forced into giving up the boob??

[safetypin]

Help! My wee one is 6.5m now and BF/weaning combo is going well- likes BLW Hates the spoon! I am taking a job in 8 weeks, am a GP and will be away from her 3days a week 8 till 6-6.30. She will take a few sips from a tommee tippee cup at lunch time at the moment. Morning feeds never happen till btw 8.30 and 10 as she still takes a feed at night and just isnt hungry.

Dilemma- do I get her onto a bottle now so that I know she is getting her milk for the return to work?? Although she is using a cup now I have no way of knowing now if it will be enough to sustain her when I am away. Weaning is slow and I really dont think she will be on 3 meals by then but you never know. Do I get her onto the bottle now or wait and see nearer the time? I could get the benefit out of getting a break before going back to work- but I wouldnt be doing this at all if I wasnt returning to work.

It doesn't sound like you're quite ready to stop bfing safetypin - would that be fair?

Can I ask a couple of questions?

1. You don't say if it's formula or expressed BM she's having from a cup. Lots of babies are reluctant to drink from anything else if they can see the real thing! Have you tried being away from her during her usual feed times, and letting your DP/other carer offer her EBM in a cup or bottle?
2. Are you thinking of expressing enough for her 3 days away or substituting those feeds for formula?
3. What will your work pattern be? 3 days together, or spread out?

You may find that when you go back to work, she changes her feed pattern anyway - she may make up for less milk (and less physical contact) on your days apart by suddenly adding extra feeds (let's hope not at night!), changing the times she usually asks, or reinstating feeds you thought she'd dropped forever.

Have you tried a doidy cup. DD never got into sippies but would drink from a doidy cup.

Also, get someone else to feed her, if she can see or smell you she's never going to be up for it.

Encourage her to play with whatever cup you decide on, she will naturally try and suck from it.

Whether you decide to keep on breastfeeding or not, it will all work out in the end

I went back to work FT when DS2 was about 8 and half months old - he's now just over 10 months - prior to this, he had been an avid bfeeder and would snack all day given half the chance.

I was really worried about returning to work - I have excellent childcare but didn't know how DS2 would cope!! But, I have to say, he's been absolutely fine, I was expressing milk at work for a while (have stopped now as can't be bothered) and DS2 was having a bit of expressed milk or occasionally formula and now, even cow's milk from a bottle but when I'm not there, he really doesn't bother that much about milk but eats loads and drinks plenty of water/juice from a cup.

He makes up for it when I'm there of course and still feeds during the night (although after saying that, he slept through last night FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER - woke up this morning looking like Dolly Parton.

So what I am trying to say albeit in a very longwinded fashion is that you are probably worrying far too much and it will be fine! Don't forget you are not going back to work for another couple of months and 8 weeks is a long time in baby terms so by then your DS will probably be eating much more and will take a bottle/drink from a cup perfectly happily.

When DS was 7 months, I ended up having to leave him at nursery for the whole day! (long story...)

He made up for it in the evening and the morning...

I expressed enough for him to have 3x 120 feeds and schleped this all the way to London where I was doing a course and where I managed to get DS into nursery.

Then the first morning, one of the nursery staff put boiling water on the freezer bags of EBM and it split. There were a series of other disasters, but he had water, had a bit to eat and was fine...

I've just gone back to work 3 days, been back 5 weeks now and DD is nearly 8m. I try & feed right before leaving, about 7.40 so she's topped up. We've been giving her the sippy cup to play with for a while and within a couple of weeks she was happy gulping from it, so she now has plenty of formula during the day and a huge bf at 6 when i walk through the door. On the other 3 days she bf as normal. Supply seems to have managed pretty well & being back at work part time has been great.