How best to feed baby when returning to work

[LondonChick1992]

Hi, I have a 7 month old baby and will be returning to work when she is 10 months old. She is currently exclusively breastfed and does not use a bottle. She has been using a straw cup well with water during her meals. Are there any success stories out there of people who have moved day feeds from breast to straw cup without using a bottle? I’m not necessarily against it but (a) she may not take one and (b) it would be preferable to skip bottles altogether as it’s once less thing to wean her off in just a few months time! Does anyone have advice? She is currently a very good eater and keen on solids so would look to mix milk into her food as well.

Very eager to hear from anyone else who has managed this transition and if so, how did you actually execute? I..e in the lead up to work, did you just wean one day feed into a straw cup feed at a time ? Thanks!

My baby never accepted a bottle or a straw cup with breast milk, unfortunately. She still won't drink cows milk now at 15 months. Definitely no reason for you not to try though!

I would start now and offer her a straw cup with milk every day and try not to get discouraged if she refuses for a while.

What will your work hours be like? At 10 months, providing she's doing well with solids, you may be able to just feed in the morning, when you get home from work and at bedtime. 3-4 feeds a day is pretty normal at that age.

Hi,
I went back at 9 months and my baby had only ever had breast despite trying lots of other things. She also had a cows milk allergy to complicate things. So I would spend my. 30 minute lunch break pumping while I marked books, it was a nightmare! All that faff and she wouldn't drink my pumped milk either. So in the end she just breast fed before and after nursery and didn't have milk at nursery and she was absolute fine. She self weaned at 1.5ish.
My son was also breastfed, he was very happy to take a bottle at nursery and carried on with breast at home.
I wouldn't worry too much about preparing them. I spent months worrying and trying different cups and bottles with my first and I didn't bother with my second and he took to them fine! They tend to accept these things better in other context and with different people so all your effort might be in vain!

I went back to work when little one was about 9 months and still feeding. I pumped like a maniac to get a stash of milk, only for the monkey to refuse it at both the childminders and then nursery.
she upped her feeds at night to compensate

I found mine never took my milk in a bottle or a straw cup. However she did take formula and then cows milk. I do 10 hour days so wasn’t home for a bedtime feed otherwise I would have just fed her before and after. She still preferred the breast but would take the bottle or straw cup when given by someone else as long as it wasn’t breast milk in it. So you may find she takes cows milk ok in the cup but not your milk.

Both mine went to nursery at 10 months and I bf in the morning, when I picked them up, and before bed (and as needed at night). They just had water during the day with an open cup / slippy cup / straw cup (I had to really mix up the types of water bottle to keep them interested).

Yes I agree with this. I’m in a similar boat, 9 months old, never taken a bottle, but very good eater. He barely feeds during the day now, I’m doing some KIT days at the end of this month and the plan is to feed when I leave, when I get back, before bed and he still feeds during the night. I’m not envisaging any issues.

Mine never took a bottle, she went to nursery at 11 months, and I'd left her for periods before that. It's best to avoid bottles at this stage if you can! She just seemed to manage without BF whilst away, she would sometimes take a bit of formula from a sippy cup but never much. We started giving her cows milk at 11 month instead which was much more successful. Never bothered with pumping, mine fed before nursery, after (was manic for it after.. be prepared), at bedtime and overnight so I think she made it up then.