 31/03/2008 13:07

I went back to work when ds 6mo for 3dpw - had some in freezer, expressed once during day at work, and then on days off also tried to express some. Never had any problems bf on days off, and ds continued to have as many feeds as he wanted then. Eventually (at about 11mo?) had to supplement bottles supplied to nursery with formula as he was drinking more at nursery and I couln't keep up. However, we continued bf at gradually diminishing rates until 22mo: hope you find it works well for you too

doggiesayswoof · 31/03/2008 13:14

I tried to express at work but for various reasons I couldn't (a lot of hassle for not much ebm, some days I was just too busy to fit it in or couldn't get away from my desk etc)

I know you asked for positive stories and maybe that doesn't sound positive, but I had a much happier time once I accepted that expressing wasn't working for me. I carried on bfing dd morning and evening, and at weekends, and it got to the point about 2 months in where I felt balanced IYKWIM - the main thing for me was that I was managing to bf part of the time.

Dd was 6 months, and she had 2 formula feeds a day at nursery at first - or 1 formula and 1 ebm while my stocks lasted. by 9/10 months this had dropped to one formula feed per day.

doggiesayswoof · 31/03/2008 13:38

I really didn't want to give dd formula at first, but I realised that I was stressing about it too much. The bottom line for me was that dd was still partially bf.

Just wanted you to know that there is another option if expressing at work doesn't work out for you (and of course it might well be fine). It won't mean the end of bf.

I freaked about the mornings too - I thought I wouldn't be able to do it - for the first few weeks I just got up really early and gave myself loads of time to do the morning feed. It seems impossible, but it becomes the norm quite quickly.

good luck for tomorrow.

latchmeregirl · 31/03/2008 13:42

I was going to post exactly the same message as doggiesayswoof - couldn't express much the first time round, but dd happily took a bottle of formula once a day on the three days I was at work, then I bf her on demand when I wasn't at work - this went on from 11 months to 19 months when she self weaned. I told myself that as she was eating solids, formula was just another food stuff in many ways. This time round, ds has formula when I'm at work and makes up for it when I get back when he falls upon me and feeds for an hour or so...

fletchaaarr · 31/03/2008 13:49

I went back to work 3 days a week when DD was 8 months old, and fed her just before we left, and then as soon as we got home again 8.00 am and 17:30.

It was fine, she had formula at nursery if she had anything at all. I did get rather full by the end of the day, but my supply was fine.

We are still feeding last thing at night and first thing in the morning and she is 19 months old

(I want to stop now though)

Sabire · 31/03/2008 13:53

I went back to work 2 (short) full days and one evening a week when my first was 5 weeks.... and carried on bf until she was 18 months.

The most important thing is confidence - that you can bf as and when you like, in any way you like and it will be ok. The glitches are just that - glitches. Yes - for a time I did find the mornings a sweaty, stressy rush (she'd have Looooong feeds in the morning when I was trying to get up and going), but we found a way.

I didn't give formula - amazing when I think how little she was when I went back. I gave her whatever expressed milk I could get and she just had to do with water and later (at 4/5 months) juice until I got back. It worked somehow.

Good luck.

DontCallMeBaby · 31/03/2008 14:08

Hi bumper, thought this was going to be you.

DD was six months old when i went back to work - did morning and bedtime feeds (and middle of the night) on working days, non-working days (four in a row) I did the same plus mid-afternoon. There was never any sign of supply dropping off until we stopped at 9 months (not due to supply issues). She did wake at night, but then she'd never started sleeping through - she's almost always go quickly back to sleep after a feed though, so it wasn't a huge issue. I had three months at work with her waking at least once a night.

I'm sure I had something else to say, but she is distracting me by telling me stories. Erm. Good luck!

andiem · 31/03/2008 17:50

hi bumper I went back when ds1 was 7.5 months and he just had water in the day. I fed him morning and night and he managed just fine I didn't even attempt to express. Once he got to about 10 months he had bf am and pm and cows milk in the day
he also slept through unlike on demand fed ds2

Bumperlicious · 03/04/2008 08:48

Hi, just thought I would update you.

Went back to work and it was fine, I managed to express twice a day, and apart from my avent pump being the crapest of crap crap and then rushing out and buying another one which was even craper. Anyway, I managed to express 6oz both days. DD is surviving very well at home with her dad on EBM and if I can express a feed a day we can last about 5 or six weeks by which point DD will be nearly 11 months and we'll hopefully be nearly home and dry. Plus it's a nice break at work, I get to go and read magazines twice a day. Thanks for your support

DontCallMeBaby · 04/04/2008 18:21

Good stuff. I read the dates wrong - thought you were back next week, not this week just gone. Have you updated your wiki page yet ... am dying to know if I've identified you correctly.

Bumperlicious · 05/04/2008 07:31

Well DCMB seeing as I was in Tuesday and Wednesday and I didn't even get any IT till 4pm on Wednesday I haven't had a chance . My boss forgot to fill in the form that said I was back, so that was an interesting 2 days

I'll try and remember to do it on Monday.

DontCallMeBaby · 05/04/2008 16:54

Oh dear - well, it has to be said, even if boss HAD remembered, there's no guarantee you'd have had IT when you got back. I think I got mine back late on my second day after maternity leave, and the paperwork had been done.

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