Return to work and daily 'routine'

[ObviouslyOblivious]

I'm returning to work at the end of February for 3 days a week. DS will then be nearly 13 months. I've found a lovely childminder and for the next two weeks DS and I will be popping in to spend some time there and I'll leave him occasionally, and he then starts his four week settling in period (going for three full days a week) at the end of January.

DS has just got over a nasty two week diarrhoea bug and as a result is breastfeeding lots and lots. Before he got ill he was BFing once or twice overnight, upon waking, before each of his two naps and at bed time. He loves his solid food and eats three meals a day plus the odd snack.

He will nap in his (moving) pram and in the car, but most naps are in his cot, with me BFing until he's drowsy then letting him drop off in the cot. No one else has had any success with getting him to sleep in the cot. The CM doesn't have a car but will be able to use the pram for naps if needed.

I just have NO IDEA how the hell he's going to spend three days a week without me when he's still BFing during the day and won't nap without me! I wasn't too worried but then he got this bug and his feeding just increased so dramatically.

Can anyone suggest how I can start to prepare us both?

My DD was 11mnths when she started nursery. She was still feeding every 3 hours during the day at this stage and up to 9 feeds a night. I too was concerned about how she'd cope at nursery especially as she wouldn't take a bottle. But she coped remarkably well. She just waited till the evening and on my days off she went back to feeding every 3 hours again.

Once at nursery she came down with about 3 episodes of D&V in 6wks. I was so glad to be still breastfeeding at this point as it was the only thing she'd keep down.

I also bf to sleep and this was a tricky area when she was away from me. Nursery got around it by putting her in a pram. In time she copied the other children and started to nap in a cot after being shushed and patted.

Have you spoken to the cm about your concerns?

My experience was similar to lostinindia. DD was 10 mo when she started nursery 3 full days a week, and BF all the time. She was also feeding to sleep.

Nursery soon had her napping in a cot, and although she refused the EBF I sent in for her she was quite happy with water in a spouted cup. She upped her BF during the evening and night, but I thought that was a small price to pay.

On the 4 days she was at home with me she BF regularly throughout the day and went back to feeding to sleep

Your DS will be fine, and you don't need to prepare.

Thanks to you both! He loves water from a cup. Don't know if I'm any good at expressing any more.....
So it's feasible for my supply to cope with three days of no daytime feeds and then 4 days of 'normal' feeds? That is a relief :)

you don't need to prepare

I so so wish someone had said this to me. It's true and it would have taken so much pressure off me.

Enjoy these last few weeks. I'm going back to work on Monday following a year off with my 2nd baby. He's not been such an enthusiastic feeder as my DD was but he's still feeding a few times during the night. Night feeds and working can be hard. The way I coped was going to bed at 7.30pm a couple of nights a week, just so I had more sleep in the bank.