How to keep breastfeeding when baby starts nursery

[Hann376]

Hiya

my baby will be around 10 months when starting nursery full time. I won’t have time to pump but would like to keep breastfeeding in the mornings and evenings. At 10 months how often were your babies feeding during the day alongside solids either breastfed or amount of formula ? Will baby be ok with just solids during the day at nursery and breastfeeding if they want to before nursery / in the evenings or will they still need milk in the day?

thanks!

Mine started at 11 months and I just did mornings and evenings. No need to pump, supply regulates to when it's used.

By 8 months I was a set 4 feeds a day, first thing, mid-morning, mid-afternoon and last thing. At 10 months I switched the mid-morning one to a snack. At 11 months the mid-afternoon one to a bottle so he had that for a month then at 12 months just cow's milk in that afternoon one. DC2 I never bothered introducing a bottle earlier so never did the afternoon one, just waited till a month later and the move to cow's milk.

Totally possible but you do have to make a good effort to wean baby on to a decent variety and amount of solid food in preparation for this.

My 10 month old is still having two bottles during the day, although she is gradually dropping her mid-afternoon one. Personally, when my little one starts nursery in a month or so I think she will still be having some milk during the day at nursery so I'll be sending formula in for her. If your little one has a really big feed before nursery and eats solids really well then they may well be fine with no milk during the day but you may wish to send something (either start making a freezer stash of pumped milk now or consider using some formula) just for your own peace of mind in the first instance. By 12 months they can have cows milk anyway so it'll be a temporary thing either way and then you can just stick to breastfeeds before and after nursery.

Hi, Does your baby take a bottle? When I returned to work at 8 months, DC breast fed a lot overnight. I remember collecting him from his first full day at nursery and I had to feed him in the car before we drove home. The nursery nurse used to feed him from a spoon, then he used a cup. DC never took a bottle. If I’m honest, it was totally exhausting at first although once they took a cup it was fine. DC stopped feeding at about 19 months, but more for comfort rather than nutrition in the end.

I returned to work a few weeks ago when my baby turned 10 months so can give you my experience. He is a good eater so was on 3 meals and 1/2 snacks a day but still breastfed whenever he wanted in the day, usually before his naps, bedtime and once during the night. Since starting nursery he now feeds in the morning, not that fussed for breakfast at home but will have a morning snack at nursery (I drop off after the school run around 9am), I take in around 6/7 oz a day but he only drinks around 1oz and they have to throw the rest as been warmed up. He is wanting a feed pretty much straight after pick up and is waking more in the night but he’s obviously unsettled at the moment. I am finding it hard to remember to pump so hoping to stop taking milk in soon. I have to admit, nursery wouldn’t flinch if I didn’t take in milk so long as baby eats well, but if I were you I would pump now to get a freezer stash for the first few weeks as it can take them some time to settle and eat food like at home and your milk will be soothing for him. FWIW, my son drinks his from his tum tum straw cup.

They will still need three good deeds a day