Returning to work & expressing

[PartialToACupOfMilo]

I am exclusively BF my 15wk old baby and everything is going well, but I'm starting to worry about going back to work which will be when she is 26wks (almost to the day).

I have been expressing on and off and have built up a bit of a supply of milk which is in the freezer. The plan is to express when at work but BF her myself first thing in the morning and before she goes to bed. But I have a few things which I'm not sure about. Can you help??

• I read that BM changes to suit your baby's age and stage, and the weather etc. Does this mean that the milk I express when she's 15wks will not be suitable for her when she's 26wks? (This may possibly not matter in the end as the frozen milk may have been used by the time she starts with the CM)

• What happens about sterilising the breast pump parts between feeds during the working day? I think I'll need to express twice a day whilst at work. This is really worrying me as I only have one pump and don't want to have to buy another, but also can't see any way around the sterilising problem - I work in a school.

• She isn't used to a bottle at all at the moment, although she has drunk from one before so I know she doesn't refuse it. At some point I'll need to swap her daytime feeds from BF to EBM so she is used to taking a bottle during the day. When should I aim to do this? Will a few weeks suffice? Or should I just abandon a bottle and get her used to using a cup of some kind as she's be 26wks when she starts with the CM? I'm thinking at the moment that we'll use a bottle for EBM and a sippy cup or similar for water with her solid foods (Of course, going back to work will also overlap with starting solids but that's a whole other issue!)- is this a bad idea?

I thought finding a CM was going to be the difficult bit, but getting my head round expressing is confusing me completely !

Thanks for your help and apologies for being so l o n g winded about it all

Sorry forgot this one...

• How do I know how much to give her? She usually just eats until she's full and comes off the breast herself; I have no idea how much she actually takes. Should I follow guidelines for formula feeding or is that a whole other ball-game?

Hi, BM does change but the frozen milk will be fine for her.

If you have access to a fridge you can store the used pump in a bag in there and use it again without sterilising, bit cold on the boobs though! I used to sterilise in a bowl of milton at work, as can chuck the bits in and leave them in a safe place until you're ready to use, so this could also be an option if no fridge. I used a spare microwave sterilizer bowl for milton as has good lid and holds the right amount of water.
I never switched all DS's day feeds to EBM as wanted to continue to bf on weekends and days off, they can be flexible and have bottles just on childcare days. I just did a few practice bottles over a few weeks before returning.
Like you suggest I used a bottle for EBM and cup for other drinks, I found DS could drink more using a bottle, less risk of spilling it, and I wanted him to have the sucking as was used to lots of BFs. She may be fine with a cup though.

I just gave the amount I could express at work, whatever it was, split into how many feeds he had. Usually around 4 ounce per feed (he was 8 months). If you top them up with too much frozen EBM they won't demand as much at home later as they would have, and overall your supply can diminish. If I had a really bad day expressing I would give some frozen, but tried to avoid it. After work I'd leave the milk I'd expressed that day with the nursery for him to have the next day, fresh from the fridge, and froze the EBM at home at the end of the week for after the weekend.
There are some guidelines on Kellymom for amounts of milk. You'll get a good idea of how much she takes during your practice sessions. Start with 2 ounces at a time so don't waste your stash! HTH and good luck