working mothers - how much do you express at work?

[Ginni]

I'm curious to know other people's experiences. My DD is 9 months, I am away from home for around 9 hours in the day time, I express twice and get around 5-6 oz each time. DD is on 2-3 meals a day and she feeds morning, evening and all through the night. What do you think - time to cut down on the amount I express and try to increase solids?

You sound just like me when I went back to work. I found that DS wasn't drinking that much milk at nursery and so was able to cut down to expressing once in the afternoon getting 8-9 oz in one go, which was as much as he was drinking during the day. On a nursery day he gets 3 meals and 2 snacks (not that he really ate much of them at that point, he's never really been a big eater)

At about a year I started cutting down the amount I was expressing and making it up with cows milk. After about a month we'd had an easy transition, he was on cows milk during the day and I didn't need to express at work.

Now, at 14 months he's still having full breast feeds first thing in the morning and last at night and then shorter feeds during the night which we're trying to cut out (with varied success.)

i got less than that at that age but these things vary for people. what would be the advantage to you to cutting down on expressing? babies will increase their solids irregardless of your expressing. some take to solids faster than others.

fwiw, dd2 never ever took ebm from a bottle or a cup. I used to take it to nursery for her rice crispies.