I have to go back to work FT when DS2 approx 7 months old (can't consider PT as need money)
My job involves shift work including nights. I'm going to ask not to do nights so will do a mixture of early, day and late shifts. The shift patterns change all the time but an early shift might start at 7am and finish at 1-2pm, a day shift starts between 9-10am and finishes at 4 -5pm and a late shift starts between 1-3 and finishes between 9 -11pm. There is no pattern to ths shifts you might get in a week and you are generally given a mixture of different shifts on different days during the week including weekends.
When I returned to work after bfeeding DS1, I was working Mon-Fri 8am - 3pm and so just cut out the feeds between those hours and my milk supply adjusted accordingly.
However, because i will be working different times/days, one day, for example, I will be able to bfeed during the morning when I do a late shift and then the next day, will not be able to bfeed in the morning as will be working but will be able to bfeed in the afternoon/late evening instead. So there will be no pattern to when I'm able to bfeed.
What i want to know is how this will affect my supply. I know that breast milk is produced on a supply/demand basis but as demand will be really erratic and not the same every day, will that not be bad for my supply? I've had so many problems with bfeeding but DS2 is 18 weeks old and I never believed I'd get this far. I'd really like to bfeed until he's 2 even if it's only 1 or 2 bfeeds a day (have been inspired by others on here!)
Can anyone who has been in a similar situation give me some advice or indeed is anyone else in the know? I may well try and express at work but not 100% sure how I will get on with that plus am cr*p at expressing and only get a few ounces out.