Back to work in 3wks breastfeeding & sleeping panic!

[Shootingstar100]

Going back to work in 3wks time, leaving 9 mnth old with childminder. Having panics about sleeping & feeding at the moment and thought maybe someone would have similar experiences?!!
Sleeping has gone downhill from 6mnths!! Still breastfeeding & tend to feed to sleep when DD wakes. She never sleeps through the night and last couple of weeks has been waking every 2-3 hours. I'm feeding her back to sleep each time but it's knackering!! Top two teeth coming through & hot weather haven't helped sleeping! Torn between keeping going like this or actively doing something (though not ready for CC!)

Weaning - doing BLW since 26wks. DD not eating huge amounts yet, it really varies from one meal to next. When back in work will breastfeed first thing (7ish) then not until 4ish. At the moment I'm still feeding after lunch (1.30-2ish). What should I be doing for the next 3 weeks to get her on more solids & less milk feeds?! She won't drink from a bottle but is happy to take water from sippy cup. I've left her for 6 hrs with her dad and she was fine but my boobs nearly exploded!!!

Sorry for long post, am eagerly awaiting replies though!! ??

This is what i did when i left my breastfed 9 mo to go back to work.

I got through the night however i could. Co sleeping, cot near me, fed back to sleep. I felt it was only fair to allow feeding at night as i restricted feeds during the day. Our nights still arent greatbut that's a different thread!

A couple of weeks before i went back i didn't offer in the day to get my supply down. I did 3 meals (spoon fed breakfast, finger food lunch and a mix at tea) and afternoon snack. If she was upset i fed her but.mostly she was ok til about 4ish (i knew i could be home for 5) it went fine. DD adapted and my boobs didn't explode.

I enjoy working now and its a lovely break. Sleep deprivation is easier to deal with at work. More chance to drink coffee and i keep busy!
Oh im still bfing at 14 mo in case you are worried about it being the beginning of the end.

If that wouldnt work for you could you express? Only maybe decide a week before you go back. They are so quick at changing at that age.

I'm back to work in 2mo but have already started winding down BF. I too started with BLW but tbh as much as I loved the ideas of it, she wasn't good with a spoon so it ruled out weetabix, porridge, yoghurt etc which are all good nutritious and filling foods. She also wouldn't really EAT meat, just suck in it. I know BLW philosophy is that they suck meat juices etc but I thought she wasn't getting enough protein. I started spoon feeding these and things like pasta with sauce, fish pie etc but gave her veg, breadsticks, toast, cheese etc as finger foods so she doesn't lose the BLW skills. This has worked wonders and she now eats a huge range of foods.

Once we'd established this I dropped the mid morning BF. Substituted with yoghurt and piece of fruit. She didnt seem to notice. Then a week later I dropped the lunchtime BF. I started giving her some formula. Really didn't want to as have EBF since birth but figured that it's got lots of added vits & iron so was necc really. I use a pre-made carton a day but she really only has half of this at lunchtime. Sorry formula feeders, but i really didnt like the thought of mixing powder, even tho the carton is just a made up version. It was just a psych thing for me [runs away and hides from ff]I often use the first half on her weetabix in the morning. again, she didn't really notice. I've yet to drop the mid pm feed but that will go in next 2 weeks so I end up with morning and bedtime feed before I go to work.

If you are dropping bf's you need to keep their milk intake up so it's either expressing or formula until they can have cows milk as a drink at 1.

Stopping the feeding to sleep was tough. I managed to stop it during the day. Then as she's on 3 meals a day (+ 3 BFs) she's nice and full to take her through the night. I am still dream feeding at 10:30 (not quite brave enough to stop this yet but will do in the next week or so) and for the last few weeks when she wakes at night I can just put hand on her back, say 'ssh, it's ok, back to sleep' and she'll go right off again. Sometimes I need to pick her up for a quick cuddle, but no feeding. I do have some water on hand if needed.

Also, (sorry for LONG post) but try the superdrug own bottles with a built in straw. My DD had a doidy (waste of time) and a TT cup. She can drink from them without a lid when she wants to but the one with the straw is great for taking out and about and if your dc is BFed they should find straw drinking quite easy.

Be brave, try dropping the feed they are least interested in first and offer something yummy instead, banana, yoghurt etc with some water.

Hope it works out for you. I know I was getting really stressed out about it but it's been ok really. But maybe I'm just lucky?!

Thanks so much for the replies, I feel much better already!!

haloflo the way you handled it sounds very similar to what I was thinking of doing! I do think that DD compensates at night now that she's not feeding as much in the day. During the day she won't really concentrate on feeding properly unless we're at home by ourselves. She will tend to want feeding more if we're home and I'm around, if we're out & about she seems to manage without! I was brave today & fed her before breakfast at 8ish then didn't feed again til 4pm. She had breakfast at 9.30am, a snack at 12.30, lunch at 2, another snack at 4, supper at 6 then a feed before bed. We'll see how many times she wakes up! Like you, I'm afraid to try and stop feeding during the night at the moment!

buttonboo you sound like you've done really well with weaning. I feel the same way about BLW, I've resorted to a mixture of spoon feeding & finger food cos DD wasn't eating enough and I felt like I don't have the time to take it at her pace if I'm going back to work at 9mnths!! I've been doing a similar thing to you with mealtimes.

I've been wondering about formula too, but my HV said DD would be ok during the day without milk as long as she drinks water (she does from TT cup) and has yogurt/cheese for calcium. I'll be able to feed her myself at 3.45-4ish.

I did as you advised today & gave more snacks and managed not to feed her between 8-4, so feel a bit better!!

The sleeping is a definite issue though! DD still feeds to sleep at bedtime & during the night. Maybe I need to establish the daytime eating pattern before tackling sleep!!!

Anyway, thanks again for your really helpful replies both, much appreciated!

Hope you had a better night?? My DD has developed the snotty nose from hell in the last 24 hours. It's like someone turned the tap on every time she sneezes!
I feed to sleep at bedtime and still dream feed at 10:30 when i go to bed but like I said used to feed during the night if she woke but decided if she woke before 3:00 I wasn't going to feed her...she is NOT hungry! At this age she (apparently, or so everyone tells me) should go through the night without a feed. So we started with that. I also don't know if you ssh-pat at all but I read that over 6mo it's too simulating for them so I just ssh ssh and hold my hand on her back, sometimes do little light rubs.

I was also told not to rush out at the first sign of stirring but I found if I did get out quick before she woke up too much then it was easier to get her back to sleep before she woke too much. Now she's used to not feeding at night, I find I can leave her a few mins to see if she settles back down.

Now when she feeds at bedtime, I don't 'gently, gently' put her down. I almost try to jiggle her a little on the way down so she opens her eyes and looks around, but just ash and put my hand on her back for a few secs. I just found that doing slight adjustments but heading in the right direction helped.

I think cracking the feeding and filling her up nicely during the day will really help.

I also realised that I spent too long saying 'she doesn't do xxx' or 'I have to do xxx this way' and I wasn't really allowing for the fact that they change. I was sticking with what I did when she was 4mo for example and what I knew worked rather than giving something else a try. Sometimes I was surprised at how easily she adapted. I think I was just too nervous to try something else, especially at night when we all cave!!!

But as I've found so many times - you think you've got it Sussex and in a nice routine and they throw you a curve ball...just to keep you on your toes!

Got it Sussex?? Meant 'got it sussed'! Bloomin iPhone! x