Getting scared about going back to work

[Lazymummy2014]

My dd is seven and a half months now and I'm planning on going back to work full time at Easter (so she'll be about ten months). Basically, I'm shitting myself at the thought! Both the emotional and practical sides.

Practical first.... I'm ebf-ing her and at the moment she won't take a bottle. I'm cracking on with baby led weaning in the hope that by the time she goes to nursery she'll be able to have a feed with me when she wakes up around half six, then solids at nursery, then a feed when I pick her up (prob about 4.30pm) and a final feed before bed at half six/seven. She sleeps through so no night feeds. Is this even slightly viable?! I really don't want to spend our last few months fighting to get her to take a bottle and formula. Expressing at work just isn't practical - I'm a secondary school teacher so having guaranteed time and a quiet peaceful place to express at work is not going to happen! - so I can't see that I'll be able to send her to nursery with expressed milk. Has anyone done similar?

The emotional side is really worrying me too. Because she's ebf we are together all the time, she's never been without me for more than a couple of hours and I'm worried she's going to be so miserable and frightened when I leave her. I know everyone must feel the same, just after some hand holding I guess. Am also worried I might end up bursting into tears in the middle of a lesson!

Wise words much appreciated!

With my first I went back when he was 9.5mths and he was a bottle refuser and bf on demand in day sleeping through at night n I wad to work 8-4 childcare 7.30-4.30.... so a mth before I went back I weaned in day to what we needed as in a 7am 4.30 n 7pm feed took 4 days so day 1 feed at 7am then not til 1pm, day.2 is 2pm, day 3 is 3pm and day 4 is 4pm n after that 4.30pm... offer food whenever would normally offer breast.do the same every day not just work days.

Worked fine for us did 3 days childminder til 13mths then added in a 4th day which was nursery, he never has drunk milk even from a barker and is 4yrs now.We didn't get the night feeding like people warned he was getting enough food n milk.We stopped the 4.30 feed at 14mths and the 7am feed at 18mths n bedtime feed at 23mths.

Number 2 is currently 6weeks and also so far a bottle refused despite trying earlier n perserving more but I refuse to buy every bottle brand this time we have mam, nuby n tommee tippee so will keep trying.

I'm in a similar position, and mine is getting up 4+ times per night too. Now new year is by, it feels like a countdown, doesn't it?

My plan is:

1. start giving snacks/water or formula in a cup to reduce day time feeds one at a time, starting now
2. looking at some (hopefully gentle) sleep training ideas - probably pu/pd
3. I'm transfering the last month of my maternity leave to my dh, so we can deal with the separation first with the baby in a familiar place and with daddy, and then deal with nursery after a few weeks of me being back. The idea was to make things easier for me - don't know if that will work or not!

Know exactly what you mean about the feeling of a countdown! It's horrible, all that lovely time with my gorgeous baby is trickling away... sob!