Can I do this and if so what is the best way to go about it!

[Libralovesbiscuits1975]

I am going back to work beginning of Feb for 3 days a week. At the moment I feed 24 week DS about 7-8 times in 24 hour period (incl 2 night feeds). The pre-bed feed is 200ml of formula followed by as much breast as he wants but all other feeds are breast.

When I go back to work I want to change the feeds so his first feed of the day is breast and the pre-bed feed is breast but all others will be formula.

My question is - is this possible?
I have 3 weeks before I go back to work to implement this I guess the first thing to do is change the pre-bed feed back to breast but do you think I will be able to maintain my supply with just 2 breast feeds a day?

I am willing to only b/f the days I am not working if anyone thinks that will help but I am NOT going to express whilst at work and he will have formula whilst at nursery.

I hope all this makes sense.

This is pretty much what I did. I breastfed when not at work and used formula (cow's milk after he turned 1) when I was at work.

I've pretty much continued this regime through a period of full time working, part time working and DS is now 2 years and 3 months.

It is possible, but a lot of people will tell you that mixed feeding can play havoc with your supply. I guess I've been very lucky that it has worked out well for me.

Good luck!

Thanks llareggub nice to hear a success story.

Thanks. I didn't really think about it, just went off to work and DS just adjusted, really. He would sometimes reduce his intake while I was away and then seize on my norks as soon as I walked back in through the door! I never really had a plan or a strategy, and am only breastfeeding now because I never really thought about how to stop. I want to carry on now though because I'm pregnant and want to make sure I can express a month or so the birth due to a planned c-section.

I've been watching this thread with interest as I've been wondering the same thing. It's good to hear a success story - does anyone else have any experience? I'm concerned about leaking boobs in work!

I went back to work FT in August when DD was 8mths - exclusively breastfed till that point and man did I stress about getting her to take a bottle!! She refused point blank more or less until the day I went back.

Now I feed her once or maybe twice before I go to work, sometimes when I get home at 5pmish although she's starting to not bother about that one now, pre bed and then 1/2/3/a million times overnight.

She takes 2 x formula bottles during the day, and has accepted them quite happily and will even let me give her a bottle now and again, eg if we are out and about at weekends and I don't want to bf her.

Supply has been fine - I started off expressing every lunchtime but I really wasn't getting the time to do it, so I've stopped that altogether. (but if you have time it did make me feel happier about my supply levels).

Over the Xmas fortnight I've been off she's only had 1 or 2 bottles and has quite happily switched back to FT bf-ing, she did the same over the Oct half term.

You can do it!!

I didn't leak at all at work, but then I never needed breastpads either. I have rather large norks so decided that one of the only advantages of such large norks is that they were effective milk storage vessels!

On a serious note, I think my supply just sorted itself out. I only feed once or twice a day now, in the morning and just before bed occasionally. If I miss a morning feed for any reason I don't get that feeling of fullness at all. It doesn't seem to matter.