Advice re feeding and going back to work

[ernestbear]

Hi everyone
Am going back to work in 3 weeks and feeling so gutted about leaving my beautiful baby. LO is 7 months and was EBF until 6 months. Has been ill with a series of chest infections/bronchitis since Jan and weaning onto food going very slowly! Partly because we had to keep giving him meds in a syringe which he hated - very reluctant understandably to be spoon fed, which is fine, am offering finger foods in a BLW sort of style, which he is playing with really.
Have introduced some FF in preparation for returning to work (will be difficult for me to express at work - community mental health team with tiny shared office and v little space and very different work routines each day), and he is having about 3-6 oz (when well about 2-3 when ill) mid morning, mid afternoon and 11pm. Am offering BF on demand the rest of the time, which works out typically at 6.30ish, 8ish, 1.30ish, 6.30ish and usually an overnight feed (or 2 or 3!).
I will be working 9-5 on consequetive days and would love to keep going with the 1.30ish feed on the days I am off- it is always a lovely cuddly feed and he falls asleep in my arms afterwards. My question (longwinded i know!) is will having expressed milk at nursery at the 1.30ish feed help him settle and sleep for his nap and if so how to I plan expressing in a job that it will be difficult to practically express in? If I don't express is there anyway that my body will contine to make enough milk for the days I am home, or is a gap of 3 days going to scupper my milk supply?
Any experiences or advice really welcomed - sorry about the long rambling post!

I thought legally your employer had to provide somewhere suitable for you to express?

I understand they do, but equally there is no space at all, other than asking my (mostly male middle aged colleagues) to leave the team room so i can express which just makes me crinch!

Hi there!
I went back to work when DD was 9mo and I was really hoping that I would be able to carry on feeding her in the day on the days that I was with her, but it has not really worked out for us. She would get upset at nursery and with her dad on the days she was with them and be looking for boob at the times that she would have had it. I have had to cut down to once in the morning, once before bed and twice over night . When I am feeling really hacked off at being woken up again in the middle of the night, I try to remember how much I want to carry on BFing and that it is the only way that will work for us.
It has been nice in some ways though, as I do feel more free in the days now, it's kind of nice to feel that after 11 months I could now leave her for a whole day and go and do something for myself if I wanted to. Not that I do, of course, now that I could. Now I just want to spend all the time I can with her.

Just read that back- don't mean to be negative! I know there are people out there who have managed to carry on with the feeds on the days they are at home, in fact my HV advised me that it would be fine. I'm sure you'll find a way of making it work.

Are you going back full time?
I was able and wanted to work part time and whilst it was a bit uncomfortable at first (I expressed a bit in the loo just to be less engorged, but didn't try and keep the milk) and was able to carry on BF pretty much as normal outside of work. DD refused a bottle and refused formula, but would drink water from a cup at nursery and just made up for it when I was around - she was on solids too by the time she went to nursery. Took a little while to adjust but was fine.

Hi Jaynie B - am going to work 3 days (TWT)9-5 and nursery close to work. Brilliant to hear of your experience- are your days in a row or alternate days?
Jeffily - how fab that your feeding at 11 months. It sounds like you followed your baby's lead completely with what she could manage.
If I can achieve either of these feeding patterns I would be well happy
spoke with a counsellor on the NHS breastfeeding helpline yesterday who said she knew of a working mum who managed to feed at weekends only!
Thank you for replying

ernestbear, I have gone back to work with all four of my children. Ds1 and ds2 were bf till 1 year, ds3 till 2.8 and ds4 for 21 months.

With ds1 expressing was not the done thing at the time (13 years ago in Ireland) but I expressed at lunchtime in my consulting room or im my friends office ( she did the accounts) So most days he would have one feed of EBM and one of formula.

With the others I had a nicer boss and expressed twice a day.

I always fed fulltime on my days off, never gave them a bottle myself except when I was getting them used to a bottle of EBM.

Mow ds3 was my only difficult one! He refused any kind of a bottle or cup so ended up going most days at nursery with very little milk. I ended up making a lot of EBM rice puddings and leaving them in for him to eat! But he was still fine.

Do you drive to work? If so could you express in the car. Some pumps can work off the car battery and you can cover up with a nursing shawl or pashmina. I did this once or twice when travelling, it's not ideal but it is your own space!

Ernestbear - I work 4 days a week, away from DD similar hours to you and carried on BF for nearly 2 years after I went back to work. It worked fine for us, DD keen feeder and milk supply no problem. I suspect her dislike for bottles and formula kept us both going. She had water and solids at nursery and has always been healthy and a good weight. I was rubbish at expressing and literally only did it for a few days when first back at work for my own comfort.

Thank you all so much for the encouragement - feeling more relaxed now! Thank you