BF and going back to work FT - do you fancy my chances?

[QueenNeurosis]

Hi,

I'd welcome the advice of those who have ebf and gone back to work full-time.

In 6 weeks dd will be 5 months and will start ft childcare. I will be returning to work ft. I intend to go to nursery with dd and feed her for half an hour before work starts at 8. I've got permission from work to return to feed her at lunchtime and I will then be picking her up at 3. The nursery is spitting distance from my office. She will take ebm from my husband but during the 3 or 4 mornings I've spent away from her she hasn't taken very much at all and has hung on until I got back.

Do you fancy my chances at being able to continue to bf? I'm hoping then that from when she's around 1 I'll just be able to do mornings and nights again (and wear beautiful dresses and bras once more!). I'm starting to look forward to going back to work but this is the one issue that's causing me sleepless nights.

Has anyone any experience of this kind of arrangement or am I kidding myself that I'll be able to continue to bf?

Thank you!

QN

I think your be able to continue to BF when you go back to work.
I presume you will leave some expressed milk in case she needs something between morning and lunch? If you are leaving some expressed start getting a freezer supply established now.
By 6 months she will start on solid food and her milk requirements will gradually reduce.
I went back to work part time at 8 months and I used to express at lunchtime. It is hard work as you loose having your 'own time' in your break. I only had to do it for a few months as he replaced this feed with a snack.
It's good that your able to see your daughter to feed her as it will save you the faff of expressing.
Good luck and I hope you have a positive return to work

Thanks - good to know it is do-able. I've been getting quite a few, 'So you'll have to start dd on formula, then. Your supply will dry up,' when I've told people I'm going back so I've been worried that I'm terrible naive.

You definitely can do it. I have a nursery on site and I have been back full time since 5th Jan when baby was 5m. Still BF but lots of food now too. We do have some formula in the kitchen but it is for emergencies, of which there have been... none.

I deliberately didn't go in and breastfeed as (a) it would disrupt all the other kids if I came in and out, (b) I wanted DS to get used to a full day without me for those times when I have to go elsewhere for meetings, (c) I thought (correctly) that 'cold turkey' would make it more likely he would learn how to drink from a bottle.

The first two weeks he was there 2 days/week, then a couple of weeks at 3d/w and then 4 d/w. And he loves it.

Initially I was expressing about every three hours, but now I feed him at home when we wake up (7am ish) and drop him off at 8, he has porridge for breakfast with the other babies. I don't actually know when his feeds/meals are, through the day. I just know he has fun and loves to see me at the end of the day. I express at about 11am and about 4pm, and feed on and off from when we get home just before 6 until he goes for a bath at 7.30.

I'm in such a rhythm with this that I can't actually see when I should bother to stop.

Definately do-able. I went back when DD was about 6 1/2 months - but doing BLW so food intake was low (and still is really at 16 mo, but thats another story).

Fed at lunchtime. Used to express sometimes but DD never took a bottle so the milk got donated to the hospital.

We co-sleep so I was trying to get her to reverse cycle (ie take more at night than in day, which was sucessful to an extent.

In sum - yes do-able. DD has never had any formula.

That's really helpful, Lexilicious. Unfortunately I can't express on site due to the set-up and nature of the work I do (loooong and complicated story) but the nursery assured me that a number of bf mums come in (babies are separate from the other children).

Random question - but having gone back at 5 months too, how did ds get on with being away from you, if you don't mind me asking?

Lentils - we co-sleep for the second part of the night so maybe reverse cycling could work (currently only feeds once in the night). How does it work, exactly? Will I produce more milk in the evenings?

Thanks!

With dd1 #i went back at 3 months and I expressed at home and went at lunchtime to feed her. She was solely BF till 6 months.

I don't mean to be less than entirely positive, but it's perhaps a good idea not to be too wedded to the idea of continuing to breastfeed when you go back to work- just in case is doesn't work out. My daughter absolutely refused the breast as soon as she got the bottle and just would not go back! Not my fault so I refuse to feel bad, but there you go. As long as they're healthy, hey?

Yes- totally do-able- after dd1 i returned to work when she was almost 8 months- so slightly different situation. she has never had formula and also actually never took a bottle of ebm as she was feeding so well on solids. she did feed on and off all evening for the first couple of months- but we were both ready to stop when i/she gave up at 1 year. after dd2 i returned full time again when she was 10months, continued to feed morning and a couple of times in the evening- but again no formula or ebm. she has just turned 1 and now have cut down to just a night feed. has definitely worked well for me both times- but still amused that people assume work= ff. am prg again and will def be following the same route with dc3. basically all im saying is yes u can def do it

I would be really sad if I couldn't bf. She does take a bottle, though. We try to do one of ebm every few days - a sippy cup, she refuses a teat. Does that make my chances a bit better?

I nannied for three months for a mother who returned to work when her baby was three months. Baby was fully BF with EBM until nine months when mother went away for two weeks.

From three to six months mother would BF at 7amish before work. Then I would offer EBM three hourly during the day. It took six weeks for him to drink more than an oz or so of formula. Mother would feed him around 6pmish when she arrived home and then he was demand fed throughout the night.

After I left he went to nursary five days a week 8amish-5.30pmish and was offered solids and expressed milk when needed. By this time he was sleeping 12 hours at night.

Mother expressed twice daily while she was at work with a double Medela pump.

I'm doing it at the moment (dd is 8m) Went back 80% when she was 6m. She'd normally have 5 feeds a day at that point and small bits of food here and there.

I found I only really had time to express twice a day - in the first aid room - lovely comfy bed they have in there but after a month or so she was eating more food and it's gone down now to my only expressing once a day. I still feed her myself first thing and at bedtime. Nursery has formula that they give her when she's had all my milk, but I think she ends up having that about once every three days.

I also found she wouldn't take a bottle for the first week or so, but now does happily and will even take ebm or formula from me when she's hungry - I guess one side effect is my supply doesn't always 100% match demand now. But it's close enough.

I'm very happy with how it's working and sort of feel like it's moving towards no bm during the day soon, then I'll continue to do two feeds a day and stop bf when she's a year. I also had everyone trying to put me off and saying I was crazy for trying it. In most cases this was people who didn't or couldn't bf for long. But I decided that if it worked, fine, if not fine too as dd was fully bf to 6m which was my goal.

Also I have Medela Swing - easier to carry to and from work, but a double pump would be easier still - takes me 10 mins each side.

And get a manual pump as back up. Motor went on mine on Friday - had several meetings, cue largest boobs ever by the time I got home......

You have every chance of success QueenNeurosis. I, like 2andcounting went back to work FT when DD was 8 months. By that stage she was on 3 BF a day, and I cut the middle one out about 2 days before I returned to work. She would never accept a bottle, so simply had 2 BF a day until she was 12 months (when she self-weaned).

At 6 months solid food will start, and then you will slowly start to drop milk feeds anyhow.
Good luck!!

I went back to work ft when DS was 4.5 months, exclusively bf to 6 months, and continued till he was 23 months. I was away from him from 8 till 5, so he had 3 EBM feeds a day.

I think you've got an excellent chance of continuing to bf, esp as your daughter will only need one indirect feed a day. Just always feed her direct once you go back.

DS was quite happy at nursery - they would carry him in a sling, feed on demand, let him nap when he wanted. Has always loved nursery, and now he is 3.5 and having strops as he doesn't want to leave

I'm still nursing DS - went back to work in December. I don't pump, he's older. He has cow milk too. He's happy, I'm happy. The emotional bits are much harder than the practical bits IME. Good luck

Thank you for all the lovely votes of confidence.

I've done it 3 times - with DC1, she was only 6 weeks when I went back part time, 12 weeks FT (not through choice!) and we BF until 13 months. DC2, went back when he was 14 weeks, BF to 16 months. DC3 went back when he was 6 months, admittedly only for 10 weeks, we are still going strong at 14 months. Totally doable, just be bloody minded about it. Good luck! xx

I went back FT when DD was 6 months old, she's now just over 7 months. My advice would be to build up a stash of EBM in the freezer. Some days i don't even get time to go to the loo let alone express and I'd be stressing hugely if I didn't have my stash to rely on.

I BF at 6am, express at lunchtime to get 8oz, BF in the evenings then express another 6oz. This gives me 2 x 6oz bottles and a spare couple of oz for the freezer.

I'm going to continue like this up to a year I think. my only problem is that DD now feeds a LOT during the night, whereas before I went back to work she was down to one night feed. I cosleep otherwise I'd have lost my sanity.

QN, only just come back to this - at five months DS hardly noticed it wasn't me looking after him. He's overjoyed at the end of the day when I go in and get him, but at the start of the day when I put him on a mat with all their toys he has forgotten me in a split second. No anxiety whatsoever.

That's good to know - thanks. Dd is just starting to be thrilled to bits to see me in the morning (or just my boobs ) and I'd hate to lose that!

Have a read of Kellymom on the subject.

If baby is feeding at night rather than day your body just adapts I think.